Lesson Plan
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Port Hole

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders work together to lift and pass each other through a tire. They simulate time travel and decide on an object they would take with them through the time portal. They reflect on their experiences and consider the importance of...
Worksheet
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Gotta-Have Gear Scramble

For Students 6th - 8th
In this activity worksheet, learners unscramble words of items hikers should always pack for a hiking trip. After unscrambling the words, students draw a line matching each word to its definition. Learners also calculate how much food...
Lesson Plan
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Poetry and Nature

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students observe an object in nature and record them. In groups, they create a group poem about the same object. They create their own poem based on another object using other their senses to help them. They share their poems with the...
Lesson Plan
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A Tree-mendous Project

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders use their observation and measurement skills to identify trees. Using a tree diagram, they label the parts and discuss the functions of the tree. They practice using a dichotomous key to identify trees as well.
Lesson Plan
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Wide Awake Dreaming

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine and discuss works of art by Juan Miro and other surrealist artists. They discuss paintings of Juan Miro, create a drawing of a dream-like creature, and write a description of their creature.
Lesson Plan
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Tree Cookies

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students identify heartwood, sapwood, and a tree's annual rings, infer from a tree's rings what damage or stress might have occurred in its life, and make a time-line of human history that coincides with a tree's rings.
Lesson Plan
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Illinois Biodiversity

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars examine the amount of biodiversity in the state of Illinois. They practice using new vocabulary and listening to stories about animals. After given time to reflect, they write their own haiku. They work together to create...
Lesson Plan
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Photosynthesis

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars are introduced to the process of photosynthesis. In groups, they test the effects of the lack of sunlight on plant leaves and compare the results with their hypothesis. They note the characteristics that plants and animals...
Lesson Plan
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Tree Identification/Tree Art

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders identify and examine a deciduous and coniferous tree. Using the descriptions, they discover the types of tress in their local area. As a class, they practice identifying trees on a walk in a park collecting leaves. They...
Lesson Plan
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Up the Down Tree House

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate the decomposition process. In this ecology lesson, students participate in a play, "Up the Treehouse" where the main idea focuses on a decomposing tree and how food chains are effected by decomposition. After the...
Lesson Plan
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Teaching with Nature

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students participate in a nature walk to learn about their natural environments. In this nature study lesson, students brainstorm a list of things to look for on their nature walk. Students go on the nature walk and locate objects they...
Lesson Plan
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Water, Water Everywhere

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students devise a system for watering classroom plants during school year and summer breaks. In this watering system lesson, students work in teams to investigate water needs of plants and develop systems that will keep the plants...
Lesson Plan
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Framing the Landscape

For Teachers K - 5th
Learners draw their own drawings after learning about composition of drawings and lines. In this drawing lesson plan, students learn about different lines they can use while drawing. Then they go outside and draw their own.
Lesson Plan
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Composition and Line

For Teachers K - 5th
Students examine the use of composition and line as they create original drawings.  In this composition and line instructional activity, students recognize the art vocabulary associated with line and composition.  Students...
Lesson Plan
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Air: Air Quality Picture Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students recognize which activities contribute to poor air quality and which contribute to good air quality. They discover how air quality is measured, and come up with ways that humans can have a positive affect on air quality.
Lesson Plan
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Under Pressure

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students view a video clip on dams. They discuss how the dam is reinforced and how it holds the pressure of water. They participate in an activity in which they use liter bottles to represent the dam.
Lesson Plan
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Shadow Puppets

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students examine the role of shadow puppets. They create their own puppet and put on a play.
Lesson Plan
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Biologically Altered (B/A Fish)

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students complete a variety of activities as they examine the ethics involved in biologically altering fish. They hold a mock town meeting in which they determine whether or not a transgenic aquaculture should be allowed to locate in...
Lesson Plan
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Hitler's Lost Sub

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students watch a video clip about German submarines lost during World War II. They work together to create their own submarine out of a plastic bottle. They test the buoyancy of the submarine in different activities.
Lesson Plan
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I Got a Lava Livin' to Do in Pompeii

For Teachers 6th
Scholars imagine themselves as citizens of Pompeii in 79 AD. First they are assigned a job (or place in society like a child or slave). Then they record their daily activities for the weeks leading up to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in...
Lesson Plan
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What a Character!

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students look at the role of characters in a story. In this character lesson, students discuss how different types of characters change the plot of the story. They see how storytellers use their body, face, and voice to tell stories. 
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Developing Models

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students understand the concept of a scientific model and how it relates to climate change.  In this obsesrvation and gathering data activity students design a trial and error model using PowerPoint. 
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Earth's Energy Cycle: Albedo

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students complete all of the steps in the scientific inquiry process to study Earth's energy cycle; most specifically temperature and the effects of albedo (energy reflected back from Earth's surface) on temperature.
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Animal Poetry

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Fourth graders write poems that use local wildlife as their inspiration. After a class discussion which produces a list of wildlife that pupils have seen in their town, a review of three types of poetry ensues. They look at how...

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