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"The Soil Around Us" Project
Young geographers collect samples of different kinds of soil to match to the soil terms in Barry Rudner's rhyming book Filet of Soil: dirt, mud, dust, soot, etc. They start a glossary for the project on index cards or large sheets...
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Angles
Fourth and fifth graders investigate angles and name them according to the criteria for obtuse, acute, and right angles. They examine a human-made yarn pattern on the floor of their classroom and identify angles, vertices, and types of...
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Velocity of Traffic on Highway 26
Physics fanatics time five cars as they pass on the highway. They use the times and a 20-yard distance to calculate velocity. They also graph distance vs. time. A page of student pre-lab questions is provided in addition to the activity...
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Investigating the Change
Sugar crystal growth is observed as an example of physical change and cabbage juice pH indicator is used to demonstrate chemical change. The crystal growth is tracked over five days. The cabbage juice experiment is involved and can also...
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Motion in Two Dimensions
Two activities employ the use of kinematic equations for determining projectile ranges. They both require the use of a toy dart gun. Included in this resource are both the teacher's guide and student laboratory sheets. This is an...
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Watershed Works: Unit 2
The second of a three-unit lesson plan, this focuses on how human-made structures affect watersheds. Using watershed models that were built during the first unit, junior geologists now place buildings, dams, or levees into the models and...
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Watershed Works: Unit 1
By constructing a watershed model and identifying watershed features in it, they discover how water erosion changes the landscape. As with most watershed modeling activities, this one is costly in terms of time and materials. It is,...
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Watershed Works: Unit 3
Geology whizzes observe the effects of change within a model of a watershed. They place replica waste dumps within the models and note the path that the waste takes as water passes through. This detailed lesson plan provides teacher...
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It's Your Opinion
Everyone has a different opinion about the characters they read about in books. Have your class explore forming an opinion and finding evidence to support it as they read and discuss what they think about a particular character. They...
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Heat Energy Released or Absorbed in Chemical Reactions
Chemistry whizzes test the change in water temperature produced by a burning candle and the change in acid temperature produced by magnesium metal. With these two laboratory activities they explore heat produced during chemical...
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Taking the Measure of the Universe
Four fabulous activities immerse amateur astronomers into measuring objects that we cannot handle. The experiences are applied to NASA's Space Interferometry Mission, which will take measurements of planets around stars other than our...
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We Have Work to Do!
An excellent lesson awaits your young scientists! In it, learners are invited to explore the world of pulleys, levers, and planes; simple machines that make lifting heavy things much, much easier. They watch video, and engage in hands-on...
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Rational Exponents
Investigate rational exponents in this math lesson. Scholars make conjectures about the relationship between rational exponents and radicals. They then use their Ti-Nspire to simplify rational exponents.
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Structures And Mechanisms
Eighth graders explore and demonstrate an understanding of the factors that contribute to the efficient operation of mechanisms and simple machines. They design and make a mechanical toy device that moves a given object a specified...
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Accidents Happen: Seat Belt Laws, Enforcement, and Usage
Start with a NOVA video about car crashes, crash test dummy footage, or other video about seat belt use. Or have groups review attached data about seat belt usage (by state) and share their conclusions. Learners then devise a method to...
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Pumpkin Patch
An excellent lesson plan about pumpkins is designed for young learners! This thorough plan has terrific suggestions for activities to do using pumpkins, ideas for art projects, books to read, some nice coloring sheets, and a page of...
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Expert Estimators
A rich and well-designed lesson on estimation is here for you. The lesson utilizes a video; ITV Series: The Eddie Files 'Estimation: Going to the Dogs,' along with many websites. Several fantastic learning activities are...
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Get My Point!
Here is one of the better lessons I've come across on how to teach fractions and decimals. This instructional activity does a great job of showing how these two mathematical representations of numbers are interrelated. Some excellent...
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Deep Subjects - Wells and Ground Water
Here is a phenomenal lesson plan on ground water, wells, and aquifers. Young geologists study how water exists underground, how water moves through the soil, and how water is extracted to be used as drinking water. Some excellent...
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The Hare and the Water: A Tanzanian Folk Tale
"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...
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Hot and Humid, That's Manu
Elementary and middle schoolers participate in a demonstration of the heat and humidity of the Manu rainforest environment. They watch and discuss a video, calculate the humidity and temperature in the humidified tent, and write a...
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Sandwich Stratigraphy
Two activities are included in this resource. In the first, junior geologists model sedimentary rock layers, apply the Law of Superposition, and demonstrate folding and faulting of the Earth's crust. The model is technically a sandwich....
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Carbon Bonds in Chemistry
Venture into the world of macromolecules with three exciting, distinct laboratory activities. Young chemists examine the forms of carbon and discover how they are associated with atomic arrangement, construct models of carbon-containing...
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Properties of Aqueous Solutions
Advanced chemistry kids experiment with the freezing and boiling points of various aqueous solutions. They also prepare a presentation of the kinetics of solution formation and structure of the matter involved. This resource provides...