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Links in the Chain of Life
Using the prairie dog community as an example, middle school ecologists examine the food web. Pairs of learners take one species in the community and research its role in the ecosystem. They share their findings with the rest of the...
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Great Rivers 2: The Ups and Downs of River Flooding
Second in a three-part lesson on rivers, this lesson focuses on the flooding that occurs in riparian locations. First, learners take a look at facts about the Amazon River. They read online materials and fill in a worksheet as they...
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Pets: Oh Behave
They say that a dog is a man's best friend. Why is that? Discuss with your class why people like pets and the responsibilities with owning one. They read an article about pet behavior and write a short essay comparing one of their...
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Endangered Species 1: Why are Species Endangered?
Emerging ecologists examine endangered species by visiting the US Environmental Protection Agency website. They consider human contribution to the decline of different species. They research an endangered animal and then craft a poster...
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Obesity
Class members participate in a discussion, read a newspaper article, and participate in activities meant to open their eyes to the problem of obesity in the US. There are resource links, electronic worksheets, and teacher's notes to help...
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The Jiggy Dance
Grapevines, jumps, pivots, stomps and more are moves you will learn in a dance activity. There are quite a few counts to learn and it will take some practice to remember it all. So get out those dancing shoes and find Will Smith's...
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Building a Case for Clues
Here's a strategy that can be used with any narrative, whether read by the instructor or as independent reading. At the end of each chapter, learners predict, using prior knowledge as clues, what will happen in the next chapter. Readers...
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Sharks ~ Taking a Bite Out of the Myth
The first thing to know about this lesson is that the commercial fisheries data for the activity no longer seems to be available. That being said, there are fascinating links to other websites, some about the comparative odds of being...
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Bud, Not Buddy: Anticipation Guide
Hoover flags? Hoover blankets? Hoovervilles? Drawing upon prior knowledge of the Great Depression class members respond to the prompts on an anticipation guide for Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis’s tale of Bud Caldwell’s quest to...
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Fun Bones
Use the hokey pokey music to teach the names of some of the major bones in the human body. Circle up, put on the music, and put your right radius in. Use this in an anatomy class to spice things up a bit!
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Rock This Party
Watch this video to learn the line dance steps that are performed to the song "Rock This Party" by Bob Sinclair. The written directions are a little confusing but after watching the video it all makes sense. This is a 32-count dance that...
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The Call of the Wild: Differences Between a Book and a Movie Adaptation
Fling your class members “into the heart of things primordial” with a Venn diagram activity that highlights how the same themes are treated in the film and book versions of The Call of the Wild. Consider extending the exercise by having...
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What's Your Temperature?
Learners take a look at the local newspaper and focus on the weather section. They get into small groups, and each one looks at the same map, but of a different part of the country. They must prepare a presentation that shows how...
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Guided Imagery: Canyons, Chapter 8
Individuals use words or illustrate what they experience during a reading of a passage from chapter eight of Gary Paulsen's Canyons. Complete directions for the guided imagery exercise, and a suggested passage, are included with the...
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Author
Youngsters write a story together with the help of their teacher. Use this language arts lesson to give your kids a chance to feel like real authors. Begin with the sentence, "Once upon a time, we went to school and found an elephant...
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Contra Dance
Contra dance was brought to America by French Soldiers after the Revolutionary War. Contra dancing is done in lines, but with partners facing each other. Some moves one partner is moving forward while the other moves backwards. Some...
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Basic Waltz Steps
Learn the five basic waltz steps: box step, under arm turn, walt left box or waltz right box, hesitation step, and progressive waltz step. Teach a little about the history of the waltz and the countries from which it came: Germany and...
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Make Letters Materialize
Chidren use sandpaper letters, chalk, and paper to create rubbings of their names. This simple activity is sure to be a hit with your youngsters. Once they learn the technique in school, kids will want to go home and do this for their...
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Seismometer
All this resource provides is a black line diagram of a simple seismometer and two sentences explaining how it works. Use this as a transparency or display it through your projector when studying tectonic activity. It would be especially...
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Galaxies
The first thing to note is that this lesson was written for use in a parochial school. Even if you are in a non-religious setting, however, the website exploration of galaxies and the accompanying worksheet make for an engaging...
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Ink
Here is an interesting lesson that has learners make ink from two common food items. First, they make ink from beets, then they make ink from onions. The recipes necessary for each are present in the plan. The special thing about the ink...
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Ice Cream in a Bag
Here is a good version of this classic chemistry activity. Learners are given a simple recipe for how to make home-made ice cream by putting all of the ingredients into a ziploc bag. Before doing the activity, I would recommend having a...
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The Writing Process
Introduce young writers to the writing process. Activities model the steps in the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, polishing). A logic tree template is also included.
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Urban Ecosystems 2: Why are There Cities? A Historical Perspective
Second in a series of five lessons, this lesson encourages preteens to consider cities as urban ecosystems. First, they keep a food diary for a few days. They visit the Natrional Agricultural Statistics Service website for current data...