Lesson Plan
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Mosquito Bytes

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students investigate mosquitoes. In this mosquito bytes lesson, students consider reasons why mosquitoes transfer disease and ways to combat them. Students read an article, discuss, and complete a quiz.
Lesson Plan
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Water: Where in the Watershed?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students become connected to their watershed by exploring a local water body and mapping its features. They focus on how the local watershed fits into the larger scheme of the watershed.
Lesson Plan
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Frogs Losing Ground

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore an exhibit through an interactive program on frogs. They can listen to the different sounds frogs make and the different types of frogs. They search for the types of frogs they find in their local area.
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A Hard Sell on Stem Cells?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine their prior knowledge of cell regeneration and therapeutic use of stem cells. After reading an article, they discover new techniques for deriving embryonic stem cells. In groups, they research on the different types of...
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The Use of Myths in Science

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars are told stories, myths and legend to explain their world. After telling the tales and discussion them, students are assigned to write a myth that describes a familiar situation, such as why the school garbage cans are...
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Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Grasping the Idea of Evolution

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students compare and their performance of a series of tasks using their thumb and fingers to their performance of the same tasks without the use of their thumb. The class discussion that follows the activity defines and discusses the...
Lesson Plan
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The Use of Myths in Science

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine folk tales to determine the basis for scientific myths. They demonstrate through the discussion of the folk tales that the perception of the world has changed as new information is gained. They write their own folk...
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Weather Tracking

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders use the internet to locate weather reports. They present data collected to the class through poster presentation. They read aloud the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and answer questions about...
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Superhumans & Bionics; Electronic Eyes

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars examine the anatomy of the eye and the physiology of vision. Students participate in a modeling activity to demonstrate the difference between a healthy eye and an eye affected by macular degeneration. Young scholars...
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Seeing in 3D: Interpreting Two-Dimensional Diagrams of Three-Dimensional Objects

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students hone in on their skills at reading diagrams.  For this dimensional lesson students collect information on the functions of organs then figure out how all the parts work together. 
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Water, Water Everywhere, Even Underground

For Teachers 5th - 8th
The "Engage" section of a wetlands lesson plan asks young ecologists to examine a wetlands poster. You can easily find one online and display it using a projector. Pupils immerse a piece of sandstone and a piece of granite in water to...
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Cranes, Crosswalks, and Big Gulps

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students watch a video and answer questions based on wildlife jobs. In this wildlife lesson plan, students learn that biologists don't just play with animals but that there is a lot of study involved.
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From Genes to Memes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore changes in evolution. In this evolution instructional activity, students define genes and memes. High schoolers read an article to recognize the difference between genes and memes.  Students explain what a...
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Natural Selection

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students use discussion questions, handout information and research topics to explore several issues related to natural selection and evolution. They examine Darwin's research on the finch and antibiotic resistance.
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Chapter 5: Socializing the Individual

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In this socializing the individual worksheet, high schoolers respond to 6 multiple choice questions and 14 fill in the blank questions pertaining to how one learns to live within their culture.
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A Feast for the Future

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students participate in an activity that uses a simulated meal of transgenic foods in order to initiate a discussion of the controversy concerning the use of transgenic food products.
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Disease Information Station

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders study disease and how it changes normal body functions.  In this research lesson students research a disease and use a word processing software to construct a presentation. 
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Introduction to Antibiotics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars describe the impact of antibiotics on disease. They describe what infections antibiotics are useful for. Students are introduced to the idea of antibiotic resistance as a way to focus on antibiotics and the mechanisms by...
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Water and Ice

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners observe what happens to water as it goes from a solid to a liquid.  For this exploratory lesson students gain an understanding for the water cycle while working in groups observing what happens to water as it changes...
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My Habitat Address

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders draw a habitat and write about what they would need to survive in the habitat. They define the input of items such as materials, energy, and information, and what goes out of the habitat. They play a "Habitat Address" game,...
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Water and Ice

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine how water changes state, from a liquid to a solid.  In this water lesson students study the water cycle and how temperature and pressure effect it. 
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If It Smells Good, Is Edible, and Attracts Wildlife, Then It's a Practical Garden

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore landscape design. In this practical gardening lesson, students design landscape plans that call for shrubs, trees, and plants that can be used for aesthetics, cooking, and wildlife.
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Themes Frame: A Historian's Tool

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research the scientific, economic, and cultural themes that connect Paleolithic and Neolithic inhabitants. They complete Paleolithic and Neolithic Theme Frames, comparing/contrasting the two cultures in an essay or Venn...
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Evidence of Change

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students identify evidence of change in species using fossils, anatomical similarities, and embryology. They identify homologous structures and arrange the steps of fossil formation. Students complete a group of selection of organisms...