Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charles Darwin's Hardware Shop

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Using an assortment of hardware, junior biologists explore the theory of evolution. They consider how simple pieces of hardware might be changed into similar items and display their discoveries on a poster. The lesson would be...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The ABC's of Apportionment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the terms of apportionment and redistricting. Using a Census map, they identify the states that had the highest and lowest numbers of change during the past ten years. They examine a map of voting districts and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Microscopy

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
In this microscope worksheet, students complete 15 review questions of labeling, defining and short answer after finishing a compound microscope lab. Lab included.
Lesson Plan
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Comparing Two Poe Classics

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners read and discuss The Black Cat and The Tell-Tale Heart. In this poetry instructional activity, students construct a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two pieces of literature.
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Curated OER

Implementing a Civic Action Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students follow a six step plan to create a civic action project. In this civics lesson plan, students create their own project based on interest and implement it to improve the school or local community. Goal setting and monitoring are...
Lesson Plan
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Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Interesting! Have your high schoolers watch this 13-minute clip from the documentay, "Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?" It examines the fear we have as a culture about death and whether or not the media increases those fears. The focus...
Lesson Plan
Biology Corner

Cell Theory Rap

For Teachers 7th - 12th
All that this will link you to is a rap about cell theory and organelles. Use it as an example for a creative assignment in your biology class. Divide the class into groups and assign them a topic for which they write and perform a skit,...
Lesson Plan
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Plant and Animal Cells - Are they Different?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students observe the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells. In this cell activity, students use microscopes to observe self prepared slides of animal and plant cells.
Lesson Plan
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Field Trip to the Watsonville Wetlands

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the differences between food webs and food chains.  In this wetland lesson students play a food web game and go on a scavenger hunt. 
Lesson Plan
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Fieldwork: Horizons Under Ground: Digging Through Wetland Soil

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners study the different soil types and describe the different soils in various environments.  In this soil lesson students walk to a reserve and discuss what they saw. 
Lesson Plan
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Compost and Composting Experiments

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students investigate the composting process through a variety of experiments. In this ecology lesson plan, students discuss the benefits of composting. They examine how compost affect plant growth.
Lesson Plan
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Dinosaurs 1: Where Are the Dinosaurs?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students study dinosaurs. In this dinosaur instructional activity, students watch a web based video about dinosaurs before discussing what they liked about the dinosaurs, telling about the sounds they heard, and explaining what the Earth...
Lesson Plan
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MICROBES 1: WHAT'S BUGGIN YOU?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers use existing knowledge of microbes, focusing on the relationship between microorganisms and foodborne illness, as well as the implications that foodborne illness has on human health.
Lesson Plan
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Photosynthesis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct a variety of experiments on photosynthesis. In this biology lesson, students identify the factors required for the process to occur. They perform computerized experiments to test the amount of oxygen produced when plants...
Lesson Plan
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First Grade Goes to the Zoo

For Teachers 1st
First graders summarize their trip to the zoo. In this summarizing lesson plan, 1st graders will study animals that they may see at the zoo including their characteristics and habitats. Once the trip is done, they create a word document...
Lesson Plan
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Where Do Birds Live? Cavity Nesters of the Watsonville Wetlands

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students compare and contrast primary and secondary cavity nesters. For this life science lesson, students explore the different types of nests that birds make. They play a team game to apply what they learned.
Lesson Plan
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Creating a Shared Culture

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students simulate working on an assembly line in a shared culture. In this consumerism instructional activity, students participate in a lecture and note-taking session before working on a simulated assembly line. They work in a timed...
Lesson Plan
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Relating Structure to Function in Cells

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders investigate specialized structures in both plants and animals. They relate structure to function, as they determine why the specialization is necessary and useful to the living organisms involved. They use microscopes...
Lesson Plan
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Build Working Models With household Items

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students follow the illustration, and cut out foam board according to the pattern. They assemble the small parts by gluing. Once the glue is dry, students tape the end of the bottom and top clipper boards, they slide toothpicks through...
Lesson Plan
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The Dance of the Butterfly

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Young scholars explore butterfly life cycles and movement.  In this integrated fine arts and biology life cycle lesson, students listen to the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and identify the related life cycle...
Lesson Plan
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Rhythm and Art: Gesture Drawing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students make connection between music and art. In this integrated arts lesson, students complete gesture drawing activities as they listen to Cuban, flamenco, classical, jazz, and contemporary music. 
Lesson Plan
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The Physics of the Planets: How 16th and 17th Century Physicist Helped Us Understand Our Solar System

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders draw the paths of the planets in the solar system. In this astronomy lesson, 8th graders calculate speed of objects using distance and time information. They research about the work of scientists in the 16th and 17th century.
Lesson Plan
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Soil pH & Plants

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the pH of the soil in which different plants grow. They design and carry out an experiment to determine the factors that affect the growth of a population of plants, identifying and controlling major variables...
Lesson Plan
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Grasshopper Mark and Recapture (GMR)

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students estimate the density of a population of insects (grasshoppers) at a given life cycle stage in a given type of habitat.