Lesson Plan
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Creating Context Mural

For Teachers 10th
students examine the historical, political, religious and culture aspects of the Renaissance. Using this information, they read "Galileo" by Bertolt Brecht. They use the internet to research a specific event of the time period and come...
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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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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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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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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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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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Water and Plants...How Dry I Am

For Teachers 1st
First graders observe two similar plants as one gets water and the other does not. They make predictions and chart the growth of each. They draw pictures of the plants after one week.
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Escape The Hangman

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders investigate the concept of probability. They use the game of hangman to create engagement and context for conducting the lesson. They create a spreadsheet with data that is given. Students make predictions based on data.
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M & M Madness

For Teachers K
Students work with the mathematics unit of collection, organization, and presentation of data. In this math and technology lesson plan, students use Valentine M & M’s and The Graph Club to sort and graph the various colored M & M’s.
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A Geological Puzzle

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students compare and contrast the various types of rocks on each continent. In groups, the calculate the rock ages and types to determine if the continents, in their opinion, were joined at one time. They develop two imaginary...
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Sea Ice: Unscrambling the Egg Code

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students determine sea ice thickness, concentration, and floe size by reading egg codes.  In this sea ice conditions lesson, students color code a map based on prescribed criteria and use the maps to identify changes in sea ice...
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Keep it Active

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars explore the active layer above permafrost and investigate various factors on the insulation value of the active layer.  In this energy transfer lesson, students conduct and experiment to determine the effects of snow...
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Picking Pythagoras

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students discover that side measurement is used in determining angle classification of a triangle. By squaring sides, they predict whether triangles be right, obtuse, or acute. They prove the Pythagorean Theorem and use it to solve...
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My Daily Life in Kansas

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders use 'Read Kansas' cards to learn about the daily life activities of an Osage boy and a pioneer girl. In this similarities and differences lesson, 2nd graders write a paragraph and draw a picture comparing...
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Illuminating Climate Change: Connecting Lighting and Global Warming

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers analyze energy usage and connect energy usage to fossil fuel consumption. In this global warming and pollution lesson plan, students what fuels are used to generate electricity and how much CO2 each fuel produces, then...
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The Colors of Chemistry

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students investigate the acidity and alkalinity of common household products in an experiment. They use red cabbage juice and litmus paper to show the difference between strong acids and bases as they work with vinegar, dish washing...
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Planning for and Surviving Earthquakes

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work in small groups to explore the FEMA for Kids site. They take the role of FEMA officials. Student list three items they may need to survive an earthquake. They complete a worksheet and discuss their results with the rest of...
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The Recess Queen

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students read, The Recess Queen and answer questions about the book.  In this story book lesson, students write stories about situations that they have gone through similar to what was in the story. 
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Relative Ratios

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover that proportions are made up of equal ratios each containing the same building blocks. They, using the Internet, apply their knowledge of direct relationships and proportions to problems in planetary science.
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A Plane Old Time

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders become familiar with a chart and use the information to create a flight plan.  In this flight plan lesson, 4th graders access background knowledge of the role of flight controllers and the number concepts they...
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Significant What?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students define accuracy and precision, and differentiate between the two terms, apply the concepts of accuracy and precision to a given situation and correctly apply the concept of significant figures to measurement and mathematical...
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Comparing Themes Across Texts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...
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Super Gelatin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the refraction properties of gelatin to calculate its index of refraction. They discover that as the light travels through the gelatin, its speed and wavelength also change. Students find th indes of refraction of an...
Lesson Plan
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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.