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Origins
Students trace the history of the invention of everyday objects. They brainstorm a list of curios objects and watch a video clip showing an example of tracing the origins of squeezable ketchup. In small groups, they choose an item to...
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Pollution Solution!
Young scholars listen to the story "Clean Air, Dirty Air" by Lynne Patchett and discover the main types of pollution and how these affect their bodies. In this pollution lesson, students work in small groups to create a machine to...
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Heart Mobiles In Action
Students design a mobile or wall hanging that reviews the circulatory system. In this circulatory system lesson, students work in small groups to identify the structures of the heart, and create a model in the form of a two or three...
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Island Biogeography
Students work in small groups to sort through photos of an ecosystem following a major disturbance. They place these photos in chronological order to show the process of succession. They then do an experiment with yeast to show the...
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Winding Up
Students make simple drawings to show how winding machines work. They gain knowledge of what winding mechanisms are and how they work and are assembled. This lesson is divided into whole group, individual and small group activities.
National Geographic
Rescuing, Relocating, and Rehabilitating Wildlife
Bring up the Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Display the colorful diagram of the coastal and marine organisms living in the area. Show a video about relocating the eggs of the Gulf's sea...
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Geology: Famous Rock Groups
Fourth graders, in groups, use books to identify types of rocks. They examine the rocks and complete rock evidence charts. Students compose definitions for each rock type and determine uses for igneous rocks by early mankind.
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Spies That Fly
Students view a video clip about spy planes. They identify the challenges engineers face in building small aircraft. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson.
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Newton Rocket Car
Learners observe a demonstration of Newton's third law of motion using a small wooden car. They discuss Newton's third law of motion and what happens to motion if the mass or acceleration is increased, construct their car, and record...
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Climate Mime-it
Students pantomime new climate vocabulary words. In this climate lesson, students go over new vocabulary words and their meanings. Students form groups and pantomime these word's definitions.
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Fishing For The Future
Students participate in a simulation using M&M's that highlights Garrett Hardin's concept of the "tragedy of the commons." They use the activities to study sustainability issues in the fishing industry.
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What's My Pattern?
Students recognize, describe and extend patterns in three activities. They organize data, find patterns and describe the rule for the pattern as well as use the graphing calculator to graph the data to make and test predictions. In the...
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Planning for and Surviving Earthquakes
Students work in small groups to explore the FEMA for Kids site. They take the role of FEMA officials. Student list three items they may need to survive an earthquake. They complete a worksheet and discuss their results with the rest of...
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Micro-Organisms
Students investigate microscopic life by viewing video clips. In this organisms lesson, students view photographs and video clips on the internet of micro-organisms and discuss the harms and benefits of the creatures. Students complete...
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Protecting the Past: Give a Hoot, Don't Loot!
Students, in small groups, simulate an ancient civilization and the art they created, another group represents vandals, and the final group represents archaeologists who try to figure out what life was like for the "ancient peoples". ...
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Water Filtration
Students design a filtration system using three filtration materials. In this water filtration activity, students conduct an experiment with their filtration systems. Students present their systems to the class. Group results are...
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Create a Microbe
Students construct models of microorganisms recognizing size relationships-comparing the size of viruses with the sizes of bacterial and eukaryotic cells. They put into perspective just how small microbes are by comparing the size of...
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Create a Country
Students work in small groups to list features and elements found on a variety of grade- appropriate maps. They develop a class list of map features and elements to draw from as they create a map of an imaginary country.
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Rome: Republic to Empire
Sixth graders discuss the rise of Rome from a republic to a dictatorship. In small groups, they role-play as congress people debating whether or not to give the president more powers. In another activity, 6th graders produce television...
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A Moon with a View
Third graders explore the rotation of Earth and the moon. In this solar system activity, 3rd graders participate in an Earth and moon simulation in which part of the class "becomes" the sun, while other children represent the moon by...
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Water Power
Students explore how a water turbine operates and observe the principles of the water turbine. They account for the speed of the water turbine by various experiments and records of test results. In groups the students create a working...
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Food Safety Lab-Part 3 Cross Contamination andHygiene
Students observe the effect of croos contamination as they inoculate orange juice with penicillin mold from the refrigeration lab and active yeast solution from the sterilization lab. They experience a simulation of passing bacteria...
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Small Wonders
Students investigate some of the 'mysteries' of the animal, marine and insect worlds, and create student books explaining their findings to younger students.
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Talking Trees: Earth Day
Students complete a tree poster activity to learn about Earth Day, stewardship, and the environment. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students read The Story of the Tree and discuss stewardship with trees. Students act out tree...