Lesson Plans

Activity for students to create a school garden using multiple academic disciplines

For so many of our students, they have little knowledge about how the food they eats gets to their lunch plate. Students will spend time in investigating, planning, designing, creating, and evaluating a school site garden.

By understanding the basic needs to plant growth, students will be able to investigate which plants would grow best in the soil on their school site. After a hypothesis has been formed, students will plan the materials needed and what type of garden they would like to host.

Designing the school garden will require Math, ELA, and Science skills with Scientific Method being used as a foundation. Students will create a school garden as a result of the work they preloaded into the activity. Finally, students will decide if the school garden has an improvements needed for future growth or more growth.

Author:
Nathosha Brinkley

• Agriculture
• Science

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Nanotechnology is the next major scientific breakthrough. The development of nanotechnology is extremely promising, but there are unknown risks associated with utilizing nanotechnology. Nanoparticles occur naturally in our environment. Pollen, viruses, and ash are examples of nanoparticles that affect our environment and our health. Scientists have studied the behavior of these nanoparticles in an effort to develop nanotechnology to solve issues associated with our environment and our health.

In this project, students will explore innovative science, technology, engineering, math techniques and equipment that demonstrated the multiple uses and importance of nanotechnology.

Author:
Jevar Bransome

• Earth Science

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Chemical kinetics and buffers are two topics that are extremely difficult for students to understand. Combining the two topics will allow for a staggered, repetitive approach to teaching students to understand of how these two topics in chemistry actually work. Students will both qualitatively and quantitatively track the effect and enzyme has on a reaction, calculate the reaction rate and buffer capacity. Students will use a variety of lab techniques including calculations using Beer’s Law and spectrophotometry.

Author: Chris England

• Chemistry
• Science

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Chemical kinetics and buffers are two topics that are extremely difficult for students to understand. Combining the two topics will allow for a staggered, repetitive approach to teaching students to understand of how these two topics in chemistry actually work. Students will both qualitatively and quantitatively track the effect and enzyme has on a reaction, calculate the reaction rate and buffer capacity. Students will use a variety of lab techniques including calculations using Beer’s Law and spectrophotometry.

Author: Chris England

• Chemistry
• Science

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Throughout the series of lessons, students will learn about the sciences that make flight possible. They will explore all aspects of flight, such as engineering, physics, chemistry, weather, biology, and cartography. They will engage in various hands-on activities to familiarize themselves with these concepts, and will participate in a group final project to pull all the information together. The final project will consist of students designing and marketing an aircraft for an aerospace company to send to space with NASA. Students will go through the engineering design process and test their designs, and then have to use marketing strategies to make their aircraft seem most appealing to companies. Ideally, students will present in a board room to aerospace engineers.

Author: Allison Stewart

• Science

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In a 21st century globally-competitive society, agriculture is rapidly progressing and incorporating more innovative STEM practices (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). A number of agriculture advances incorporate genetics, which is an important unit in seventh-grade science. The lesson exposes students to a real-life application of genetics and technology to improve agriculture production and profit. The lesson specifically addresses bioengineering, biotechnology and selective breeding. Students use the technique of selective breeding in a class competition to make the best and most profitable grapes to sell to local industries. In doing so, they will learn about progressive agriculture science and technology, while covering the seventh-grade science genetics standards.

Author: Illana Livstrom, 2014-15 Kenan Fellow

• Agriculture
• Biotechnology
• Earth Science
• Environmental Science
• Genetics
• Science

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Author: Illana Livstrom, 2014-15 Kenan Fellow

• Agriculture
• Earth Science
• Environmental Science
• Science

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In this project, students will assume the role of citizen scientists—helping researchers answer questions about how dandelions acquire beneficial symbiotic microbes from different soil types. Students will collect and transplant dandelions, conduct experiments on dandelion growth and microbe growth, and then submit data to scientists at the Genomics and Microbiology Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The researchers will use these data to supplement DNA and RNA sequencing efforts. Students will receive results from the genetic analyses from a limited set of classrooms whose dandelions had previously been sequenced. By maintaining a connection with researchers, students will have an active, hands-on role in current science. Besides aiding scientists with research, students will also create their own inquiries.

Symbiosis in the Soil has curriculum alignments for grades 6-8. The introductory lesson, Diggin’ Dandelions, is a prerequisite for other lessons. This activity should take place in a single day to make sure dandelions will remain viable. Students will grow the dandelions for one month in the classroom, collecting data weekly. For the time frame of other lessons, refer to the individual lesson plans.

