Curated OER
Let Your Fingers Do the Estimating
Investigate estimation with the White Pages. Youngsters use the phonebook to estimate the average number of phone listings that can be found there. They write a paragraph explaining the processes they used in this challenge.
Curated OER
Spuds in Space
Young scholars explore the effects of velocity on an object when it collides with another object. They design and outfit a potato astronaut in a spacesuit to withstand the hazards of high velocity impacts from space debris and meteoroids.
Curated OER
Clifford Goes to School and So Do We!
Students use the story, "Clifford Goes to School," to investigate the value of rules as a means of keeping them safe. Following step-by step directions, the rules are placed on patterns and which are worn home.
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Talking Duck
Students study how animals communicate through their senses and signals. They investigate how animals survive using their communication skills and create a commercial based on the research.
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Pendulums
First-time physicists experiment with pendulums in this physics instructional activity. They vary the weight of the bob, record how long each takes to complete ten period swings, and then calculate the time for one period. They repeat...
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U.S. and Canada: How are We the Same? How are We Different?
Get high school geographers to compare and contrast Canada and the United States. They begin by drawing a freehand map of North America, then complete readings to gain insight into Canada. The text is not provided; however, another text...
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Flour Beetle
Students observe the life cycle of the common flour beetle and make observations of its life stages. They also design and implement an investigation on food preference for the beetle and record data over a period of several months....
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Cover Your Mouth Please!
Second graders investigate how to slow the spread of germs from coughing and sneezing. In this illness prevention activity, 2nd graders talk about why people cough and sneeze before telling about ways to prevent the spread of germs. They...
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Season Sarcophagus
Young scholars analyze a sarcophagus art and create a similar piece of art. In this sarcophagus art instructional activity, students investigate possible meanings of the Season Sarcophagus and create a work of art that is similar to the...
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Introducing Ideas about Inheritance
Is it nature or nurture? In an easily adaptable kinesthetic activity to introduce genetics, learners group themselves based on a variety of categories. They will quickly find that some characteristics are easy to put in order, while...
Mr. Roughton
The Maya Files
What a creative approach to studying about the ancient Mayan civilization! Learners will become investigators in the case of the "disappearance" of the Classic Maya by examining a variety of primary and secondary source material,...
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Connotation and Denotation:
Eighth graders investigate the effect that connotations can have on writing. They are shown examples to build background knowledge before attempting the exercise. They finish by writing a paragraph to practice what they have learned.
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Citizens Hold Their Breath in Smoke-free Cities
Students investigate the laws covering smoking in public places in their community and find out if city council or other governing bodies have considered changing these laws. Students conduct interviews and write an article explaining...
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Seeing Is Believing
Students investigate the concepts of probability. They use data to find the central tendency, median, and mode. Students design and play a game in order to practice the concepts. They also complete a table with data that is analyzed.
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Building Understanding of Rate of Change/Slopes Using Alice
Students explore slope as a rate of change. In this eighth grade mathematics instructional activity, students investigate real-world problems to determine rate of change and transform it into a linear representation, thus determining...
Curated OER
Search and Seizure: What Does It Mean?
Students, in a juvenile correctional facility, study the meaning of the Fourth Constitutional Amendment. They study definitions and complete worksheets to investigate the implications of the amendment.
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Poisoning the Prairie
Seventh graders investigate what pesticides are and why people use them. They examine the effect of pesticides on prairie grasses and what alternatives can be used.
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What Are Your Chocolate Eating Habits?
Young scholars design and conduct a survey as an investigation of chocolate eating habits. They pool and analyze their results and consider which companies are making the largest profits based on the information gathered from their surveys.
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The Importance of Being Flexible and Open-minded as a Visitor to Another Culture: Lesson 2 For "The Train Ride Home"
Students examine the advantages of being flexible when visiting or living in a different culture. They read and discuss a first-hand account by a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan, and write a letter from the point of view of a...
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Animal Coverings
Students compare and contrast the types of coverings found on animals. They identify a wide variety of animals in a museum room. They classify animals based on their coverings as well.
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How We're Connected
Pupils take a survey in order to find out how they live in relationship to the environment. They take the time to investigate the differences between a need and a want. This is done as part of the self-assessment. Students also study how...
Curated OER
Easy Street
Pupils work together to complete a simulation on drought days. As a class, they discuss their results and compare water usage of the past to current numbers. After reading short excerpts, they answer discussion questions and review as a...
Curated OER
Woodblock Printing: Early Printing Traditions in China
Students examine important role of woodblock printing in Chinese history, identify message important to them, and create woodblock prints to gain first-hand understanding of how it was used as tool for communication.
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What Are You Eating?
Discover the calorie content of foods by observing how much heat they produce in water. If you have a calculator-based laboratory (CBL™) insturment for collecting data, then this laboratory worksheet will not need any changes. If...