Lesson Plans

Introduction:
In this project, much of the learning responsibility is placed on the individual students within the project team, and also on the team acting as a cooperative unit.  Students will be provided with some basic background and will have some avenues to investigate and present as a team (polar vs. nonpolar compounds and surface area, hydrophilicity vs. hydrophobicity, the history of mass spectroscopy, the advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal studies, the specialization of scientific fields, and the importance of collaboration between experts in different scientific fields.

Author:
Brian Cartiff, 2014-15 Kenan Fellow

• Chemistry
• Science

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Introduction:

This is an introductory middle school science lesson which compares and contrasts renewable vs. nonrenewable energy sources. The end product is a presentation to a lower grade level science class.

Author:
Cindy Bullard, 2014-15 Kenan Fellow

• Earth Science
• Science

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A project from the Kenan Fellows Program in conjunction with the NC Department of Public Instruction

This professional development series was designed to implement with a Professional Learning Community/Team. The intent is that a group of colleagues work together through the 3 Chapters. The team should have a facilitator, and the facilitator should go through the training materials prior to the whole group training. It is recommended that the series be done in 4 sessions- Chapter 1, Chapter 2 Day 1, Chapter 2 Day 2, and Chapter 3. After the 4th session, a follow-up should be offered to the group in order to support implementation of this type of assessment and instructional strategies.

• Math

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This series of lessons focuses on exposing high school math students to relevant applications in the aviation industry. This is the first in the series for the Integrated Math 2 level. This can be taught in conjunction with Unit 1 Lesson 2 – Reading Airline Maintenance Graphs but can also be a stand-alone lesson. In this lesson, students will explore the use of a Flight Computer (E-6B) to solve Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) problems.

• Math

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Literacy is an important aspect of science. To be literate in science means students are able to understand, read, and write in terms of science. This lesson is designed to get students to think critically about real world application.

The lesson incorporates technology and Bloom’s highest level of thinking, creativity. Students will learn about writing scientific names of organisms and classifying organisms, how organisms interact with each other and their environment, and the impact of natural disasters.

• Biology

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In this activity students will compare one digit numbers and two digit numbers.

Students will be able to define greater than, less than, or equal to another number. Students will be able to define numbers using symbols.

• Math

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A Unit developed to understand the relationship of numbers and how numbers relate to the base ten number system.

A students understanding of number sense and number sense in regards to base ten typically develop along the same continuum. When looking at the progression continuum, students need to know the skills listed previously prior to moving on to more advanced skills.

• Math

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Jet engines are commonly used to transport people and materials all over the world either by air- or water- craft in an efficient manner. They are also used for propelling land vehicles to pass the speed of sound. The purpose of this lesson is to provide a real-world example of utilizing the physics learned in class to understand the theory of operation of such an important device.

This lesson will provide an opportunity for students to conduct their own analysis of a jet engine, and then report their findings to their colleagues (the class). Students will apply their knowledge of Newton’s 2nd and 3rd laws to study how a jet engine imparts motion to an object and what key variables are needed to determine a jet engine’s performance.

• Physics
• Science

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Protists are used easily to examine classification systems, population diversity, life-sustaining processes, stimulus/response in the environment, and many other “big” concepts that are repeated when studying larger, more complex organisms. A strong foundation in these concepts at the unicellular level will improve student understanding throughout the life science/biology learning progression.

The conceptual lens used throughout this unit is the student development of a zoo exhibit for protists. Lesson 1 specifically addresses the six characteristics of all living organisms, as AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) assessment data indicates that only 50-53% of middle school students correctly identify that all cells/organisms have life-sustaining characteristics in common.

• Science

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Protists are used easily to examine classification systems, population diversity, life-sustaining processes, stimulus/response in the environment, and many other “big” concepts that are repeated when studying larger, more complex organisms. A strong foundation in these concepts at the unicellular level will improve student understanding throughout the life science/biology learning progression.

The conceptual lens used throughout this unit is the student development of a zoo exhibit for protists. Lesson 1 specifically addresses the six characteristics of all living organisms, as AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) assessment data indicates that only 50-53% of middle school students correctly identify that all cells/organisms have life-sustaining characteristics in common.

• Science

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Students will explore the different careers found in Biomanufacturing by conducting a series of experiments that mimic the day to day operations found in industry. Students will use yeast cells as the basis the labs. They will conduct microbiology-type experiments by growing some of the yeast cells on petri dishes and examining the number of cells that grow both on the plates and under the microscope. Next, students will grow yeast cells in a similar fashion to what is seen in large-scale bioreactors. They will analyze the results of the experiment by applying computer skills to create graphs and charts of their results. In addition, Students will also design a filtration apparatus that will separate the cells from the product they are producing and calculate the yield percentage. These activities can be used as part of a microbiology or biochemistry unit or as an introduction to biotechnology.

• Biology
• Biotechnology
• Science

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This unit uses roller coaster design as a method of teaching students about energy types, energy conservation, and the design process. At the end of this Unit, students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills should be strengthened.

• Math

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Kenan Fellow Jenny Rucker, working with faculty from the Department of Mathematics at the University of North Carolina, is creating activities to teach middle school students how to use math to model and predict natural phenomena. Through hands-on, inquiry-based labs, seventh and eighth grade students will explore the behavior and effects of fluid in and around objects and organisms. Students will investigate and create fluid transport systems and gather data to calculate natural frequencies. Using scale models to gain a better understanding, they will use data to predict real-life effects on trees and other structures.

• Math

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The project with Dr. Hoffmann was a wonderful opportunity to bring real data from the Brazilian forest and savanna back into my classroom for a global learning opportunity on data collection, biomes, adaptations, photosynthesis, and transpiration. I am thankful to have such a wonderful opportunity where I can collaborate with Dr. Hoffmann and his team of scientists to transform current science discoveries into the North Carolina Standard Course of Study to benefit my 6th grade Science classroom.

• Environmental Science

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Every day across our state high school teachers enter their classrooms and give everything they have to their students and subject. Their focus has been on teaching specific content, sometimes in isolation, to students who were unable to connect that subject to their lives. They either lacked the vocabulary or the background knowledge to see the relevance of the subject taught to their world.

• Science

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