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Make an Alarm!
Young scholars read the story, Dear Mr. Henshaw. They build an alarm system for something in the classroom, as the main character Leigh does to protect his lunchbox from thieves. Students explore alarms and use their creativity to create...
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Strum Along
Students engage in a instructional activity which takes something constructed by the class, that would be normally classified as just sound, then work together to make what can be perceived to be music. Students construct a basic...
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Taking the Boat to Manaus
Fifth graders apply the concepts they know regarding mass, volume and density in the previous activities to design a boat. Student teams must make a boat which can travel the waters of the Amazon Rainforest. Each group makes a...
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Home Living/ Daily Living: Food Groups
What are the best foods to eat, and how much is too much? Kids discuss the importance of eating the right amount of each of the four food groups. They discuss the food pyramid and make meals by cutting and pasting foods from a magazine...
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Inventions- The Impact
Young scholars investigate inventions and the impact they can have on people. In this technology lesson plan, students research Thomas Edison and discuss how the invention of the light bulb impacted others. Young scholars sketch out an...
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Marine Sanctuaries
Middle schoolers delve into diverse marine ecosystems and the problems they face. They discover students the national marine sanctuaries found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and off the coast of American Samoa.
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Ships 3: Grand Designs And Great Failures
Students engage in this, the third in a three-part series on ships. The overall lesson series is designed to allow students to extend their understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and testing...
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Sizing Up The Solar System
Students investigate and design various models of size and distance related to the solar system. They work together to build a solar system model. The models should focus on distance and scale. They don't include moons or satellites in...
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Sorting
Students examine Library organization. In this logic instructional activity, students watch a Between the Lions episode and consider how the library has been organized. Students each list their 3 favorite book titles and how they would...
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Forensic Detectives: Archaeology at Work
Dig in! Middle schoolers learn about archaeology by exploring the remnants of the Chiribaya bodies found in Illinois. Compare archaeological investigations, and then write a mystery detailing the discovery of a body! Consider bringing in...
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Community Action
Fifth graders decide how one uses resources within a particular bioregion. In this decision making lesson, 5th graders consider the biodiversity and complexity of the ecosystem. Students select a resource (water, paper, electricity)...
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Independence and Conservation
Students read an original story "Brothers of the Rainforest" downloaded from the internet site provided. Students investigate the impact of the demise of a particular species on the rest of the environment. Students participate in a...
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If the Forests Could TAlk
Third graders research insects using the internet sites provided. They research the role of insects as pollinators for plants, and the impact they have on our ecosystem. They participate in various activities/centers utilizing the facts...
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Surviving in Our Ecosystems
Third graders investigate the balance of ecosystems and how each species has different survival needs. They research on the internet using the site included. They then participate in activities/centers utilizing the facts they discovered.
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Flip and Flop: An Adaptation Through Dancing Echoes with Shapes and Locomotor Movement
Dancers practice echoing through dance. They listen to a story "Flip and Flop" and then are put into pairs. One partner is Flip, while the other is Flop. Flip creates a shape by dancing, and Flop, the other student, echoes that shape by...
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Swiss Ball Square Dance
Combine square dancing and a Swiss ball. There are quite a few square dance moves and how to do them while sitting on, or carrying a Swiss ball. Teach these square dance moves to the class. Then have them work together in small groups to...
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Dance Cards
Let little dancers choreograph a dance using steps they have learned in the unit. Write the names of the dance steps that have been taught on sets of index cards. Make sure that each set of cards you create has a mix of the dance steps....
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Ramses The Great
Students investigate the statue that memorialized Ramses II. In this world monuments lesson plan, students research national and local monuments to find out if there are any controversies regarding their construction. Students then...
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Transportation Fuels Rock Performances
Here is an exciting way to get small groups teaching each other about different fuels that are used for transportation; have them write a song about a fuel type and sing it for the class! Each group must write a three-line, informative...
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Journey to Gettysburg
Students use latitude and longitude to map the path of the Battle of Gettysburg.
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Geo-Magazine
Divide your geography class into groups and have each research an assigned region. The result of this project is a regional magazine that addresses the five themes of geography. Many valuable resource links are embedded into the page...
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Solving the Puzzle
Students create a map showing the United States borders at a specific period in history and produce three questions to be answered by examining the map. They also write a productive paragraph explaining who, what, when, where, how/why a...
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Introducing Maps Through Dance
Students are introduced to the key concepts of maps; direction, pathway/line, shape and symbol. They create the pathways and shapes they have "mapped" out on paper on the floor. They dance along the paths.
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The Eyes Have It: Learning About Cultures Using Photos
Young scholars focus on determining what the characteristics of culture are. They look for these characteristics in a set of photos. They complete a worksheet imbedded in this plan.