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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Suited for Space

For Teachers 5th - 8th
A fantastic lesson on survival in outer space should excite your learners! Pupils explore the challenges that living, working, and surviving in space elicit. They focus on the spacesuit itself; how it protects astronauts, and enables...
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Lesson Plan
Captain Planet Foundation

Rotting Away

For Teachers 2nd
What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a lesson about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne Schreiber,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WWW = World Wide Wildlife

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Through video, internet research, and hands-on activities, learners conduct a study of the interdependence between animals and the habitats they live in. They conduct Internet research independently in order to complete a report on a...
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Lesson Plan
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Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program

Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics

For Teachers 1st - 4th Standards
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food for Spaceflight

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
When astronauts get hungry in outer space, they can't just call and have a pizza delivered. In order to gain an appreciation for the challenges associated with space travel, young learners are given the task of selecting,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Integrated Lesson Plan

For Teachers 4th - 5th
An ambitious and engaging lesson on the Westward Movement for your students to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A WebQuest is also...
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Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Human Evolution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As the great and hilarious Tim Minchin once said, "Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity." Science is more than just a guess; it is based on questions, observations, and evidence. High...
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Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Volcanoes: Third Grade Lessons Plans and Activities

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Discover how rocks are formed from volcanoes during a geology pre-lab activity. Third graders describe the volcanic rock samples and creating a model of Mt. Lassen, located in California. The lesson culminates in...
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Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Volcanoes: First Grade Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers 1st Standards
Introduce young geologists to types of volcanoes during the pre-lab. First graders explore how different liquids flow with an experiment on viscosity to simulate how different types of lava flow. Next, they learn...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling the Electromagnetic Spectrum

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners construct a model of an electromagnetic spectrum using play-doh and string. They use exponents and plot the radio/microwave, infrared, and visible bandwidths of the spectrum.
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Lesson Plan
PHET

The Dynamic Nature of the Sun

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
In this second instructional activity of the series, pupils learn to observe similarities and differences in photos of the sun and record them in a Venn diagram. Then, small groups practice the same skill on unique images before...
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Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Plate Tectonics: First Grade Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers 1st Standards
A set of first grade geology lessons focuses on plate tectonics and movement of plate boundaries. During the pre-lab, learners experience three types of plate movement through a kinesthetic demonstration. The lab...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Earthquakes: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities

For Students K Standards
Beginning with a pre-lab, kindergarteners trace the letters in the word earthquake and discuss what happens in an earthquake. The lab portion allows young scientists realize that earthquakes trigger shaking of different intensities...
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Clay Planets

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Why do scientists use models? In the first installment of 22, groups create scale models of our solar system. They then share and discuss their models.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Volcanoes: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers K Standards
In the pre-lab, kindergarteners mimic the movements of the eruption of a volcano and discover various volcanoes around the United States. Then, pupils sort different types of volcanic rocks in the lab before learning how volcanoes grow...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Winter Holiday Celebrations

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners understand how holidays revolve all around light. In this winter holidays lesson, students find the similarities and differences between the winter holidays. Learners discuss the winter solstice and how it relates to the holiday...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tides - The Ins and Outs of Tides

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Get your junior oceanographers to generate tidal prediction graphs on an interactive website. They will feel like experts in the field, or shall we say, experts in the ocean! This is a brief, but worthwhile activity that could be used to...
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Handout
National Institute of Open Schooling

Hydrogen and s-Block Elements

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Lesson 19 in the series of 36 analyzes the element hydrogen and the s-block elements. Through readings, answering questions, and discussion, learners write about and explain their occurrence, physical and chemical properties, and...
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Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

The Moons of Jupiter

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Can you name the three planets with rings in our solar system? Everyone knows Saturn, many know Uranus, but most people are surprised to learn that Jupiter also has a ring. The third in a series of six teaches pupils what is around...
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Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Hazards: Third Grade Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Learners discover hazards related to volcanoes and predict the effects these hazards have on people and land. As blossoming geologists explore various volcanic eruptions, including the hazards associated with them, they...
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Lesson Plan
BBC

Ourselves

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Young biologists identify parts of the body, sort humans from other animals, and list the difference they see. Learners are split up into groups of three, and each group must find pictures in magazines of humans and other animals. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scale/Ratio

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Investigate the use of ratios in scale drawings. Learners scale objects up or down using ratios then find the actual size of something using ratios. They apply their knowledge of ratios as they make their own telescopes in science...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Freshwater Fish Anatomy & Taxonomy

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders use a classification key to identify organisms.  In this classification lesson students identify freshwater species of fish and document their observations. 
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Modeling Sizes of Planets

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
The density of the huge planet of Saturn is 0.7 g/cm3, which means it could float in water! In the second part of 22, science pupils explore the size and order of the planets. They then calculate weight and/or gravity and density of...