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Drifting Continents
Students, through teacher-led demonstration, explore the idea of continental drift. They complete a worksheet involving the calculation of continental drift over time.
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Moving without Wheels
Students observe a simple water cycle model to better understand its role in pollutant transport. This activity shows one way in which pollution is affected by the water cycle; it simulates a point source of pollution in a lake and the...
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Making Ice Cream
Student examine the physical changes of matter and are able to describe them. They make ice cream in plastic bags to observe the changes in matter. They describe and record the changes in the ice cream mixture as it freezes.
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Conductivity
Students work together to create a simple conductivity tester. They discover the difference between conductors and insulators. They test different types of materials for their conductivity as well.
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TE Activity: Does Weight Matter?
Students design and conduct experiment to determine if weight added incrementally to an object affects amount of friction encountered when it slides across a flat surface. They graph data from their experiments, and calculate...
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The Benefits of Biodiversity
Students examine the concept of biodiversity. They toss coins to determine what traits mouse parents have and the babies traits as well. They predict what would happen to the baby mice if the traits of the parents were different.
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Cleaning the Air
Students investigate how engineers design methods of removing particulate matter from industrial sources to minimize negative effects of air pollution. In small groups they design and construct a filter with the goal of removing pepper...
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Eek, It leaks!
Young scholars construct model landfill liners out of two-inch strips of garbage bags within resource constraints. The challenge is to construct a bag that will hold one cup of water without leaking. This represents similar challenges...
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For Your Eyes Only
Students identify two major types of visible pollutants, smog, and particulate matter, They explain that air pollutants are generated during incomplete combustion. They measure and rank collectors from the most pollutants to the least...
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Riding the Gravity Wave
Students write a sketch of an artist or athlete that has pushed the limits on gravity. They explore concepts of rhythm, balance and friction. They examine how engineers design sports equipment.
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Smoke and Mirrors
Students develop a persuasive peer-to-peer case against smoking. They read two scenarios, perform a skit, and prepare a factual presentation.
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Charlotte's Web
Learners create a small web to communicate a message to someone. They examine the types of spiders and how they make their webs. They design and create their own web with their message inside.
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Wire Maze
Students investigate what causes electrical circuits to work. They construct a wire circuit and pass a paperclip through the maze, trying not to touch the wire, and answer discussion questions.
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Portable Sundial
Students work together to identify the accuracy of sundials. They track the position of the sun and create a shadow plot. They discover the difference between real time and clock time.
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Disassemble a Click Pen
Students dissamble and analyze the spring system of a click pen. They analyze a cross-section worksheet, dissamble the pens, fill in the missing parts of the cross-section diagram, and write a description of how the pen works.
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TE Activity: Tears in Rain
Young scholars examine photographs before writing captions for them. They develop visual literacy as they see how photographs are manipulated to show the effects of acid rain. They rewrite the photo captions after a class discussion.
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Rain Forests
Students watch a PowerPoint presentation about the layers of the rainforest. They create a paper rainforest in the classroom. They take notes from the presentation and write a paragraph to include in a layer book. They create a...
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Snow vs. Water
Students fill three cups with snow. They record the height of snow in each cup, and allow the snow to melt. Students measure the height of the water in each glass or cup, and record their results on the worksheet. They answer questions...
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Lights On!
Young scholars work together to build their own simple circuits. They discover how electricity is conducted through light bulbs. They compare and contrast the differences beween a parallel and series circuit.
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TE Activity: Cool Views
Students define preservation and conservation before listening to an article read by the teacher about John Muir and Gifford Pinchot, famous environmentalists. They complete a Venn diagram before deciding which side of this environmental...
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Global Water Cycle & Heat Flow
Students experiment to discover how different variables affect the water cycle. They do hat flow experiments and construct a computer heat flow model.
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A Tasty Experiment
Students work together to determine if smell is important to being able to recongize food by taste. They try different foods with different textures and hold their nose. They create a graph of their results.
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Sliding and Stuttering
Students measure frictional force existing between a moving cup and the surface it slides on. They conduct the experiment and answer discussion questions.
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TE Activity: Built to Last?
Fifth graders test the shelters that were built in a prior activity. They determine the level of durability and water resistance of these shelters through a scientific investigation.