Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examining Spectra

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the spectra with the use of light while constructing their own spectroscope. They make observations about the colors and visible wavelengths of light and then conduct classroom discussions. As an extension students read...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Now and Then" Comparing Present Day with Medieval Times

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders compare a present-day social issue with a medieval issue. They use technology tools to conduct their research and demonstrate their new knowledge. Students present their findings to the class in the form of a PowerPoint.
Lesson Plan
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How has rice been produced throughout history?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research rice history. In this rice history lesson, 4th graders discover the farming methods used to cultivate rice. They read about the role of rice in many cultures. 
Lesson Plan
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Build An Island

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students explore erosion. In this science lesson, students build an island and observe the effects of erosion on the island. Students discuss freshwater ecosystems in Hawaii.
Lesson Plan
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Making Sedimentary Rocks

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students make models of sedimentary rock layers to explain how rocks form layers and represent ancient environments. Layers of sediment and fossils are added together to simulate the environment and connections to sedimentary rocks are...
Lesson Plan
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Natural Dyeing with Plants - Scientific Method

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Learners study the components of scientific investigation by planning and carrying out an experiment in natural dyeing, seeing if different kinds of metal dye pots affect the color one gets from the same plant material.
Lesson Plan
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Plate Tectonics: An "Eggs"periment

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students investigate plate tectonics by observing a cracked egg shell.  For this Earth science lesson, students draw borders of continents on an egg shell, only to watch it crack in a glass.  Students record the breakup of the...
Lesson Plan
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Food Preservation

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the different food canning methods and how to be safe canning.  In this canning lesson students examine the hazards of improperly canning. 
Lesson Plan
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HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: CLIMATE

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore the various global climates and apply cultural adaptations of the peoples in various zones due to climate.
Lesson Plan
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students view examples of Depression era images and relate them to chapters from Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this Maya Angelou lesson, students discuss chapters 8 and 9 from the text and define setting. Students...
Lesson Plan
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Coral Reef Ecology

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore coral life cycles. In this coral ecosystems lesson, students view videos explaining the life cycle of coral, including examples of sexual and asexual reproduction. Students read a related article cooperatively in groups,...
Lesson Plan
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What is Biocomplexity?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students dicuss different aspects of biocomplexity. They demonstrate synthesis of complex concepts by creating before and after posters expressing how the concepts of biocomplexity have ben internalized. Students define the term...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Reading

For Teachers 1st - 4th
After examining a map from 1803 and 2003, they explore how to become map readers. They describe what they see on the map from 1803 and compare the information to the map from 2003. Learners create their own map of the neighborhood that...
Lesson Plan
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What are Rocks and Minerals? How can they help us?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders investigate the difference between rocks and minerals. They name the three kinds of rocks (sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic) and know the differences between them.
Lesson Plan
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Night Hike

For Teachers 5th - Higher Ed
Students explore Upham Woods at night and investigate about the special adaptations of nocturnal animals. They identify three nocturnal animals and how they are adapted to the night. Students explain what night vision is and how it works.
Lesson Plan
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Where's the Sand?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners identify the characteristics of deserts. For this geography lesson plan, students discuss the characteristics of a desert and label a map with the names of deserts.
Lesson Plan
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Let's Take a Rock Apart

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students take a crushed rock and sort the remains of the rock minerals into different categories based on the different properties. In this sorting lesson plan, students learn what makes up a rock and how to sort something into categories.
Lesson Plan
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From Ground to Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore groundwater and issues relating to groundwater. They discus the problems involving groundwater. Students write a newspaper story addressing groundwater problems. They create a comic strip addressing groundwater...
Lesson Plan
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Birds of Wisconsin

For Teachers 1st
First graders explore the job done by ornithologists. They role play identifying the characteristics that make a bird a bird. They discuss what makes each bird species unique. Students are introduced to Wisconsin's most common and rare...
Lesson Plan
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Particle Size and Oil Production

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students investigate how permeable different materials are. In this physics lesson, students determine what affects permeability and how permeability relates to oil production.
Lesson Plan
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The Need For Shelter

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders build a shelter to protect themselves from rain. They perform durability and water proof testing on the shelters. They make observations of plants found in the Amazon rainforest.
PPT
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Tic Tac Know Kingdoms

For Teachers 4th - 5th
In this PowerPoint, students participate in a variation of tic tac toe in which questions about the animal and plant kingdom are presented and students move to various locations on the game board.
Lesson Plan
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Why is My Honey Runny?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars identify the factors that affect viscosity of substances. In this chemistry instructional activity, students define what viscosity is in their own words. They give real world applications of viscosity.
Lesson Plan
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Animal Research Project

For Teachers 1st
First graders are introduced to the topic of researching by the librarian. Using a worksheet, they use various sources in the library to choose one animal from various groups. They complete a fact sheet on each animal and report their...