American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Sensing
There is a scallop that relies on sight so much that it actually has more than 100 eyes! There are many species that rely heavily on one sense or another. An online interactive resource has youth read about several of these animals. The...
It's About Time
Response Time
How fast are your reactions in the case of an emergency? Young scholars complete many activities including: time estimation, building a circuit, multiple reaction time experiments, and graphing.
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Energy Defined
Fourth graders complete activities to study the sources of energy and forms. In this energy lesson, 4th graders discuss the origin of energy and define it. Students participate in several experiments to further study energy including a...
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How We See Things
Students explain that when a beam of light is reflected from its surface, it changes direction. In this virtual science experiment lesson plan, students complete an activity that requires them to investigate how flat mirrors reflect...
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Let's Learn About Energy Sources
Second graders identify at least four energy sources through sensory experiences.
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"Sakura Sakura" and the Kumoijoshi Scale of Japan
Learners listen to a recording of "Sakura" and determine where it is from. In this global sound lesson, students view pictures of cherry blossoms and connect its significance to Japanese culture. Learners sing the score while...
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The Sound of Calm
Students examine the relationships that exist between ocean currents, wind and climate. Using those relationships, they discuss how they affect the oceans. They create their own music to represent the sounds of the ocean and share them...
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Keep It Hot
Students design and conduct an experiment to explore the insulating abilities of different materials for keeping a liquid in a paper cup warm. A small group of lab partners test four different materials: black paper, white paper,...
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How Do Bats Navigate At Night?
Through an experiment, learners explore how bats use echolocation. First, they discuss how sound travels through air waves. Then, they talk about the ways bats navigate in the dark. As an extension, they can write about what they have...
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Using Imagery To Introduce the Endocrine System
Students listen with closed eyes to a story that starts in a relaxed tone and ends in a scream. They list the body reactions they experience: fast heart rate, shaking, etc. and hypothesize the reason for the reactions. They explore the...
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Buoyancy: Who Sank the Boat?
Students examine whether objects will sink or float. In this buoyancy lesson students bring in objects and experiment to see if they sink or float.
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Ordinary People: Guided Imagery
After reading chapter six of Ordinary People with your class, conduct this activity with your class. Turn the lights down, put on your softest voice, and have them try to imagine that they lost a close friend. Then, encourage them to...
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Nature and Characteristics of Waves
Seventh graders research different types of waves, identify the parts of a wave and create a Power Point presentation demonstrating what they have learned.
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Circuit Boards
Students explore circuit boards. They determine that a complete circuit is needed to light the bulbs, experiment with the boards to develop strategies for finding where the hidden connections are, and develop strategies that can be used...
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Convection Currents
Students explain and understand the circulation of air in the atmosphere. They identify that energy can be carried from one place to another by heat flow or by waves, including water, light and sound waves, or by moving objects. ...
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Rocks and Soils
Students compare the properties of rocks and relate these properties to their use. They perform a virtual experiment to describe and group rocks on the basis of their characteristics.
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Reversible and irreversible changes
Students experiment with solids and liquids to find which solids will dissolve in water. This dissolution and mixtures lesson can be completed online or in class as all materials are connected to the lesson plan for both settings.
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Friction
Students compare and contrast the movement of objects on different surfaces, experimenting with friction and forces of motion. This friction lesson has numerous online tools including worksheets and virtual activities; the option is also...
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Five Senses Lesson Plan
Students listen to The Brave Little Monster, by Ken Baker. For this five senses lesson, students identify the different senses that characters experience in the book they are listening to. They review the senses as a class with hands on...
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Electromagnetic and Physical Waves
Students compare and contrast electromagnetic and physical waves. In this wave lesson, students discover that all waves reflect, refract, and diffract energy. Students work in small groups to experiment with waves and evaluate the type...
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Natural Disasters
Learners create an expressive painting documenting their experience of a storm. They create a slide show presentation comparing and contrasting the impact and the response to a natural disaster in the 19th century with the impact...
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Lesson Plan Seven: Sensorama
Students identify five senses, and use their senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste to distinguish different objects, sounds, smells and tastes, and write their answers in the booklet.
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Farming in the 1930's
Students research and conduct experiments with several types of simple machines. They examine levers, pulleys, inclined planes, wheels, axles, wedges and screws and then consider the physics behind "Green Eggs and Ham".
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Monarch Migration
Third graders investigate the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. They experiment with various tools to simulate the mouth parts of insects, conduct research, record their observations of butterflies hatching, write a play, complete...