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Primate Primer

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the different branches of the primate family tree. They create fact cards about various species of non-human primates and then write fictional skits about interactions among the different primates.
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Creature Creation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the characteristics of dragons as represented in the myths of cultures around the world. They create their own mythical dragons by hybridizing two creatures with desirable traits and writing stories about their creation.
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Deep Thoughts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine what lies within the Earth. They research and create scale models illustrating the layers of the Earth and write skits advocating a travel plan to send a probe into the Earth's mantle.
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Sense-itive Issues

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the difficulties of adapting to the loss of different senses. They work in small groups, each developing a fictional superhero who experiences a loss of one of sense and must compensate for it with his or her other senses.
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Performance Poppers

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the controversies surrounding the use of performance-enhancing supplements in sports by interviewing athletes and writing feature articles that compare the skills required to compete in different sports.
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Organic Feud

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine possible pesticide exposure in their fruit and vegetable consumption. They compile fact sheets exploring various organic food issues and interview their parents about the food choices they make for their Students.
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Healthy Hearts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students focus on advanced technologies used to treat disease impacting the cardiopulmonary system; they then reflect on the experiences of having and overcoming illnesses.
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Hall Monitors

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate the incidence of different types of violence that occurs in their schools through reading, discussion and interviews. They question local authorities about the best ways to reduce school violence.
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Cooking Up an Explanation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students pose scientific questions about food items and research their explanations. They then create recipe cards with the answers and present their findings in a cooking show format.
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Technically Speaking

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research how various forms of technology have changed during different time periods and the ways in which technology impacts society. They propose designs for galleries within a technology museum.
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Shedding New Light

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars consider why photographs in space might not show stars and research the importance of light in this phenomenon. They research other scientific processes related to light or its absence and create "How It Works" posters...
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Think Small

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore current applications of nanotechnology in various industries, including medicine, space development, environmental protection, and defense.
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Growing Pains

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars compare common food items with the parts of a plant. They grow their own plants to assess the difficulties in assisting a plant's growth and reproduction.
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Industrial Light and Magic

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate early mass production in various industries, and then create presentation posters outlining how a typical 19th-century factory, mill or refinery worked.
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Literary Criticism

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students evaluate and debate whether movies, television shows, and other mass media cause violent behavior in students and whether books are the same as or different from these other media in their potential for causing violent behavior...
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In Search of Truce

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the relationship between a country's political and social history and its position today. They study 8 African countries immersed in the present conflict in Congo. They present their findings.
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Dolphin Demeanor

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine new evidence of violent behavior in dolphins as a springboard for research on various dolphin behaviors, such as communication, feeding patterns, group behaviors, parenting, navigation, and interactions with humans.
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Dot-Commerce

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners analyze the impact that e-commerce has in their community, as well as in small traditional communities that one might not expect to be part of the dot-com marketplace. They develop business plans for imagined businesses.
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Forever in Our Memories

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider reactions to various plans for building on the grounds of the World Trade Center. They explore ideas and opinions that went into creating other memorials of events in American history and propose ideas for improving...
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Doctors as Detectives

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the investigative and detective work that goes into disease control. They research specific diseases and simulate a doctor-patient diagnosis situation.
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Mission Possible

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students create blueprints for imaginary inventions based on real-world technological principles. They write explanations of how their inventions work in the form of movie dialogues.
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Coming To Our Senses

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students participate in a hands-on experiment that illustrates how taste and smell are related. They create their own experiments to help them explore all five senses and the relationships between them.
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Muppets as Mediators

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore current social issues in the Middle East to create their own student television programs for Palestinian and Israeli Students.
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Is All Well in Welfare?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars explore current welfare reform issues and create plans of action to improve welfare reform laws in the United States. They predict what President Bush's "Working Towards Independence" welfare reform program might entail...