Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Walk

For Teachers K - 5th
Students follow the appropriate sampling protocol and take two measurements of a local water source. These measurements are Transparency and Temperature. This info about local land use and/or water chemistry issues may require further...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Botanical Discoveries

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders study the chronology of major events of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They use primary and secondary resources to obtain information about the plants which were identified by Lewis and Clark.
Lesson Plan
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Dinosaurs

For Teachers K - 5th
Students will develop goals for inquiry. They will also improve content area reading and research skills. The context of studying dinosaurs will help learners to distinguish from organisms that live presently and those from the past...
Organizer
Curated OER

The Biosphere

For Students 7th - 9th
In this biosphere worksheet, students identify the different levels of organization that ecologists study. Students complete charts, sentences, and answer short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
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The Cost of Telling the Truth

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars examine Leopold's Land Ethic involving illegal river dumping. They consider the dilemmas of the case study and share their ideas for a solution using group discussion and individual answers.
Lesson Plan
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Snakes

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create a page in a classroom field guide to snakes. They each choose a different snake species to study in depth using the internet and books. The page contains information on habitat and adaptations of the snake as well as a...
Lesson Plan
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Handling Discrepancies

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders study the different ways students handle discrepancies.  For this Physics lesson, 11th graders perform a laboratory experiment with resistors.  Students discuss the ethical issues it raises. 
Lesson Plan
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Blooming Thermometers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study phenology, or the study of climate change. They research the Japanese springtime festival of Hanami and plot and interpret average cherry blossom bloom date data from the past 1100 years.
Lesson Plan
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Make a Snowflake

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students study the design of snowflakes.  In this snow lesson, students discover the different shapes of a snowflake, and their similarities.  Students study snowflakes outside, then create their own with popsicle sticks...
Lesson Plan
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WHAT, IF ANYTHING, IS A ZEBRA?

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students read the essay, "What, If Anything, Is a Zebra?" following a teacher made reading guide. They investigate cladistics, shared derived characteristics, with further online research to enhance their study of evolution and...
Lesson Plan
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Solar System Adventure

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students study the solar system and our galaxy, then write a science fiction story based on what they discover. They utilize worksheets and access websites imbedded in this plan to gain ideas for their stories.
Lesson Plan
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Introduction To Fractals: an Inquiry

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students evaluate a playful case study about a dog searching for fetching sticks to identify the steps in the science inquiry method. They read the case study and fill in a worksheet with the examples of questions, observations and...
Lesson Plan
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Rocks and Minerals Unit

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students test and identify minerals according to their physical properties. In this mineral analysis lesson, students brainstorm ways to identify rocks and list their ideas on chart paper. Students study samples in pairs and identify the...
Lesson Plan
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Whole Lotta Shakin Going On

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study how tectonic plates can produce earthquakes.  In this earthquake lesson students use a model earthquake machine to explore hypotheses about earthquakes. 
Lesson Plan
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Not So Lost in Space

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate how engineers navigate satellites in orbit around the Earth and on their way to other planets in the solar system. They study vocabulary words and participate in studying a satellite by learning about times and...
Lesson Plan
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Underwater Research

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students make transect and quadrat surveys using a provided worksheet in order to understand the techniques used to study coral reefs. Each type of survey is used to identify the species, diversity, and number of corals.
Lesson Plan
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Bones

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students listen to the song "Bone Song" as they enter the class. They identify the bones in the human body. Students are given the topic: Do body systems work together? Give an example. They work in groups of two and study the bones...
Lesson Plan
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It Bears Repeating!!!

For Teachers K - 5th
Students research bears and their characteristics with a specific study on North American bears and polar bears. In this bear study lesson, students read books about polar bears and wild bears. Students complete activities to further...
Lesson Plan
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Dimensional Analysis Problem Set

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students, after studying various pages of a NASA Web-based textbook, use dimensional analysis to verify actual aeronautic equations.
Lesson Plan
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The Acoustics House

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study how drums produce sound by building and playing a simple drum. They measure the diameter of their can, then mark a circle two inches larger in diameter on their piece of plastic with the marker or chalk, and cut out the...
Lesson Plan
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"The Emperor's New Clothes and Mahler's Ninth Symphony" Writing to Explain, Confidently and Efficiently, Even Physics!

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners combine their study of physics with their study of best practices when writing to inform. They communicate with experts using e-mail before creating a brochure based on their study of universal gravitation.
Lesson Plan
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Water and Ice

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students study the liquid and solid states of water. In this water states lesson, students complete three experiments to study water as it cycles from a liquid state to a solid state and back. Students finish with a Venn Diagram...
Lesson Plan
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Rain Forest

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study the Amazon tropical rain forest. In this rain forest lesson, students discuss the Manu Biosphere reserve and watch a video about conserving the rain forest. Students create mobiles for the rainforest that includes research...
Lesson Plan
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Galapagos Islands

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the science and geography related to the Galapagos Islands. In this ecosystem lesson, students locate the Galapagos Islands on a world map and discuss its significance in history. Students complete a vocabulary sheet,...