Lesson Plan
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Hurricanes and Tornadoes (Grade 4-8)

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students investigate the concepts of hurricanes and violent weather conditions. For this violent weather lesson, students access an Internet site and watch a video about how air masses behave, how a tornado forms, how hurricanes form,...
Lesson Plan
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DEW POINT

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate conditions causing saturation and measure the dew point of the atmosphere performing simple experiments.
Lesson Plan
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Observing a Stream Ecosystem

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students use their five senses to explore a river ecosystem. They experience how their senses provide them with additional information about the environment through the use of teacher made stream boxes.
Lesson Plan
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Arthropods at Home- Spider, Isopod, or Any Arthropod

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students design a habitat for an arthropod. For this organisms lesson, students read the book, A House is a House For Me. Students find an arthropod and create a terrarium.
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Maple Syrup

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore maple syrup. In this natural resources lesson, students identify a maple tree in their neighborhood and observe the sap. Students sample maple products and create a graph of the taste-testing results.
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Diffusion of Molecules

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Young scholars conduct a series of experiments to observe factors that impact molecular movement. In this molecular chemistry lesson, students drop food coloring in water with different properties (hot, with ice, with alcohol) and...
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Taking Apart Owl Pellets

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students dissect an owl pellet. In this rodent and bone structure lesson, students work in groups to take apart an owl pellet. Students separate all the tiny bones from the fur and use the bones to reconstruct the rodent on a tag board....
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Shark Attack

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the white shark and the red triangle.  In this critical thinking lesson students assess the validity of facts about sharks and create a public service announcement either promoting shark or human protection.
Lesson Plan
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Bug Eyes

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders observe, predict, record and report on a series of experiments with a praying mantid to test its visual acuity. They study the parts of an eye and compare human and mantid eyes.
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Stuck on Magnets

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders are introduced to magnets and magnetic forces. In groups, they discover which everyday materials are magnetic and their effect on other objects. Using the internet, they examine the various uses of magnets in the real...
Lesson Plan
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Look At Those Leaves!

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students collect, observe, sort, and measure leaves. In this leaf instructional activity, students take a walk to collect leaves. They bring the leaves back into the classroom to observe, sort, and measure them. They visit a website to...
Lesson Plan
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What's Up With Updrafts?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars demonstrate how hail and rain are suspended in the air during a storm. In this lesson on storms and weather, students use a hair dryer and ping pong ball to demonstrate how hail and rain can be suspended in the air during...
Lesson Plan
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An Egg-celent Gravity Experiment

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders record at least four hypotheses concerning what happens when they drop an egg from a high spot. They record at least five observations or supporting ideas about the egg drop. Students test gravity by dropping an egg from a...
Lesson Plan
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What About Pumpkins

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders read 'Big Pumpkin' by Eric Silverman. In teams of 'pumpkin investigators', using real pumpkins, they discover how a pumpkin feels and smells, how much one weighs, and determine which group has the largest pumpkin.
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How Much Would You Weigh On Distant Planets?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the effects of gravity on the planets of the Solar System. They view movies from the lunar Apollo missions, calculate their own weight on other planets, and propose what they might weigh on newly discovered planets around...
Lesson Plan
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What's the Weather?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore different types of weather and examine the elements in the sky that create weather. They create a class lift of weather words and examine and discuss a weather poster. Students then complete the "What's the Weather?"...
Worksheet
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Let's Talk Trash

For Students 5th - 6th
For this solid waste worksheet, learners classify the different types of solid wastes found in landfills into given categories. Students predict and tally the total number of each type of item found in the landfill using slips of paper....
Lesson Plan
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Electrical Generators

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Young scholars study what an electric generator does and its history.  In this energy lesson students complete several experiments including building their own electric generator.
Lesson Plan
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Frost Depth

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Learners explore the concept of frost depth. In this frost depth lesson, students conduct a scientific investigation that requires them to use a frost tube to measure, record, and graph frost depth data.
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WebQuest Solar System Colonization Project 2000

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders complete a WebQuest to study the names and locations of the planets in the solar system. They investigate the causes of the seasons and the distance between the planets using astronomical units. They use technology to...
Lesson Plan
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Monkeying Around

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders study machines. They watch a video about and identify and chart machines they find at home and at school. They design and build simple and compound machines, create an advertisement for them and attempt to sell them at the...
Lesson Plan
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That Is a Lot of Rain

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students investigate the amount of rainfall in Manu, Peru. They view and discuss a video and fill a rain guage with the amount of rainfall in Manu. They research and compare local rainfall amounts to those of Manu, and write about what...
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Our Population and Its Impact on the Planet

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students explore environmental problems due to the growing worldwide human population and examine the growth rate. They also discuss possible ways to stabilize population growth and increase sustainable development.
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Tubularastic Roller Coaster

For Teachers 3rd
Students observe the effect of gravity on objects. They use tubing and other materials to simulate a roller caster. Afterward, they create a journal to write their observations and summaries.