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What It Is, What It Isn't
Third graders classify and sort different types of beans to be introduced to the classification system in science. As a class, they identify the characteristics of living and non-living organisms and make a chart in their journal to ...
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Ask An Expert
Students invite community members to visit the classroom and interview them about water in the community. Students prepare for, conduct, and follow up an interview and record their responses in their Water Journals.
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Where's Up?
Fifth graders brainstorm answers to the question why compasses point north. In groups, they use introduce the needle to the different ends of the magnet. They place the needles in a styroform disk and record their results in their...
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Local and Global Impacts
Students conduct an interview with Dr. Hajo Eicken to discuss local and global impacts. They hold an audio conference to ask about characteristics of the Arctic environment, climate, climate change, the greenhouse effect and global...
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Plants Under Attack
Third graders will identify the four needs for plant survival and gain skills and confidence in using scientific measurement tools, probes as well as the spreadsheets and graphing capacity of a computer to represent and analyze data.They...
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Inquiry Lesson About Color
Pupils investigate the color choices artists make in their work, and to practice the scientific process of predicting, observing, inferring, and interpreting. This lesson's purpose is to prepare students for a museum visit.
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Calculate Your Contribution
Learners assess the environmental impact of their transportation choices. They keep a transportation journal and use a website to calculate vehicle emissions for themselves and their class. They evaluate their transportation choices.
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North Dakota Plants with Lewis and Clark
Tenth graders identify native plants of North Dakota. They compare the plants found on native prairie with the plants described in the Lewis and Clark journals. They present the information they have collected in an electronic format...
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Observing, Describing, And Identifying Contrails
Students compare the three types of contrails that are produced by aircraft exhaust. They examine pictures of contrails on the internet to classify each as short lived, persistent or persistent spreading. They then sketch examples in...
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What's In the Dirt?
Third graders watch a demonstration and write in their journals their predictions about how time might affect the moisture in the two paper towels. Using a Berlese funnel, they record their observations when it comes the amount of...
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Thanksgiving: Bird Evolution
Learners explore the evolution of birds. In this biology lesson, students research articles that discuss evidence about the ancestry of birds. They discuss their findings with the group and draw a journal magazine cover highlighting...
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Using Your Marbles - Volume Measurement and Reporting
Demonstrate how to measure the volume of liquids and solids immersed in liquid to your class. They observe a teacher-led demonstration, and in small groups construct a data table that demonstrates how many marbles were used and the...
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Crazy Critters
Eighth graders visit a local park to collect insects. They record the habitats, identify the insect and write a report including the kingdom, phylum, class, and order.
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Nature Notes
Pupils spend some time outdoors and record their observations of abiotic conditions, geologic surroundings and living organisms. They reflect and write about the experience of being observant in nature.
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Birds and Birdfeed
Fourth graders examine the basic survival needs of birds before examining a suet ball as an example of what birds eat. They conduct an experiment with pine cones, bird seed, vaseline, and peanut butter. By observing the birds, they...
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Creature Seekers
Does it actually exist? Consider the sighting of a giant squid, much like the one that appears in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Middle and high schoolers read the article One Legend Found, Many Still to Go, and research other mysterious...
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Length
Third graders examine and explore a variety of ways to measure length. They discuss how to measure large objects using the end-to-end method, and in small groups measure the length of the room using the end-to-end method with a...
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Natural Inquirer Ecosystem Article Lesson
Young scholars discover new ways to preserve the ecosystem by completing graphic organizers. In this environmental lesson, students read an article from the Natural Inquirer in small groups and fill out a graphic organizer based on...
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Standard One: Lab Design and Appendix A Lab Skills
In this lab design and lab skills worksheet, students answer questions about experimental design including finding variables, determining controls, and graphing data. They answer questions about microscopy and label the parts of a...
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You're the Scientist
Students explore ways to assess the accuracy and reliability of data reported by Journey North observers.
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Oil Spills
Third graders examine the San Francisco oil spill and the effects it has had. In this investigative lesson plan students view a demonstration on oil clean up and how it works. They see how wildlife is rehabilitated, how the...
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E.T., Are You Out There?
Research the necessary components of a planet that supports life after reading the article "All of a Sudden, The Neighborhood Looks a Lot Friendlier" from The New York Times. After finding their information, middle and high schoolers...
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Genetics
Become familiar with the basic concepts of inheritance. Your junior high students work through mulitple examples of crosses and calculate probabilities of trait occurance. The explain the concept that each parent contributes one half of...