Secondary Science Lesson Plans

Planets...not as far out as most think

• The students will be able to research their assigned planet by using various media sources including the Internet, encyclopedia on-line, and books to present the information in oral and written format.
• The students will be able to present their assigned planet to the group in a creative manner with at least one visual aid.
• The students will be able to use the research to write an individual comprehensive paper to turn in for a grade which includes specifics about the planet in terms of: distance from the Sun, density, unique characteristics, atmospheric composition, and various space missions.

Plants In Our Lives
By: Rachel Ashe, Jessica Dancu, Rachel Herzog, Avery Willis

• Student groups will develop a short presentation on their topic with each student designing two slides (approximately 10 slides total). 
• Student groups will share their presentations with the class and submit three questions about their presentation to be used on a quiz.
• Students will demonstrate their understanding on a quiz about the various presentations. [An example quiz item could be: What part of a plant is broccoli? a) stem b) flower c) root d) seed. For this item, the specific objective is that given a choice of four plant structures, students will be able to correctly identify the part of the plant represented by broccoli, b) flower.]
• Virginia Biology SOL 8:  Investigate and understand how populations change through time.
   
  Virginia Biology SOL 9:  Investigate and understand dynamic equilibria within populations, communities, and ecosystems.

Charts and Graphs With Spreadsheets
By: Catherine L. Brown

In preparation for a science fair, I would want my students to be able to:

• Understand how graphs present information.
• Identify which kind of graph would be the best graph to present different types of information.
• Use a spreadsheet.
• Apply what they have learned in this lesson to their own projects.

Life Form Report
By:  Braden Gardner, Jennifer Snyder, Veronica Salcedo, David Fox

• Students will choose a life form or a habitat from http://www.vims.edu/bridge/biology.html and write a report including description of their topic and one of the following: how their topic affects the environment or how the environment affects the selected topic.
• Virginia Biology SOL 5: "The students will investigate and understand life functions of monerans, protists, fungi, plants, and animals, including humans."

"Pickle Plan"
By: Darren Hickman, Leah Price, Ann Sipe, Nicole Whitfield

1. Given a description of an experiment, the students will be able to name the independent variable, dependent variable, constants, and control.

2. Given a description of an experiment, the student will be able to formulate a hypothesis and give rationale for the hypothesis that is internally consistent and testable.

3. Given a new problem, the student will be able to list possible independent variables, dependent variables, constants, and controls.

Once student lists possible independent variables, dependent variables, constants, and controls, the student will be able to design an experiment, state a hypothesis and give a rationale for it, and describe a simple procedure for testing the hypothesis.

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