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A Map as a Tool
Students study the concept of using a map as a tool with the usage of a balloon designed to mimic the features of the Earth with the major features marked and shown on the balloon.
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Cloudy vs. Clear
Students analyze line plots. For this weather lesson using real NASA data, students discuss how weather affects the way the Earth is heated by comparing different line plots.
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Why Angle Changes Intensity
Sixth graders use a flashlight and a transparency of a centimeter grid to discover how the angle of the Earth affects the changing seasons.
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Learning Lesson: The Shadow Knows I
Students examine the elevation of the sun to discover the changes in seasons. They observe and measure the length of their shadow. They compare this measurement to one taken four months later.
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Tracking Sunrise and Sunset
Middle schoolers collect, record, and graph the sunrise and sunset times. They explain how the relationship between the tilt of Earth's axis and its yearly orbit around the sun produces the seasons.
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Mississippi’s Contribution to Space Exploration
Eighth graders engage in a class discussion while going through a PowerPoint on Mississippi's contribution to space exploration. In this Space science lesson plan, the students will also participate in Brain Pop quizzes where they will...
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Sun Shadow Cycles
Learners use diagrams to review how the Earth rotates around the sun. In groups, they use the same diagrams to explain how the sun shadows are produced and how they differ between seasons. They describe the Earth's rotation and...
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Solstice And Equiniox Curriculum
Students engage in a lesson that investigates finding the dates of the solstices and equinoxes. They define the terms related to the concept and conduct research in order to explain the physical occurrences. They also relate to how the...
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Space Science: Constellations and the Sun
Students review the zodiac signs and illustrate their movement using constellations on the wall and themselves to represent earth. Individually or in groups, they stand in the center of the room while a shadeless lamp is placed between...
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Shadow Trackers
Students use online websites to inquire about the cycle of day and night. In this web based lesson, students are able to see the movement of the sun and Earth. Students can look at different parts of the Earth as if they were on the Sun...
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Astrology: Fact or Fiction?
Students explore the topic of astrology and review the beliefs behind it. They read sample horoscopes. Using a portable digital planetarium, they view the night sky and the zodiac constellations. They examine and discuss the science...
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Precession
Students explain how Hipparchus, around 130 BC, used a shift in the predicted location of a lunar eclipse to detect a slight shift in the path of the Sun around the sky. They examine the elliptical orbit in which the Earth travels around...
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Is it Really Winter in Australia? It is June!
The purpose of this activity is to determine how the location of a place on the Earth (hemisphere) determines what season that place is experiencing relative to the Sun's rays. Day one the students will be introduced to the terms...
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Climatic Zones
Third graders recognize and locate Frigid, Temperate, and Torrid climatic zones on the word map or globe. They explain that plants, animals, and human societies display adaptations to the climates they live in .
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Water and Ice: Part 1
Students observe the state changes in water. For this matter lesson, students observe, measure, and describe water as it changes state. Students explore how water can change from a solid to a liquid then back again. They journal their...
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Winter Holiday Celebrations
Students understand how holidays revolve all around light. In this winter holidays lesson, students find the similarities and differences between the winter holidays. Students discuss the winter solstice and how it relates to the holiday...
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The Solstices
Compare surface temperatures when the solstice occurs in the different hemispheres. Young scientists draw conclusions from their investigation of data collected using spreadsheets and a globe.
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My Angle on Cooling: Effects of Distance and Inclination
Students discuss what heat is and how it travels. They discover that one way to cool an object in the presence of a heat source is to increase the distance from it or change the angle at which it is faced.
Aiken County Public Schools
Claymation in the Classroom
Learners design an appropriate and usable storyboard and then create a claymation video. They take digital photographs frame by frame, then assemble the stop-motion movie using video software.
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Making Sense Of A Round World On A Flat Surface
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the development of geography skills. They take part in a number of activities that center around finding and traveling to different locations. The lesson has resource links that can be...
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The Shadow Knows
Sixth graders examine the relationship between light and the angle it strikes objects. In groups, they shine light from a flashlight on different objects and describe how it affects the shadow. To end the lesson, they complete a...
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Exploring the Night Sky: Fall/Winter
Students explain how moon phases occur. They explain three ways that the night sky has been used through history. Students locate some of the constellations in the night sky. They discuss stories and myths surrounding stars.
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Knowing North: Understanding the Relationship Between Time and The Sun
Students determine how to find North using a watch and their shadow. In this finding North activity, students go outside on a sunny day and work with their shadow and a wrist watch to find out which direction that North is. They examine...
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Look At Those Leaves!
Students observe, measure and sort leaves. In this leaf lesson students divide into groups and observe the different kinds of leaves.