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Summer Science Lesson Plans
You can use these lesson plans to incorporate some science into your summer.
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Biotic Factors
Students identify individual organism, a species, and a population within the study community. They identify biotic factors at the site and attempt to characterize the site's species diversity.
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Hazard Mitigation: Bioterrorism
Students discuss different ways to spread infectious diseases. In this bioterrorism lesson, students model the rate of smoke emission using CalRoad software. They analyze the effects of airborne release of biological...
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Analyzing The Research Of The Earth
Students investigate the concept of technology. They are taught about various science applications and how the technology is used in the disciplines. Students pick a subject to research and then indicate the technologies related to it...
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Energeia -- Energy Diary Activity
Students identify the six types of energy. They write journal entries about each type and give examples. They participate in a lab activity in which the different types are examined as well.
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Watershed Management
Students investigate the concept of a watershed. They conduct research into the concept using a variety of resources. Students take a field trip to a local watershed to make observations. The outcome is a report concerning the outside...
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Automated Vehicle Programming Design
Students design a program to make an automated vehicle perform a specific task. In this robotics lesson, students play the role of scientists competing to win a factory's contract. They present their algorithm to class.
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Graphing Water Temperature
Students graph water temperature using probe software and a Palm on a class field trip to a lake or pond. Emphasis is placed on collaboration with high school science students and the use of ImagiProbe software.
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Wind Turbines
Students build their own wind turbine. In this physics lesson, students calculate the power output of their wind turbines. They evaluate their design and make the necessary modifications.
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What are Quarters Made of?
Students study the meaning, symbolism, and value of U.S. coins,
especially the quarter. They l research why in 1965 the U.S. Mint decided to
change the metal composition of the quarter to copper coated with zinc. In addition, they...
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Taking In The Heat
Students discover that different textured materials can absorb more heat than others. Students work with thermometers, clocks, and graphs.
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WATTS UP?
Second graders research the Internet as they classify different forms of energy, investigate electrical energy and how to conserve energy.
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Stratospheric Ozone
Students explore about the structure of Earth's atmosphere and about the stratospheric ozone. They discuss how it is produced and destroyed, where it is located, why it is important, and how it is changing. Students investigate about...
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Balloon Rocket
Students observe a balloon rocket and how it relates to Newton's Third Law of Motion. In this balloon rocket lesson plan, students make a balloon rocket out of balloons, clothespins, straw, fishing line, and duct tape.
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A Cut Above the Rest Administration Procedures
Students analyze how the Law of Conservation of Energy applies to the design and use of scissors. Working in groups, they determine the output work for a standard pair of scissors.
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Kites: Patang - The Indian Fighter Kite
Students investigate the history of fighter kites and build their own. In this aeronautics lesson, students discover how other countries utilize fighter kites and where they originated. Students create their own fighter kites...
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Coffee Cooling
Students explore the factors that affect how long coffee stays hot. They develop a question and a testable hypothesis for one factor such as initial temperature or size of opening of the container. Then they design and conduct an...
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Suburban Ecosystems
High schoolers conduct simple sampling of plant and insect biodiversity at ground level in two contrasting environments of their own choosing. They recognize and record different species then compare and contrast species numbers in the...
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Balsa Wood Airplane Flight and Speed Correlation
Ninth graders calculate the average speed of their balsa wood airplane. In this physics activity, 9th graders build their own airplane and make necessary modifications to to make it fly straight. They interpret distance and time graph...
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How Effective is Perspiration at Cooling?
Students collect data on the cooling of water in two different test tubes, one that is wrapped in wet newspaper and one in dry newspaper. They then relate this cooling effect to the body's perspiration.
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Are Enzymes Specific for Their Substrates?
Students discover enzyme to substrate specificity. The experiment uses samples of glucose and lactose in combination with the enzyme lactase. Students observe the reaction between the lactose and the lactase; the lack of a reaction...
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What Can We Lose? What Do We Lose as we Gain Force With A Lever?
Third graders view a demonstration of a teeter totter as a basis for assessing pre-knowledge of a lever. They create a KwL chart. Students work in small groups to conduct a variety of experiments. The first requires students to tie books...
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Using a Thermometer
First graders use their senses to formulate questions and make predictions to determine what is in the "Wonder Bag". They hold pieces of ice and examine while listing descriptors on a chart and then take their own temperature using an...
Alabama Learning Exchange
I'm so Crushed
As an experiment is demonstrated for them, learners write down their observations and brainstorm questions that can help them understand what they saw. After watching the experiment again—which demonstrates a soda can collapsing due to...