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What is a Watershed?
Students create a classroom size model of a landscape to define the concept of a river watersheds. They spread crumbled newspapers around the floor to simulate different elevations then cover the whole landscape with a sheet. They pour...
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Group Research Project on Frog Habitats
Students identify and research a frog habitat in small groups and compile a report to present to the class on the physical characteristics of their frog's environment. Students create a map illustrating areas in the world where their...
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Wild Habitats
Students research and Illustrate the natural habitats of giraffes and other animals imported into ancient Rome. They draw a map of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia and draw the animals that come from each region in their proper places.
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Communications: To the Rescue!
Students role-play as soldiers rescuing lost mountain climbers. Working in teams, they interpret maps to locate the climbers and use flashlights to send and receive coded messages about the rescue. Their goal is to complete the task in...
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Our Cultural Classroom
Second graders are introduced to the cultural diversity within their own classroom and relate this diversity to community, country and world. They create a visual family culture poster containing different aspects of their personal culture.
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Volcanoes:How Safe Are They?
Learners explore volcanoes, locate them on maps, record general information about volcanoes, and organize information on a fact sheet.
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Rainforest Resources
Students explore products of the rainforest. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students discover the resources that the rainforest holds and examine products from the rainforest used around the world.
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Cultural Comparison
Students choose from a group of entries about the culture of Peru. In this Peruvian culture lesson, students understand the definition of culture. Students describe the culture of Peru researched in the entry and complete a worksheet.
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Reservoir Activity
Students research the economic importance of the major reservoirs in Illinois. In groups, they manage a budget for one of the lakes to promote tourism in the area. They also work together to create advertisements.
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U.S. Place Names Show Our Diversity
Students study place names for different area in the US and determine why they were named in such a way. They examine maps to look at the religious names, "new" beginning names, and copy cat names. They complete a word search to find...
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Careers With an Aquatic Emphasis
Students are introduced to careers with an aquatic emphasis. They take a self-evaluation test on what they enjoy in school to determine which career is right for them. They listen to people in the field discuss what their job is like.
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Go West My Class
Students find data that can be mapped on the Factfinder Web page. They analyze the data from the web site and state recommendations on whether a person should live in Illinois or not based on their preferences.
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Developing a Gateway to the West
Students identify various topographical features that contribute to the growth of a city. They identify how military strategies contribute to the growth of a city.
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Possible Locations
Middle schoolers create maps with cutout pieces of paper that represent caverns. They develop a scale for their map and decide where the best location is to live. They discover the importance of map reading skills.
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Interpreting Aerial Photographs
Students interpret aerial photographs. They view aerial photographs or satellite-produced images to locate and identify physical and human features. They study satellite images and label their images for bodies of water, clouds,...
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Regions: Meet the Experts Presentation
Students gather information and create a web site on prairies and plains using a variety of resources, including the internet.
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The Heartland
Students note how personal perceptions influence the understanding of what a region. They look at an agricultural map of what is considered to be the Heartland of the US. They read the words to George Strait's, America's Heartland to see...
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Female Artists
Students listen to excerpts from "History of Women Artists for Students" and discuss the artwork of three artists. They compare and contrast the styles of art and investigate a CD-Rom of famous artists.
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Go West With Lewis and Clark! Scavenger Hunt
In this Lewis and Clark scavenger hunt activity, students participate in an Internet scavenger hunt to answer five questions regarding the Lewis and Clark expedition.
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Lesson Plan on Important Citizens in the American Civil War
Students, in groups, half representing the Confederacy, half the Union, conduct research to find out about important Civil War era citizens from each side. They explore the effect these people had on the war and what effect the war had...
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Lesson 24: The Great Chicago Fire Survivors
Students, in groups, explore the Great Chicago Fire. They decide which moment from the fire is significant and create a story corner.
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Using the Software Program "Kid-Pix"
Students create a slideshow using the software program Kid-Pix. They use the differences in rocks and minerals for their presentation. They also demonstrate different ways to import and save pictures using the program.
Agriculture in the Classroom
Build it Better
If you think you can do better, feel free to give it a try. Pupils learn about the work on Temple Grandin and consider ways to improve animal handling facilities. They work in groups to build models to showcase their ideas.