Curated OER
Selecting Soil Organisms in Compost
Learners conduct an experiment to demonstrate that many of the enzyme systems needed to break down society's wastes exist in nature among the decomposers in a compost pile. They culture compost bacteria on starch agar to examine the...
Curated OER
Weightlessness
Pupils predict the behavior of coffee in a cup while it is dropped during a demonstration. They relate their observations to the weightless conditions that astronauts experience in space and discuss the concept of free-fall.
Curated OER
Think Green
Students experience and practice compositing and recycling through hands-on-activities. They distinguish between which items from their trash can be recycled, composted and reused. The process for making recycled paper is also covered in...
Curated OER
When Fish Die
Students discuss what to do with a very sick fish and help it to die without much pain. As a class, they answer questions about the fish and if they believe it is suffering or not. Using their own experiences, they share how they dealt...
Curated OER
Ions in the Environment
Students explain the importance of the five main biogeochemical cycles. In this chemistry lesson, students discuss how ions are transported in the environment. They design an experiment to collect data on eutrophication.
Curated OER
Day and Night
Students using experiments try to demonstrate how observations can be affected by the cycles of night and day.
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Seeds and Similarities
Students use the scientific inquiry method to identify the changes in a plant's life cycle. In groups, they plant different types of plants and use a chart to compare and contrast their growth rates. They share their conclusions with...
Curated OER
Can Fun Gus Help Plants/Trees Grow?
Students participate in an experiment in which they test the growth of different types of plants. They discover how growth rates vary using inoculum. They draw pictures and are read books about plants to end the lesson.
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The Principles Of Composting
Students put items in a plastic bag and watch the effects of composting. While completing the experiment, students answer questions and ask permission to start their own compost pile at home.
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Population Dynamics of Growth of Drosophila
Students experiment with Drosophila to determine if density of female flies, food sources, temperature and light affect the population dynamics of growth. Students graph their data and compare their results to the number of human...
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Genes and Aging
Young scholars explore genes and the way we age. They assemble a worm collection device called a Baermann Funnel. Students collect Caenorhabditis elegans or other active nematodes from local soil samples. They observe the appearance...
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Life in a Forest Stream
Students assess macro-invertebrates from a stream. In this science lesson plan, students observe, classify and identify organisms found in a stream. A lab station is constructed at the stream sight and students study the different...
Curated OER
Collaborative Tall Tale Lesson Plan
Using Keynote, pupils will collaborate with their peers to create a tall tale. Each person in the group will participate by creating slides, adding text, and recording their voice. Tip: Have each group present their tall tales to the...
Curated OER
Multiplying Microbes
Ninth graders investigate the techniques of culturing bacteria. They culture bacteria using agar plates. Students identify and describe some environmental conditions that effect bacteria growth.
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Soil Permeability
Students discuss how soil permeability is affected by permafrost. In this soil lesson plan, students freeze soil over night, and discuss how the environmental conditions of freezing affect soil and further affect vegetation.
Curated OER
Layers of the Earth
In this layer of the earth worksheet, students label and color each layer of the earth. Then students are asked to describe each layer below.
Curated OER
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
In this seasons worksheet, students cut out the picture cards at the bottom of the page, sort the pictures and paste them with the matching season.
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Making a Rainstick
Students construct a rainstick. In this music lesson plan, students investigate the history of the rainstick by reading the book Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema. Students express their feelings about the rain and...
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Animal Sounds
Students listen to books about animals. In this animal sound and characteristics lesson, students listen to books and a tape of animal and then identify which animal makes that sound. Students discuss and act out how the animal acts.
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Solid Waste Recycling
Learners seek scientific and technological solutions to envrionmental problems. They record class activities in a journal. They identify relationships among living things and their environments.
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Breaking it Down
High schoolers will identify the factors that contribute to erosion and weathering. They will start by differentiating between chemical and mechanical weathering. They then apply what they learned by playing the online jeopardy game. Key...
Columbus City Schools
Photosynthesis and Respiration
Thirty percent of the world's oxygen is produced by rainforests found throughout the world. Seventh grade learners explore the processes of photosynthesis and respiration through 10 days of labs, manipulatives, and discussions. They...
Illinois Valley Community College
STEM Activities for Middle School Students
Use STEM activities within the class to provide connections to concepts. The resource includes activities that range from working with buoyancy to building rockets and launching them. Other activities involve the engineering design...
Curated OER
Connect the Spheres: Earth Systems Interactions
Is everything really connected? Take your class on a walk outside, where they will make observations and write them down on a worksheet. Once they are back in the classroom, learners will work to determine if and how things like birds,...