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Drawing Plants with Plant Studio Freeware
Students identify parts of plants by name and the relationship among these parts as they use Plant Studio Freeware Wizard and tools on the computer to draw a particular plant from life or from a picture.
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Ecological Communities:The Prairie
Students study the meaning of ecological community and recognize its complexity. For this ecology lesson students diagram a food web.
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The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities
Students examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They compare their educational experience with those of rural students of...
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Prairie Voices...Making a Living
Students explore the many ways people support themselves and their families. In this economics lesson, students review newspapers and compare types of jobs. Students create daily schedules for an adult worker and role play job interview...
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Land Associations
Students identify and explore life forms of various biomes, define transitional regions, examine effects of abiotic and biotic interactions, research a biome, and produce newspaper that features environmental information. Lessons all on...
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Grid it, Map it
Learners participate in designing a city layout using grids and coordinates. They work on a city space and create a grid on a life size layout on the gym floor.
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Diverse Environments
Students explore life forms in different environments. After exploring different biomes within their state, students research different plant and animal species within each biome. They prepare a group report on one feature of the region...
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A Trip Back in Time
Students investigate the pioneer experience in the 1800s. They view and discuss the images on the Missouri quarter, read a story about pioneer life, complete a worksheet, and create a booklet-form time capsule of pioneer items from the...
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Nelson Mandela, Symbol of Courage
Fifth graders study Nelson Mandela. In this leadership lesson, 5th graders study the life of Nelson Mandela. Throughout their learning, they read biographies on Nelson Mandela, compare their community to those in South Africa, discuss...
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Bison (American Buffalo)
In this science worksheet, students read the facts sheet for the buffalo. They could use this for a class activity for classifying animals.
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Sarah, Plain and Tall
Third graders experience what life was like during era in which "Sarah, Plain and Tall depicts using modern technology.
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The Turn of the Nineteenth Century: Lifestyles and Cultures
Student reflect on the differences between the life of children in the early
nineteenth century and their lives in the present. They demonstrate these differences by creating a drawing of "then and now." In addition, they create a...
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Farm Animals ABC Book
Students read and examine various books and websites on farm animals and farm life, then create a class farm ABC book. Each student is responsible for one page in the book.
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Amazing Bird Adaptions--Why Am I A Bird?
Fourth graders identify and classify birds found in Illinois. Using the internet, they discover how birds have adapted over time and how the adaptations have increased their life span. They compare and contrast the various adaptations...
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Deck the Halls with Literature Trees
Reinforce and assess reading comprehension by having your class make a literature tree! After reading a book, pupils make decorations to represent the book's themes, characters, and setting. Materials for decorating can be as diverse and...
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Sarah Plain and Tall
Students read the story, dividing it into chapters per day until complete. They respond to the ad, just as Sarah, Plain and Tall did and use the correct parts of a letter used including a return address, greeting, body, closing and...
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Push or Pull?
Utilizing the Nebraska State Quarter, pupils learn about the pioneers who had wagons that were pulled across Nebraska by oxen during the westward movement. Excellent worksheets are embedded in the plan that guide them through this fine...
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Wagons West!
The first pioneers faced many obstacles on their journey west. Middle schoolers read different historical fiction texts (ideas are provided), make connections, and complete a detailed packet (included). Reading guides, journal ideas, and...
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Wagons West!
Through learning about the Oregon Trail and Nebraska, learners evaluate the elements of historical fiction. Coming with a comprehensive bibliography, this lesson plan has your class learn about settlers traveling along the Oregon Trail,...
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Find the Main Idea: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
An excerpt from Willa Cather's O Pioneer's! provides learners with practice in finding the main idea and supporting details in a narrative. As readers record the bleak details on the included graphic organizer, they can conclude that...
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Boom and Bust in the Ozark Forests
Here is a hard-hitting, cross-curricular lesson on the effects that the deforestation of the Ozark forests in the 19th century had on the people, animals, and ecosystems of the area. The Dr. Seuss book The Lorax is used as a way of...
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Speedy Succession
Fifth graders identify how a pond can change into a grassland. An ecosystems instructional activity where learners identify pioneer and climax species, and recognize that ecological succession can take up to 100 years or more. Some...
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"Water, Water Everywhere and None to Drink"
Ninth graders research the importance of maintaining an unpolluted source of water in their community. They brainstorm ideas on what they can do to help the problem. They can also write letters to their local politicians for help.
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My Antonia: Story Grammar
Pupils can write down all of the major plot elements of My Antonia by Willa Cather on this straightforward worksheet. Learners note down themes, characters, the chain of events, and more.