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Ceramics Scientific Inquiry Through Chinese Art
Fourth graders explore, examine and study ceramics, a medium of historical importance to China. They review the advanced technology of the early Chinese civilization and are introduced to the scientific method of inquiry and make...
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Classroom Archaeology
Students, in groups, receive a box of artifacts. They record their findings and discuss what the items would have been used for. They come together at the end of the instructional activity to share their findings.
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In Touch with Apples
Students read "How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World", the story of a girl who traveled the world to find the ingredients to make her apple pie. They conduct a series of interdisciplinary activities including testing their senses,...
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Crafting Models of Efficiency
Young scholars build and compare models of both an energy inefficient and efficient classroom. For this energy efficiency lesson, students creatively use recycled materials to build two separate classroom models. They factor in concepts...
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"The Proper Application of Overwhelming Force": The United States in World War II
Students examine the role that the U.S. played in bringing about victory in the two major theaters of the war in the Pacific and Europe. How the various military campaigns contributed to the war's successful conclusion forms the focus of...
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Turning the Tide in the Pacific, 1941-1943
High schoolers explore the overall strategies pursued by the Japanese and the Allies in the initial months of World War II. What each side hoped to accomplish what what actually happened forms the basis of a comparison made in this lesson.
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Turning the Tide in Europe, 1942-1944
Students explore the overall strategies pursued by the Americans and their British allies in the initial months of World War II in Europe. By examining military documents, students examine the decision to invade North Africa instead of...
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Victory in Europe, 1944-1945
Students examine the overall strategy pursued by the Allies in the final moths of World War II in Europe by examining military documents and consulting an interactive map of the European theater.
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Victory in the Pacific, 1943-1945
Students examine the military campaigns of the Pacific theater, tracing the path of the Allied offensives. The lesson presents what the Allies were trying to accomplish and why.
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The War in the South, 1778-1781
High schoolers explore the major terms of the Franco-American alliance and their importance to the cause of independence. The most important military engagements in the South are discussed and their significance for the outcome of the...
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Ending the War, 1783
Students investigate how successful they were in obtaining their goals in the Revolutionary War. The peace feelers of 1775 are examined and the reasons for the British rejection of them explored. the main provisions of the Treaty of...
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The American War for Independence
Students complete a unit of lessons that examine the goals of the Americans during the Revolutionary War. They explore an online interactive map of major campaigns, read and analyze primary source documents, and analyze diplomatic and...
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Witch Hunt or Red Menace? Anticommunism in Postwar America, 1945-1954
High schoolers investigate the goals and methods of the House Un-American Activities Committee and offer an opinion regarding whether their investigation of Hollywood was justifiable.
NASA
Mystery Planet
What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them.
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The Gummy Worm Lab
Young scholars participate in a lab experiment with gummy worms. In groups, they record the qualitative and quantitative observations during the lab. They use their senses to make inferences about the experiment and share them with the...
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The Case of the "Lost Gorge:
Students examine the case of a map making expedition. In groups, they read a case study on "The Lost Gorge" in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. They examine maps and determine where the error in the map-making occured to end...
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Language Arts: Plot Summary
Eighth graders implement plot summary organizers to identify essential elements such as conflict and resolution in literature. In pairs, they retell fairy tales to each other and complete plot summaries about them. As students read new...
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What Is That Thing?
Could your class identify an old-fashioned can opener? What about a rotary phone,...
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Worth a Thousand Words: Depression-Era Photographs
Students view images of New Deal programs to see its successes. They work in groups to create captions for the images and suggest captions that might indicate different meanings.
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"Julie of the Wolves"
Fifth graders research life in Alaska and compare life there to their lives in this lesson. They read "Julie of the Wolves." They research through the novel and other reference books facts about the Alaskan climate and geography. They...
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Personal Ecosystem
Students build an aquatic ecosystem using large glass pickle jars. In this ecology lesson, students build and ecosystem then observe and collect data on the habitats. In this long term project students observe a...
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Life Cycle of the Butterfly
Young scholars observe and analyze the life cycle and metamorphosis of the Painted Lady Butterfly. They write observation journal entries three times a week and summarize what they observed. Using KidPix computer software they create...
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Learning From Leaves: A Look at Leaf Size
Young scholars measure and analyze leaves from various environments. They discuss the environments, and make inferences about environmental variables that could have contributed to the differences in leaf size and texture.
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Snowfall
Students examine the differences between snow and rain. In this precipitation lesson, students measure one inch of rain and snow to calculate the amount of liquid water. Students use a snowfall "conversion" chart to measure how much...