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Capturing the Sun's Warmth

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the variety of ways to use solar energy. They investigate the thermal energy storage capacities of different test materials to determine which to use in passive solar building design. They explain how passive solar...
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Falling Water

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. In seeing how falling water can...
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Stations of Light

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Student groups rotate through four stations to examine light energy behavior: refraction, magnification, prisms and polarization. They see how a beam of light is refracted (bent) through various transparent mediums. Young scholars...
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Weather

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students explore the earth's atmosphere, weather, and climate. They begin class with a discussion about weather patterns, atmosphere, and the layers of the earth. After the class discussion, students rotate through four stations to...
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Air Is All Around Us!

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students design an instrument to show that air is all around. In this air lesson plan, students research, construct, and present a design that proves that air is all around, even though they can't see it or touch it. A teacher and self...
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Magnets

For Teachers K - 8th
Learners explore how the earth is a magnet and that magnets have two "poles".  In this magnetic lesson plan students complete an activity by designing their own compass. 
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"Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets"

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars examine the expressive and descriptive language used in the books "Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets" and "Planet of the Robots." In pairs they take notes about each other's physical appearance and conduct interviews,...
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Where Am I: Navigation and Satellites

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the concept of triangulation that is used in navigation satellites and global positioning systems designed by engineers. They determine ways these technologies can help people determine their position or the location of...
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States of Matter

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students discuss a given set of questions based on Chemistry and matter and review a glossary of terms. They conduct experiments on each state of matter: "Dry ice and water, Dry ice and soap and Dry ice and Isopropyl Alcohol." and...
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Using Fulcrums

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students engage in a lesson that concentrates on the use of a lever and fulcrum. They define how a lever is used to lift a load. The lesson has background information to justify it. Students demonstrate how to use the lever while lifting...
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Rules of Force and Motion

For Teachers K - 5th
Students view a video and complete experiments with force and motion.  In this force and motion instructional activity, students examine small pieces and how they affect the motion of a toy car.  Students also experiment with...
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Contours, Curves & Lines

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students discover how straight lines and curves function in both art and the science of conservation tillage by building model "hills" and experimenting on them.
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The Phenomenon of Sound: Waves

For Teachers K - 5th
Students explore sound waves. In this sound waves lesson, students brainstorm different sounds and how sounds move or travel. Students then create a KWL chart and work through six different lab activities to examine how sound waves...
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A Day In My Life

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students brainstorm how they can conserve energy in their daily lives. In this energy lesson plan, students discuss how they use energy and ways to conserve it.
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Exploring the Water Cycle

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students investigate the water cycle. In this water cycle lesson, students create an ecosystem within a 2-liter bottle. Students record scientific observations as they observe the water cycle within their ecosystem.
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Good Food, Good Health

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students investigate how food provides energy for the human body. For this physical health lesson, students access online resources to identify how certain foods can affect their health. Students discuss how many servings of each food...
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The Color of Light

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the components of light as a combination of several colors. The focus of the lesson reveals that objects are viewed in a certain color because that color is reflected off of the object.
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Simple Machines

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discover the principles and uses of gears noting that they can be used to change the direction of motion or the speed of an object. They may also change the force and/or distance through which an object turns. They then...
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Simple Machines V - Wheels and Axles and Gears

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate the principles and uses of gears, and examine how gears can be used to alter the direction of motion or the speed of an object. They observe two cars with different sized wheels roll down an inclined plane,...
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Alka-Seltzer Cannons

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders observe what is happening when an Alka-Seltzer tablet is placed in a clear cup of water. They observe the release of carbon dioxide gas. Pupils answer the question of how much as is released by observing the experiment...
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Refrigeration Part 2 - How they work

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate insulators and how refrigerators actually work to keep things cold through evaporation and pressure changes in the coolant. They create a box to keep an ice cube from melting, and observe a variety of...
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Human Machine

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the human body by conducting an exercise in class. In this human anatomy lesson, students view a diagram of the human body and identify the specific bones and joints that allow us to perform specific exercises like...
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Creating Magnetic Forces

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discover magnetic forces. In this magnetic experiment activity, students explore magnetism. Students conduct experiments and discover magnetic poles and magnetic strength.
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Pop Rocket - Trash to Treasure

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
First off, Newton's laws of motion aren't often taught at 2nd grade, so this instructional activity may be more appropriate for upper elementary learners. It begins with a discussion and demonstration of the laws of motion, and then has...

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