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Fill The Bill
Students identify and describe five different types of beaks. Using that information, they explain how each of them is adapted to feed on different foods. In groups, they travel around the room to various stations in order to practice...
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Ozone Hole Expert Groups
Research topics associated with the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Researchers write five facts about their topic and one question for each of those facts. They present what they learned to the rest of the class. Six topics are...
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Drugged Out Daphnia
Ninth graders participate in experiments to investigate the the effects of nicotine, caffeine, aspirin, alcohol, and sleeping pills on the heart rates of Daphina. They describe the relationships between common drugs and heart rates....
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Multiplying Microbes
Ninth graders investigate the techniques of culturing bacteria. They culture bacteria using agar plates. Students identify and describe some environmental conditions that effect bacteria growth.
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Chocolate Fever
Students study plants in the rainforest. They complete a variety of activities surrounding the subject of chocolate. They create new candy bars, invent learning games and write poetry--all focusing on chocolate.
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The Heart Stopper
Use the pump from a spray bottle to drive a model of the heart in action! In addition to modeling the function of the heart and blood vessels, aspiring anatomists also simulate arterial blockage. They compare the effects of increased...
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Water and Plants...How Dry I Am
First graders observe two similar plants as one gets water and the other does not. They make predictions and chart the growth of each. They draw pictures of the plants after one week.
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Learning Cycle Lesson Plan
students investigate, develop inferences, and identify general descriptions for each of the three states of matter - solid, liquid, and gas. students investigate water, by observing and stating inferences about, the properties of each...
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Color Dots 3
Students make simple observations, test mixtures, and make generalized inferences from their observations. They observe bleeding of colored inks with water.
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Acid Precipitation
Students test the acidity of unknown solutions. They use this information to make inferences from data given from recorded rainfall records to identify areas that receive the most acid rain.
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It's All In The Rocks
Middle schoolers think critically to determine fact or inference when examining sedimentary layers with embedded fossils. Geology and evolutionary biology are introduced. They individually write a story about various diagrams and share...
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Pulse
Students determine a baseline pulse rate then chart the changes in rate with exercise. They describe the changes and develop a rationale for their observations. The task assesses students' abilities to make simple observations, determine...
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Photos from the Past
Young scholars observe and interpret historic photographs of water in New Mexico. They record observations, draw inferences, and compare water in New Mexico's past with water today. They create a class book or exhibition of the...
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Every Breath You Take
Middle schoolers explore the nature of the air we breathe by observing petri dishes that have accumulated particulate matter from the atmosphere. Students make mathematical calculations and inferences about the effect of this matter on...
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Geologist and Core Sampling
Third graders observe a cupcake and attempt to answer each question on the observation page. They write three sentences that explains how a geologist takes core samples of the earth's surface. Students make sketches and write...
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Scientific Inquiry
Middle schoolers make inferences about what activities occur at different places in school. They form a hypothesis as to how space is used. They simulate how archeaologists explore past people by designing and conducting a research project.
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Seeing Sound and Sonar
Students grasp how underwater animals can "see" using sound waves. They practice making inferences, and build a conceptual understanding of sonar radar.
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Taxonomic Keys
Seventh graders create their own dichotomous key. In this biology lesson, 7th graders classify animals based on their observable features. They explain how to use their dichotomous key.
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Cloud Forecast
Pupils record weather observations and research online weather data. In this weather observations lesson, students study the cloud cover for several days and record their observations in a chart. Pupils identify the cloud types and...
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Orientation of the Earth in Space
Students hypothesize the location of the sun in the sky at diferent times of day and at different latitudes. They perform several experiments to provide evidence for their hypothesis. Experiments including observing the sun's position at...
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Being Nosy About Our Neighbors
Students use the scientific method to explore the effect of size on impact cratering. They compare images of landforms on Earth to those of other planets to compare surface processes. Students infer the geologic history of another...
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Rock Identification Lab
Eighth graders compare and contrast the three different types of rock. In this earth science instructional activity, 8th graders classify rock samples according to their correct rock type. They design their own data collection table.
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Mississippi’s Contribution to Space Exploration
Eighth graders engage in a class discussion while going through a PowerPoint on Mississippi's contribution to space exploration. In this Space science lesson plan, the students will also participate in Brain Pop quizzes where they will...
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Weather Instrument Use and Application
Eighth graders measure temperature, wind speed and pressure using Skymaster SM-28. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders collect data and record observations taken from outdoors. They explain why numerical values are different in...