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Science: Down Home Dinosaurs
young scholars participate in hands-on activities to discover the different types of fossils. Using teacher-provided materials, they make models of cast and trace fossils. After writing essays describing how traces are formed, students...
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Take a Stab!
Your geology class practices taking core samples of a potato to examine the stratigraphy. This is a terrific modeling lesson that helps youngsters visualize strata that cannot be seen from the surface of the ground. The directions...
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Sedimentary Structures- An Adventure in Painting and Collage
Students identify and interpret concepts about how the Earth was formed and convey some of these ideas in a painting.
Students experiment with different types of paints and paint applicators to achieve a variety of visual textures....
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Caldecott Tunnel
Learners visit the Caldecott Tunnel. They examine dark brown basalt and the gray-green sedimentary rocks and draw picture of the rock layers in the cliff face. In addition, they write a short paragraph describing what you observe about...
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Petroglyphs: Protecting the Past
Fourth graders investigate the three types of rocks and study about petroglyphs. They explore why petroglyphs were used by the Nez Perce People. Students investigate the properties of the three types of rocks and they discuss cultural...
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Rock Discovery
Fourth graders identify rocks in this discovery lesson by examining rock characteristics and processes. They identify basic properties of minerals and rocks. They revise their theories of the natural world, once they see and learn new...
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Franklin Mountains
Fifth graders examine photographs of the eastern and western Franklin Mountains. As a class, they discuss what is shown and the different colored rocks and the orientation of the layers. In groups, they are given clay of two different...
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Inspiration!
Students create a diagram based on rocks using a computer program. They use the program to put their thoughts in order and to have a sheet to reference to.
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Computer Lab Lesson Plan - Science
Students examine rocks and minerals. Using the internet, students research rocks and how they are formed. They use word processing software to list minerals and materials that form specific rocks.
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Minerals and the Products of Mining
Students plot where minerals come from and have an awareness of how mineral use makes the world interdependent. They examine how to identify some sort of mineral products they use each day.
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Shells on the Mountain Top?
Students work in groups to remove fossils from sediments, classifying as many organisms and parts of organisms as possible into major groups. They study the data from each formation and make conclusions about the types of organisms and...
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CREATE A CAVE
Students investigate the concept of caves by conducting an experiment. The instructional activity contains background information for the teacher. They collect data while making observations and write a review of the concept once the...
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Metamorphic Rock: Melting Rocks
Students observe and gain a better understanding of the metamorphosing power of heat. They mix mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips in a bowl and add just enough peanut butter so the mixture clumps together.
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Cement and Concrete Engineering
Students explain the components of the engineering design process. In groups, they identify the materials that make concrete and practice curing cement using the various methods available. They develop a graph showing the amount of...
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Water and Ice
Students explore water as it changes states of matter. In this physical property activity, students use observation, measurement, and communication skills to describe changes in water as it goes from a solid to a liquid and back again.
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Fossils and our Past (part 1 of 3)
Third graders investigate how some extinct organisms resemble organisms that are still alive today. They watch and discuss the Magic School Bus video about fossils, then create clay fossil imprints, matching the imprints to plaster of...
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Layers Upon Layers
Students model how layers of sediments are deposited. They use logic to derive rules or laws that can be used to examine layers of sediment in a cup and apply it to the real world.