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The Great Fossil Find - Reconstructing the Pieces
Students go on an imaginary fossil hunt. They follow a script read by the teacher, students "find" (remove from envelope) paper "fossils" of some unknown creature. They attempt to reconstruct fossil pieces into an animal.
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The Checks Lab
Learners, in teams, have an envelope containing a series of bank checks. A few are removed at a time, and the team attempts to construct a plausible scenario which involves those checks.
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Volatile Volcanoes
Students explore volcanoes. In this cross curricula lesson, students use the Internet to investigate volcanoes. The series of six lesson guides the students in their search for information, thus building research...
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You do! We do! We all Scream for Haiku!
Haikus offer a way to explore new ideas for teaching poetry, science, and math.
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Aquaculture: Down on the Salmon Farm
Learners examine the changing practices of aquaculture. They discuss the short term and long term consequences stemming from fish farming.
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Soil Testing and Texturing
Young scholars are introduced to soil textures and why they are important in examining soil quality. They find out how to feel the difference between soil textures. Pupils describe which soil texture is best for gardens and growing...
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Creating AB Patterns
Students work with patterns. In this pattern lesson, students find AB patterns in nature and the manmade world. They create their own AB pattern using math manipulatives and visual arts.
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Stranger Than Fiction
Students reflect on the importance of science literacy. They review the year's science curriculum by reading, discussing and writing questions on teacher-selected New York Times articles and the related science content.
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Disaster Cycles
Students explore what causes natural disasters. In this environmental lesson plan, students will spend four weeks using activities to help in their understanding of the Hydrological Cycle, Hurricanes, Plate Tectonics, and the Recovery...
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Making Cladograms
Students construct cladograms (evolutionary trees), showing how shared derived characters can be used to reveal degrees of relationship. They interpret and analyze cladograms, and determine where unclassified vertebrates would fit on a...
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Finding the Ages of Rocks and Fossils
Students practice dating fossils. They learn the concept of "deep time"--that earth was formed billions of years ago. They experience excellent hand-outs and virtual age tutorial links.
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A STEP IN SPECIATION
Students place different subspecies of a CA salamander are placed on grid map of CA according to where samples were collected. Then discuss patterns of their distribution, their likely evolutionary relationships, and probable sequence of...
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The Upper Palouse Restoration Project
Students become competent, to collect, record, and interpret information about a particular project they are undertaking. They apply the data and interpret them to analyze the environmental impact of a restoration project.
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The Cytochrome-C Lab
Students examine a method biologists use to try to determine relationships. They examine how amino acid sequences have been determined for a number of proteins, and how scientists can make inferences about DNA based on the amino acid...
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Integrating Art Into Other Content Areas
Here are some ideas to help add an art lesson to every math, science, social studies, or language arts unit.
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VARVES: Dating Sedimentary Strata: Geology, Paleontological Patterns
Young scholars count the number of varves (annual layers of sediment) in shale billets, taken from the Green River Formation in Wyoming. The count is then extended to reflect the entire 260 meters of sediments where the billets originated.
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Creating Coacervates
Students create and observe coacervates. For this origin of life lesson, students create coacervates by mixing carbohydrate and protein solutions. They observe the life-like qualities of the structures and discuss the origin of life.
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PRIMATE CLASSIFICATION: Evolution, Cladograms,
Students transfer examples (names) of primates from their location in an outline hierarchy of primate groups into a set of nested boxes reflecting that same hierarchy. A cladogram can then be drawn illustrating how these groups are...
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Investigating Evolutionary Questions: Bats, Whales, Reptiles, Birds, Animal Classification
Students are guided through a process in which three questions are addressed by retrieving beta hemoglobin sequences from online databases, and using online tools to compare those sequences in student-selected animals.
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Fishing
Students explore the techniques and basic needs of the fisherman. In this fishing lesson, students view a demonstration of the use of fishing equipment. Students research Iowa farm ponds and design a class mural from their...
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Alice Computer Programming
Middle schoolers explore multimedia components. In this science inquiry lesson, students read "Invitation to the Game" by Monica Hughes and they use the Alice Computer Programming System to better understand population dynamics.
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Bringing Forestry into the Classroom
Here are ways to incorporate science, math, and language arts while learning more about the forests that sustain us.
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Surrounded by Radiation
Students explore ways in which people are constantly exposed to naturally occurring and man-made sources of radiation. They create and play a board game featuring different hypothetical scenarios of radiation exposure.
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Mutualism and Co-evolution A study of Flowering Plants and their Pollinators: Biology, Plants
These lessons use a variety of methods and approaches to teach flowering plant biology which includes seed germination; plant growth and food production through photosynthesis; plant transpiration and respiration; sexual reproduction...