Authors: Arthina Blanchard, Laura Cochrane and Amy Lawson, 20104-15 Kenan Fellows

• Biology
• Citizen Science
• Earth Science
• Science

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Evolutionary changes are occurring all around us. In the news, we hear about new strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria such as “super bugs”. We have also learned that when we use the same pesticide for several years, it will no longer effectively treat the targeted insect. Like the bacteria, the insects changes over time because of selection which changes the genes or genome of the species over time. Our food crops have also changed overtime. These changes have caused our fruit and vegetables to change color and flavor as a result of our taste preferences. This focus on cultivating plants and raising livestock has caused many organisms to change over the last 12,000 years.

The purpose of this lesson is to research artificial selection. During this lesson, we will use fast growing plant crossing to model traditional agricultural practices and we will use Punnett squares to predict plant crossing outcomes. We will also use online simulations to learn about current biotechnology techniques used to make genetically modified crops. We will compare traditional agriculture to current biotechnology techniques that are being used to create pest resistant crops. We will discuss how artificial selection such as selective breeding and genetic engineering can impact organisms over time.

Author: Kelly Sears, 2014-15 Kenan Fellow

• Agriculture
• Biotechnology
• Genetics
• Science

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By surveying mammal biodiversity in and around school yards using camera traps, students will discover how mammals have adapted to and are living in human-modified landscapes. Preliminary research shows that developed areas can be good habitat for mammals. Students will assess habitats around their schools and analyze data on mammalian activity patterns, use of different habitats, and seasonal effects, including school-use patterns, on mammals.

Authors: Kelsie Armentrout, Dave Glenn and Dayson Pasion, 2014-15 Students Discover Kenan Fellows

• Biology
• Environmental Science
• Science

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Lesson 1

Shark teeth are the most commonly preserved fossils from sharks. In this lesson, students will learn how to identify parts of shark teeth and how to measure shark teeth using one of two methods (fitting teeth into circles or using a paper ruler). This is a prerequisite skill for Lesson 2 where students will sift through sediment to find shark teeth. Students will also read and discuss a story about interpreting fossil discoveries.

Lesson 2

In this lesson, students will sift through sediment to find shark teeth. They will measure the teeth using the measurement card from Lesson 1. They will record measurements on the board for the class to see. Once all data are collected, the class will create a bar graph to depict how frequently teeth of certain sizes are found. The shark teeth and data will be sent to Dr. Bucky Gates at the Paleontology and Geology Research Laboratory of the Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Authors: Kimberly Hall, Juliana Thomas and Kerrie Albright, 2014-15 Students Discover Kenan Fellows

• Earth Science
• Forensics
• Science

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In this intensive sixth grade 17-day lesson students will travel to the Aurora Fossil Museum in North Carolina to hunt for fossils and visit the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. Students will be real scientists throughout the project, taking all the steps scientists do when working to answer a specific question. This project engages students in constant research as they work in groups. It integrates all subjects, just like researchers in their field do, including science, math, social studies, ELA and technology.

Authors: Kimberly Hall, Juliana Thomas and Kerrie Albright, 2014-15 Students Discover Kenan Fellows

• Earth Science
• Forensics
• Science

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Introduction:
A hospital is an integrated system of physicians, other hospitals, outpatient services, and more. Each element is connected and significant in providing an exceptional healthcare experience. Through a series of lessons, students will serve as members of the hospital team, utilizing the mission, vision and values of the healthcare system to solve a patient puzzle.

Author:
Rachel Lawrence, 2014-15 Kenan Fellow

• Health Care
• Science

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As teachers it is important to interject real-world applications with science and math whenever possible.  Students often do not connect the principles to the career opportunities.  In our society, advanced manufacturing is creating many exciting careers that incorporate these scientific principles and provide excellent salaries.  This project will require students to determine and design methods that will move a selected product in a designed assembly process.

Introduction:
Students in middle and high school must be made aware of the opportunities, processes and careers paths that are available in advanced manufacturing.  Throughout this capstone project, teams of students will document (photographically/written) and sketch (hand drawn/computer generated) the reverse engineering of a project, the selection of a part and the designing of a mock-up assembly process for reassembly.

Author:
Henrietta Juston

• Engineering

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This lesson is designed for an IB Language and Literature course, Year 1, Part II (“Mass Media”).  Students will connect knowledge from other courses while analyzing how language and mass media influence public perception of genetic research.   All lessons are designed for 90 minute blocks.

Introduction:
Students will have the opportunity to analyze their own views regarding genetic research and complete research on the topics that interest them most. The assessment for this unit will be an advertisement and written justification as part of cross-discipline project.  In their biology class, students will be developing a plan for a start-up business that relates to genetic research in some way and addresses a student-identified problem.  In English, students will create an advertisement for their start up that clearly communicates its goal and demonstrates understanding of the key components of visual rhetoric.

Author:
Michelle Hicks, 2014-15 Kenan Fellow

• Biology
• Language Arts

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