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What's Under There?
Students determine ways to make "observations" about unknowns, such as the land beneath an ice sheet or the interior of the Earth, using tools other than sight. They build "mystery boxes" and exchange them with other groups to "map"...
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Our Universe: Designed or Evolved?
Students brainstorm and write arguments for Evolution and Intelligent Design. They research the history of each of these ideas. They also examine the controversy of teaching one or both ideas in schools.
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Geometry of Radio Meteor Reflections
Ninth graders investigate and describe ways that human understanding of Earth and space has depended on technological development. They describe and interpret the science of optical and radio telescopes, space probes and remote sensing...
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Volcano!-Thar She Blows!
Pupils describe how volcanoes are formed. They name the types of boundaries where volcanoes occur. They utilize models to illustrate the occurence of volcanoes and earthquakes along plate boundaries. They compare and constrast the...
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Cyclic Universe: Worlds Without End
Students compare and contrast the Big Bang Theory and the Cyclic Universe Model. They explain basic properties of the univers which make life possible. They evaluate ideas about the origin of the universe as to their scientific value.
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Exploring Big Bang Evidence
Ninth graders study the Big Bang theory. In this big bang theory lesson students research the Internet and complete several activities and create a presentation.
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Tropical Atlantic Aerosols
Students analyze NASA data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer. In this NASA data lesson, students access an assigned website to examine information from the MISR on the Terra Satellite. They determine how desert dust travels...
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Building Materials
Fifth graders are presented with three rocks and a variety of tools and are asked to investigate the properties of the rocks to see which rock is best for building tables and benches for a museum picnic area.
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Carbon Dioxide Heats It Up
Learners design an investigation to test whether vegetation in an area helps regulate the ambient air temperature. They make comparisons between the investigation and global changes in climate. In groups, they present their findings to...
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Can You Name the Four Seasons?
Students explore names, characteristics and traditions of the seasons and observe weather changes throughout the year.
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Save the Bay!
Young scholars explore environmental protection by creating a presentation in class. In this Chesapeake Bay lesson, students discuss the current threats from human beings towards the delicate balance of life near the bay. Young scholars...
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Formation of Rain
Students sequence the steps leading to the formation of rain, and design a model to represent these steps. This task assesses students' abilities to classify, generalize, infer, interpret and communicate data, and construct a pictorial...
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Ride the Arctic Climate Rollercoaster
Students view interactive CD-ROM entitled The Arctic Climate Roller Coaster, research evidence of changes in climate through the years, record ways people responded to changes, and create short presentations to share evidence with...
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Creeping
Students observe, measure, and graph a model of slow down slope movement representing soil creep. This task assesses students' abilities to collect, record, and organize data, set up graph axes, plot data points, draw line graphs, apply...
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Rain, Rain, Go Away
Young scholars conduct a number of experiments involving evaporation and condensation. They view and discuss a video about the water cycle and then design posters about the rain based on the book "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs".
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Peat Pots
Learners place a peat pot in water to observe and calculate the rate of capillarity in a model of a soil. This task assesses students' abilities to make simple observations, collect, record, and represent data, use a data table to...
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Water Pollution
Young scholars study four samples of "rain water". They asked to determine the pH of the samples and then to neutralize them. Students are asked to predict any negative effects which might be associated with water having a low pH and...
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Climate change in Canada
Students investigate the impact of human activity on the environment. In this secondary math/science lesson, students analyze and interpret information from data and graphs as they investigate trends in climate change and the...
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The Sun: An Introduction
Students write entries in their Science Journals as they explore the Sun.
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Teaching About the Properties of Water
Students use video, Internet research, graphs and tables, worksheets and hands-on experiments to investigate the properties of water in a lake environment. They work under direction or through an inquiry process.
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Eyewitnesses to Change
Students explore recent changes in the Artic's climate that have been observed by Artic residents. They watch videos, take notes and create a concept map. They also look at historical weather data from a specific Artic community. The...
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Probing Under the Surface
Eighth graders use a measuring stick to determine the shape of the inside of the bottom of a box, then apply their knowledge to an additional situation. This task assesses students' abilities to make simple observations, collect and...
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Dinosaurs
Students will develop goals for inquiry. They will also improve content area reading and research skills. The context of studying dinosaurs will help learners to distinguish from organisms that live presently and those from the past...
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Crustal Sinking
Pupils measure the rate of sinking of a test tube into a beaker of "glop", representing a model of the interaction between the Earth's crust and upper mantle. This task assesses students' abilities to make simple observations, collect,...