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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Living in the Desert

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Conduct an investigation on the plants used by the Hohokam tribe. To survive in the harsh desert environment the Hohokam used many natural resources. Learners read, research, map, and graph multiple aspects of Hohokam plant use as a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigate the Sonoran Desert

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers read article in Chain Reaction about the Sonoran Desert and answer questions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecology of The Sonoran Desert Soil Crusts: Biology, Geology

For Teachers 6th - 11th
This lesson is designed after research done on the ecology of soil lichen in the Tucson Basin area during the summers of 1997 and 1998. Its purpose is to guide students into adopting the problem solving thinking of ecologists. The lesson...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sonoran Desert

For Teachers 3rd
Little learners examine a map of the southwestern United States and identify the Sonoran Desert. They locate different cities and rivers, determining whether or not each is found within this special ecosystem. A student handout is...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sonoran Desert

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this Sonoran Desert worksheet, students read and analyze a letter that Jeremy wrote to his grandmother and then complete the picture that follows using information about the desert they learned from the letter.
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Unit Plan
Tramline

A Desert Virtual Field Trip

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Travel with your students on a virtual field trip and explore the deserts of the world! This is site is interactive and informative.
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Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in the Sonoran Desert, in Arizona, was declared a national monument to preserve the ecological wonders it houses. Peruse the history, culture, nature and science. Teachers, be sure to check out the...
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Activity
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: School Publishers: Exploring Ecosystems

For Students 3rd - 8th
Compare and contrast three very different ecosystems - the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Florida Everglades, and the Arctic Coastal Plain in Alaska. Learn what makes each of them unique, and about the adaptations plants and animals had...
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Activity
Tramline

Desert Field Trip

For Students 3rd - 8th
Use this site to find out how deserts are formed, where the largest desert is located and if there are different types of deserts.
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Handout
Other

Branimir Gjetvaj: Sonoran Desert, Arizona

For Students 9th - 10th
This site has several pictures and links on the flora of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.
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Website
Other

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum: The Hohokam

For Students 9th - 10th
An informative article that describes many aspects of Hohokam culture. Read about their agricultural practices, the native plants they used for medicine and clothing, and the materials they used for building their houses. See examples of...
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Graphic
Other

Theundocumented.com: The Map of the Undocumented

For Students 9th - 10th
In an effort to honor every life that has been lost on our borders, Coalicion de Derechos Humanos records the number of bodies that are recovered in the Sonoran Desert. View the map to read the names of those that died since 2000. Click...
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Website
Nature Conservancy

Nature Conservancy: Planet Earth: Deserts

For Students 9th - 10th
From the Sonoran Desert in North America to Colorado's Great Sand Dunes all the way to Africa's Namib Desert, explore these incredible deserts and discover what scientists are doing to preserve these great lands. Peruse through an online...
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Handout
Curated OER

National Park Service: Explore Nature: Views: Sonoran Desert: Organ Pipe Cactus

For Students 9th - 10th
Snapshot reference on the Sonoran Desert organ pipe cactus describes its appearance, growth, and location.
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Handout
US Geological Survey

Usgs: What Is a Desert?

For Students 9th - 10th
At this site from the United States Geological Survey, you can read an informative and scientific explanation of what deserts are and what occurs in them. View pictures of deserts and a diagram showing the distribution of deserts in Africa.
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Sonoran Desert

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart is an introduction/review of the climate, the plant life and the animals of the Sonoran Desert. Students will use Activotes, the eraser tool and the pen tool to answer questions about how...
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Definition of Climax Community With Examples

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains how a climatic community is the end product of ecological succession and describes the process by which this happens. Provides several examples of climax communities.
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Animals for Kids: Colorado River Toad

For Students 1st - 9th
Kids learn about the Colorado River Toad. The largest native toad in the United States likes dry areas and deserts..
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Basin and Range Province

For Students 9th - 10th
In this entry, you will learn about the physical features and location of the Basin and Range Province in the western United States.