Curated OER
Centipede or Millipede?
Students discuss millipedes and centipedes in terms of their classification as arthropod. Using a diagram, students categorize and compare and contrast the characteristics of millipedes and centipedes based on their discussion of...
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Termite Trail Marking Behavior
Students examine termites and their trail-marking behaviors. They draw lines on paper with various ink pens and experiment to see which types of ink the termites follow--or which inks do and do not elicit trail marking behavior.
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What's in Our Woods?
Young scholars observe their local forest and document the change that occurs over the school year. For this forestry lesson, students utilize a GPS to mark a certain area of the woods as their study area for the remainder of the...
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"For the Birds" [part I]
Students identify birds that appear in Chinese and Japanese art, learning about
their physical characteristics, classifying them according to scientific principles, and exploring their habitats and migration patterns. This is part one...
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Adaptations To the Environment
Young scholars design and construct an imaginary animal that is perfectly adapted to a particular type of biome. They give the animal a scientific name, place it in a phylum and write descriptions about its behavior, reproduction,...
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Writing a Book About Farm Life
Second graders listen to the book, Pigaroom carefully. They create lists of animals that may be on the farm and then write their own books about farm life. They proofread their stories using editing checklists and exchange their paper...
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The Rat Experiment
Fifth graders observe two albino rats and write their observations in a science journal for two weeks. In rotation groups, they complete the necessary tasks to keep the rats fed and clean. They discuss the importance of eating healthy...
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Polar Food Web Comparison
Seventh graders practice the evaluation component of the scientific method while comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of the food chains and webs of polar animal life. They study about classification and ecology...
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Catch as Catch Can
Students investigate insects. In this insect analysis instructional activity, students catch insects using nets they make. They identify the insects they catch and create a chart to show the numbers and varieties. This instructional...
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Bears
Students complete a variety of bear-related activities. They sort and graph teddy bears, distinguish between real and non-real bears and research bear life cycles and habitats.
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Human Body Corp.
Learners investigate body systems by participating in a role-play activity. Third, fourth, and fifth graders pretend that they are an organ or system of the human body, and they must write a letter to the body "corporation" discussing...
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Desert Plant Detectives
Learners examine and categorize plants in their own schoolyard desert garden and then observe other plant areas of their schoolyard.
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Appearances Are Deceiving
Young scientists study creeks around their area to see how clean the water really is. One way to tell is by the invertebrate populations that are present. This lesson introduces a game which learners simulate a variety of species found...
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Plant Diversity and Distribution
Students construct a defined plot on school grounds and observed patterns in plant life. They count trees, shrubs, cacti and record on a data sheet. They compare data and generate a plant diversity overlook for their school.
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Bird Banners
Learners create banners for their classroom that contain the same information as field guides.
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Bat Ecology
Students, through hands on games and activities, discover how bats live and how bats benefit ecosystems. They play a game designed to show them how echolocation works and another to show how mother bats locate their young through their...
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Big Cat Locations
First graders explore different environments while studying the habitats of big cats. In this big cats lesson, 1st graders draw pictures of their favorite cats, learn about the areas where cats live, design a zoo habitat and make a...
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Adaptations to Environments with Mammals
Fifth graders, after viewing a PowerPoint on different mammals, analyze what a biome is. Then they choose a mammal to research and go outside to feel the grass and leaves and hypothesize about which biome they live in as well as its...
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Mr. Bones
Students play CD-ROM game My Amazing Human Body, and participate in relay game in Phys. Ed. where they put together skeleton on which body parts are labeled.
Curated OER
Embryology as Evidence of Evolution
Students observe the two major developmental pathways (protostome and deuterostome). They analyze data regarding differences in nucleotide sequences and construct a phylogenetic tree. They observe the similar evolutionary history shared...
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Reading on the Farm
Second graders study farm life. In this writing instructional activity, 2nd graders listen to "Pigaroo" and write their own story about farm life.
EnLiST
Trap Your Own Insects: What’s in Your Backyard?
Young entomologists construct three types of insect traps—pitfall, pollinator, and panel—before setting their traps out and observing what they caught. They then observe what types of insects the different traps attract.
Curated OER
Differences
Students observe and compare a variety of living things and pictures of living things to note their similarities and differences.