Curated OER
How Old Is Illinois?
High schoolers use fossils found in rocks to determine the age of the strata between Rock Island and Chicago. Pupils pretend they are geologists. They must determine the age of all rock layers between the Mississippi River and Lake...
Curated OER
Inuit Sled Dogs
This is a terrific resource! Have your class learn about Inuit sled dogs using this lesson. They discuss how the Inuit travel and the needs of their sled dogs. This lesson includes a math activity, discussion questions and a cooperative...
National Park Service
Rock Ranking
Junior geologists sort rocks and soil. They separate a sample of river gravel by size, shape, color, and other characteristics. To include Common Core standards, you could have little ones graph the number of particles in each sample.
Curated OER
Two Ways About It
Students take an imaginary hike in two opposite directions along a lake. They view and interpret satellite images and discuss the pros and cons of hydroelectric dams.
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Delightful Directions
First graders identify and demonstrate how symbols and models are used to represent features of the environment. They identify the directions on a map as east, west, north, and south. Finally, 1st graders play a direction game, move to...
Curated OER
Social Justice-Water in Developing Countries
Students explore how water shortage affects everyday life. In this social justice lesson, students discuss information about water shortage in Ghana. A water shortage simulation/game is played in which a "Canadian" team starts with a...
Curated OER
Water Studies: Precipitation and Population
In this water worksheet, students complete the chart about precipitation and population and answer short answer questions. Students complete 14 rows in the chart and answer 4 questions.
Curated OER
Graphin' and Glyphin' Utah Weather
Fourth graders use glyphs as a way to visually represent information about Utah weather. These nonverbal representations help students collect and interpret data in a visual format.
Curated OER
Spring: Giving Thanks to the Herring
Students study the Wampanoag tribe to learn about the importance of the herring to their culture. In this Wampanoag lesson, students read information and complete multiple activities to learn about the role of the herring fish in the...
Curated OER
Reservoir Activity
Students research the economic importance of the major reservoirs in Illinois. In groups, they manage a budget for one of the lakes to promote tourism in the area. They also work together to create advertisements.
Curated OER
Finding Your Way Around the I & M Canal
Fifth graders utilize a map of the I&M Canal (imbedded in this plan), and perform a series of tasks. They calculate distance, find specific points of interest and solve a set of story problems about the canal.
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Float the Boat
Students collect data and analyze it using a graph. In this algebra lesson, students identify different bodies of water and relate the flowing to math. They collect data on the rate of flow and the height of flow. They analyze the data...
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"Wet" Your Appetite: Conserving Water
Students investigate how water is utilized in producing food. For this agriculture lesson, students examine how much water goes into the creation of their daily menu. Students create a new menu that can conserve water and cut their water...
Curated OER
Animals Finding Rice Paddies
Fourth graders examine the animals who live in rice paddies and create a chart. In this rice lesson, 4th graders link the types of animals living in each ecosystem with a bar graph. Students use colored bars to show...
Curated OER
Story Stretching: Tall Tales in North America
Students are introduced to tall tales. In this introductory tall tales unit, students explore the tall tales of Casey Jones and Johnny Appleseed. This unit includes many interdisciplinary lessons including graphing skills and geography.
Curated OER
Graphin' And Glyphin' Utah Weather
Fourth graders investigate the concepts of looking at sets of data. The focus of the study is upon the local weather of Utah. They study the weather found in the city and in the country and make comparisons based upon geographical location.
Curated OER
Calculating Volume
Students evaluate mathematical problems using the formulas for volume. They recognize "perspective" in different shapes including cubes, pyramids and cylinders. Students practice on brainstorming all the different shapes and how they can...