Lesson Plan
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Exploring Phases of Matter

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students discuss and experiment with the phases of water.  In this phases of matter lesson, students recognize the different states of matter.  Students measure and record changes and understand when the state changes.
Lesson Plan
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Get to know H2O!

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students investigate scientific concepts and inquire about physical states of matter. The transition of water is considered and is easy to facilitate because of its abundance and often observed physical changes.
Worksheet
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Hess's Law

For Students 11th - Higher Ed
In this reactions worksheet, students use Hess's Law to calculate the heat gained or lost by different reactions. Students determine if the reaction would occur spontaneously at a given temperature. This worksheet has 9 problems to solve.
Lesson Plan
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Permafrost: Permanently Frozen Ground

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students explore permafrost.  In this 3 states of matter lesson, students identify characteristics of solids and liquids.  Students observe water and soil melting and freezing at various temperatures.  Students make...
Lesson Plan
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Cotton Seed Planting

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students using scientific inquiry will observe and record in daily journals their findings on cotton seeds. They measure, graph, and then communicate their discoveries about plants to each other.
Lesson Plan
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Floating Pencil

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students discover how salt water makes a pencil float better than freshwater by measuring and comparing the lengths of the portion of the pencil that floats above the water surface. They then determine if an unknown water sample is...
Lesson Plan
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Heat Unit

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students define thermal equilibrium. They distinguish between internal energy and heat. Students describe how the quantity of heat that enters or leaves a substance is measured.
Lesson Plan
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Warming the Earth

For Teachers 1st
First graders investigate how the sun warms the Earth and examine the rotation of the Earth and the sun. They create an illustration of the sun, examine a solar system model, and listen to the book "The Sun: Our Nearest Star." They also...
Lesson Plan
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Colored Drops

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young scholars examine the properties of a liquid that contains water and food coloring and a liquid that contains water, food coloring and a liquid detergent. They interpret their data, describe properties, and make reasonable...
Lesson Plan
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Deep Freeze

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students practice various sampling methods for retrieving data under water, ice, and soil. They use the sample material to make temperature measurements, chart contents, and draw their own conclusions as to what is happening in the...
Lesson Plan
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Energy/Light/Heat/Sound

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study the properties of heat in this series of lessons. They discuss sources of heat and experiment to determine its properties. They identify insulators and conductors by measuring temperatures, and graphing their data....
Lesson Plan
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How Does Whale Blubber Work?

For Teachers K - 1st
Students perform an experiment to find out how whale blubber keeps whales warm in cold temperatures. They use Ziploc bags lathered in shortening to simulate whale blubber. They put their hands in cold water, both with and without the bags.
Lesson Plan
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Thirsty for A Liter or Milliliter?

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders work with liters and milliliters for measurement.
Lesson Plan
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Weather Facts

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students study weather and weather measurement tools. In this weather lesson, students read and discuss weather myths and superstitions as well as weather terminology. Students then work in groups to complete weather stations for wind,...
Lesson Plan
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Solar Hot Box or Cooker

For Teachers 5th - 6th
  Students brainstorm about solar energy then construct a solar cooker to test the maximum temperature that materials can reach. In this solar energy lesson, students experiment and record temperature of water in their hot boxes...
Lesson Plan
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Rate of Cooling Experiment

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders measure the insulation properties of different fabrics by immersing cans of water covered with fabric "socks" in an ice bath and measuring temperature changes. They then calculate heat loss and graph the data individually.
Lesson Plan
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Rain Reasons

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore how climatic factors influence the growth of plants. They create an experiment to find how variations in water, light, and temperature affect plant growth and describe how precipitation and geography can affect the...
Worksheet
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Weather

For Students 9th - 12th
In this weather worksheet, students review what causes different weather patterns including the more severe weather patterns like tornadoes and hurricanes. Students also calculate relative humidity by using dry and wet bulb temperatures....
Lesson Plan
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Investigating Convection Currents

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine how differences in the temperature and salinity of the water help create ocean currents. They perform an experiment which shows how temperature affects the circulation of ocean water.
Lesson Plan
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How Much Energy Does the Earth Receive from the Sun?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore energy. In this science lesson, students conduct an experiment in which they measure how much energy is produced by the sun. Students build a calorimeter to measure the amount of energy.
Lesson Plan
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Earth Science: The Structure of the Earth

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students identify and complete activities about the structure of the Earth. For this Earth structure lesson, students view a Powerpoint about the Earth's layers and complete a diagram. students compare temperatures in the Earth's layers...
Lesson Plan
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Transforming Food Energy: A Balancing Act

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explain their role as consumers. They use a purchased calorimeter or make their own simple calorimeter to measure the energy content in selected foods. This interesting lesson really gets students thinking about what they eat.
Lesson Plan
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Sun Seeking Plants

For Teachers K - 1st
Students investigate the story "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle. This story is used to introduce the children to the concept that seeds change and grow into plants when conditions in the environment including temperature, light, water and...
Lesson Plan
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Enzymes and Jell-O

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students test for the presence of enzymes in fruit and the specificity of those enzymes. They identify the susceptibility of enzymes to certain environmental factors such as temperature and pH in the enzymes environment.