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Bouncing Balls

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students make observations of a bouncing ball and study how it travels.  In this height lesson students complete a lab activity and describe and explain the motion of the ball. 
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A Bat Year

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students create a project about bats. In this bat instructional activity, students monitor a bat's life for a year and record their monthly observations. They use websites and online sources to get information about the bats. 
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Visual Learning: A Slow, Press-ious Process

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students observe a photograph and make inferences.  In this investigative lesson students study how to find facts in pictures and draw inferences from them. 
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Physics at the Zoo

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students visit a local zoo and answer physics questions that are a part of zoo life.  In this zoo physics lesson students answer questions that have to do with the physics of animal size, their center of gravity and how animals travel.
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Radioactive Beans

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate radioactive atoms. In this radioactive beans lesson plan, students experiment with split peas and beans to determine what happens when a radioactive atom decays. 
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Cool! Awesome! What is it?

For Teachers 5th - Higher Ed
Students infer what a mysterious object is in a photo. In this inference lesson, students practice their scientific skills to identify what they see. Students enjoy solving the mysterious identity of objects and extending their knowledge...
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What's the Matter?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Learners investigate matter.  In this matter lesson, students identify types of matter and characteristics of each type.   Learners discuss matter and create matter posters to show understanding.
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Magic Mirror Box

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students observe a plywood box with mirrors. In this mirror and light lesson, students make informal, individual investigations with a plywood box that has been fitted with mirror squares. They use observation skills and investigate...
Worksheet
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Bird Research: Your First Investigation

For Students 4th - 5th
In this bird research worksheet, students keep a notebook and record their observations every day for a week about the birds they see with discussion questions at the end of the week.
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Touching Traits

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students describe objects using only their sense of touch. In this lesson on describing characteristics, students use only their sense of touch to describe an unseen object in a box. This lesson can be used an an introduction to plant...
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Solve the Mystery Photo

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners observe a mystery photo and use descriptive language to solve the mystery. In this descriptive language lesson plan, students use scientific observation to figure out a mystery photo. Learners rationalize their thoughts with...
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Help Save the Polar Bear

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students use ice cubes to demonstrate how the polar ice caps are melting and how it effects the polar bears. In this polar bear lesson plan, the teacher explains how polar bears live on the north pole and how they are having trouble due...
Worksheet
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Forming a Hypothesis

For Students 6th - 9th
In this hypothesis learning exercise, students read about how to form a hypothesis and how to collect observations. Students go through the 4 steps of forming a hypothesis.
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Bug Hunt

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students strengthen observational skills by searching for insects in their home and classroom. In this observation lesson plan, students use magnifying glasses to classify what kinds of bugs were found. Students then create a bar graph...
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Reading Our Neighborhood

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Learners explore their environment and what they can read. In this activity about signs, letters, and pictures in the neighborhood, students will observe what they see around them. Learners walk around and take pictures of different...
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Outdoor Activities: Taking Science Outside

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Students participate in various outdoor science activities to enhance their observation, classification, and analysis skills. In this outdoor lesson, students begin by observing a tree from a straightforward angle, then from the...
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Sprouting Sprouts!

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Students plant sprout seeds and make observations. In this lesson about planting, students make observations, predictions, and record information. Students analyze how the sprout plants grow and determine if any of the four sprout seeds...
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The Snowy Day Science Lesson

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Students listen to the story The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats in order to become interested in the world of snow. In this snow exploration lesson, students scoop up snow to make snowballs, measuring the amount of snow they use so each...
Worksheet
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Observation Journal

For Students 4th - 5th
In this ocean life worksheet, students observe the plants, animals, human activity, park rules/local laws, at a specific location. Students also observe any activity in neighborhoods, the water sources for the area, the water uses, and...
Worksheet
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Lab Report Template

For Students 6th - 9th
In this biology worksheet, students complete a lab report being as detailed as possible. They identify the problem or hypothesis. Then they write the procedures and record their findings. Students also analyze their results, discuss, and...
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Leaf Observations

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders examine a variety of leaves. In groups or individually, they write down their observations on each leaf type and compare them to each other. To end the instructional activity, they share their observations with the class...
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Wonderful Waves

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars read about water, waves and the sea. They experiment with the action of water by pouring water into baking pans and watching how it moves. They build and examine a 'wave bottle' by adding colored water and vegetable oil...
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Gathering Weather Information

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students watch a video of a recent weather disaster. Using the internet, they work together to examine the weather forecast for tomorrow and next week and discuss why it is important to know the weather. In groups, they use weather...
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Fossils

For Teachers 1st
First graders write a brief informational description of a real life object, person, place or event using information gained from observations. They create their own fossil imprints and write a brief description about the fossil that...