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Polar Bears and Ice

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the Arctic food chain. They examine the needs of the polar bear and the threat that global warming poses to them. Students write a letter to a local political representative explaining what they have studied and...
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To Group of Not to Group - That is the Question!

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Upper elementary and middle schoolers use their observation skills to group different kinds of candy by similar characteristics. They debate whether or not we should classify objects. Finally, they learn that biologists have developed a...
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Technology And Our Quality of Life

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders design a product or machine and determine the impact their invention has on a person's quality of life. They present their design and machine with a description of its possible impacts to an audience of peers and adults.
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Your Tax Dollars at Work

For Teachers 5th - 12th
In order to understand how tax dollars are spent, young economists use given data and graph it on a circle graph. Circle graphs are highly visual and can help individuals describe data. A class discussion follows the initial activity.
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Country Comparisons in Current Events Class

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
Students collect political, socioeconomic, geographical, and other data about 10 countries and record their data in a spreadsheet. The information is used to fuel current events discussions.
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The Tell-Tale Heart

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Readers listen and critically read fictional prose to answer prediction questions at designated stopping points, and then they give a summary of the short story. This instructional activity is ideal for English language learners...
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Drugged Out Daphnia

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders participate in experiments to investigate the the effects of nicotine, caffeine, aspirin, alcohol, and sleeping pills on the heart rates of Daphina. They describe the relationships between common drugs and heart rates....
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Multiplying Microbes

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders investigate the techniques of culturing bacteria. They culture bacteria using agar plates. Students identify and describe some environmental conditions that effect bacteria growth.
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Evaluate Ecosystems

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders conduct an environmental inventory on one ecosystem. They collect data, and write an environmental impact statement on that area. Students explain the interactions between different systems found within an ecosystem....
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Fertilizer Frenzy

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders design and conduct an experiment. They evaluate other's experiments. Students describe relationships between biological systems and the environmental contaminants. They work as a team to solve a problem.
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LAND USE DEBATE / TOWN MEETING

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders research, analyze, and orally defend an issue related to the use of geologic resources. They defend their position in written form by composing a letter to an appropriate source.
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Stick-Slip Movement

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders operate a model to observe the type of motion that occurs at a fault during an earthquake. They explore the effects of several variables. Students measure movement, calculate averages and plot and graph information.
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Apple Energy

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders evaluate the energy associated with the production of five different forms of apple products. They develop a poster to advertise one of the five apple products to the class. Students provide additional examples of consumer...
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Introduction to Density

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders discover the definition of density through a demonstration using ethanol and ice cubes and a class discussion using a SMART Board to illustrate formulas and calculations. Students finish the lesson by practicing...
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Chocolate Fever

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Pupils study plants in the rainforest. They complete a variety of activities surrounding the subject of chocolate. They create new candy bars, invent learning games and write poetry--all focusing on chocolate.
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Images of Our People

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the history of peoples in the western United States. To accomplish this Students use photographs as images that capture the context of different cultures. Then they write reflections about each culture.
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Ladies, Contraband, and Spies: Women in the Civil War

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Pupils use primary sources - diaries, letters, and photographs - to explore the experiences of women in the Civil War. By looking at a series of document galleries, the perspectives of slave women, plantation mistresses, female spies,...
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Great Lakes Food Web

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students identify species and components of a Great Lakes food web. Using note cards, they place themselves in the correct order of the food chain based on the species present. They discuss what they believe happens to various species...
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Go To The Head of the Cloud

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students pretend they are water droplets traveling through the water cycle. Using their text, they discover the steps in the cycle and the different paths water can take. They write a report about their journey through the water cycle...
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Leach Out and Touch Someone

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students discuss how groundwater becomes polluted. In groups, they design and create models of groundwater pollution sources. They demonstrate to the class how the water may become contaminated from local and nonlocal pollution sources.
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The Mussels Are Coming

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students work together to identify and describe the various types of mussels. Using a color-coded system, they plot the arrival date of zebra mussels in North American waters. They discuss the increase in their population with the class.
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Boating Safety

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Young scholars are introduced to the safety procedures to follow while boating. After taking a quiz, they complete open-ended questions about boating accidents in Illinois. They discuss as a class how those accidents could have been...
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Fill The Bill

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students identify and describe five different types of beaks. Using that information, they explain how each of them is adapted to feed on different foods. In groups, they travel around the room to various stations in order to practice...
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Here Today. . .Gone Tomorrow

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students observe that there are threatened and endangered bird species in Illinois, why they have been given this status and how it relates to endangered species on a worldwide basis. they participate in the Project WILD "Oh, Deer" or...

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