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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Universe: Designed or Evolved?

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students brainstorm and write arguments for Evolution and Intelligent Design. They research the history of each of these ideas. They also examine the controversy of teaching one or both ideas in schools.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Is Evolution Controversial?

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Learners explore why evolution has always been a controversial topic. They use scientific process to determine patterns and to critically analyze alternative explanations for natural phenomena.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Is Evolution Controversial?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the legal side of the teaching of evolution. They study the Scopes Trial and reflect on what it means for a teacher to be denied the right to teach a key scientific concept. In addition, they design their own editorial...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Was Charles Darwin?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students complete two activities to study Charles Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection. They read Darwin's journal from the voyage of the Beagle and look at the scientific ideas that influenced the development of his theory.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is the Nature of Science?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars examine videos of field researach to discover the components of the scientific process. Using forms, they conduct community surveys about the nature of science. They research the extinction of dinosaurs and compare...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History Theory of Evolution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify fossils. They identify evidence of change over time when given pictures of fossils to determine the proper sequencing. In addition, they determine evolutionary relationships by comparing embryonic structures.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Spring

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students examine lichens in an outside field trip. Students explore the diversity of this organism and ask questions about them.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

All in the Family: Calculating Cousins

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students view pictures of distant "cousins" to humans. They place them in order by their distance from humans. Students receive a packet of six pages featuring graphics and a cousins summary page. They work in groups to complete 5 cousin...
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Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Science Pen Pals

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners explore the scientific career of Benjamin Franklin. In this science lesson, students discuss Franklin's correspondence with other scientists and write letters describing Benjamin Franklin's experiments.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Walking on Thin Ice

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine scientific evidence of changes in the Arctic ice cover. They participate in a simulation of an international conference and debate the relationship between global warming and changes in the arctic ice cover.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics Writing Assignment

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Learners complete a writing assignment focused on the use of data to support the theory of plate tectonics. They access data using the "Our Dynamic Planet" CDROM, capture images of the data plots, and incorporate them into their writing. T
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We, the First People

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars explore new support regarding the earliest peopling of America by examining multiple theories on the migration of the first people to America, investigating related archaeological finds, and creating research-based...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art and Anatomy: The Vitruvian Teen

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders create an artistic version of a Vetruvian teen. In this anatomy lesson, 12th graders design an experiment to test the theory of the ideally proportioned man. They present their findings in class.
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

The History and Nature of Science

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Use children's literature, coupled with hands on lessons, to teach the history and nature of science.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's the Law

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explain various scientific laws used in SCUBA diving. In this theory based lesson, students examine and explain how temperature, density, and salinity relate to SCUBA diving using various scientific laws to engage their learning.
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 9

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Here's a workshop for teachers that rocks the academic world! Using earthquakes as a medium for instruction, educators learn about crosscutting engineering with science. Fun, hands-on, collaborative exercises encourage participants to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dogs and Turnips

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students attempt to assemble a meaningful sentence by successively turning over cards with words on them. They try to deduce the meaning of a selection while having access to only a limited selection of words.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using several learning modalities to teach about the Periodic Table.

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Young scholars identify how to relate the position of an element in the periodic table to its atomic number and atomic mass. They identify how to use the periodic table to identify metals, semimetals, nonmetals, and halogens, and also,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Critical Analysis of Evolution

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders discuss anomalies in nature and science. They discuss times that anomalies led to the collection of data that explained the phenomena and contributed to changing scientific understandings. Students work in groups to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Puzzle of the Ice Age Americans

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students describe alternative theories for how the first humans came to the Americas, and explain evidence that supports or contradicts these theories. They examine the role of skepticism in scientific inquiries.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wegener and Plate Tectonics: A Hands-On Lesson

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners are introduced to and experiment with the basic concepts of plate tectonic theory as well as assess the history of the theory of plate tectonics. They explain and illustrate the basic concepts through diagrams and models of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Puzzle of the Ice Age Americans

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students describe alternative theories for how the first humans cane to America.  For this human origin lesson students study the origins of the first Americans. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy: Exploring Alternative Forms

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In the study of science, there is always going to be research, data, theories and wonderful new discoveries. I feel that my interest about energy will help me design an adequate unit full of intrigue and discovery. The students should...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing Microscopic Organisms in Fresh and Polluted Water: An Invitation To Inquiry

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students have the opportunity to develop and formulate ideas and explanations through the scientific standard of inquiry. They identify organisms by using an identification key for specific aquatic geographical area.