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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students complete a group experiment which simulates the greenhouse effect as well as compare the climate on Earth to the climate on Venus following a class discussion on the greenhouse effect.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's About Time

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students create their own timeline. For this social science lesson, students write the important events that happened in their lives on their timeline and then compare their timeline to Earth's timeline.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coal: More Than Meets the Eye!

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students participate in a hands-on simulation to help them explain that coal resources are deposited unevenly between the earth's surface and under the ground.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Water Systems

For Students 9th - 12th
In this water systems worksheet, students refer to their textbook to complete questions about the amount of water on earth and the portion of water in various forms. Students review porosity, permeability, and water table. This worksheet...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Thin Slice of Soil

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Learners examine the importance of soil in the production of what we eat and wear, and analyze the percentages of the earth used for food production. They create their own Pyramids of Life, and construct Dirt Babies out of hosiery, dirt...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students complete activities to examine the properties of water. In this water science lesson, students read a book about water's forms and study a map or globe of the Earth to investigate water. Students discuss living things that need...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Probes, Exploration and Application

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the benefits of the space program to our life on earth.  For this space exploration lesson students participate in a lab, answer questions and study radar mapping. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is a Karst

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students investigate landforms by holding a class experiment. In this topography lesson, students define the word "karst" and discover why sinkholes are created on the surface of the Earth by completing worksheets. Students create a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Soil?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine what makes soil by creating a Venn Diagram.  In this Earth environment lesson, 3rd graders identify the different components that soil is made from. Students bring soil from their homes to examine and create a Venn...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Soil Composition: Then and Now

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students identify the location of their school from a 1926 digitized Soil Sample map. Using remaining landforms, they determine the type of soil identified during that time, and compare it to the soil currently found near the school.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Ultraviolet (UV) Light From the Sun

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners identify the different energy given off by the sun. In this earth science lesson, students predict where the UV beads will turn the darkest color. They explain the importance of using UV protection.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Cooking Methods - Past and Present

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify geographic regions (Texas' Edwards Plateau) and sequence steps in the hot rock cooking process. They compare and contrast prehistoric and contemporary cooking methods. Students conduct online research and record...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mr. and Mrs. Cress Head

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students explore Earth science by completing a plant art project. In this botany instructional activity, students utilize tights and soil to create a furry, grassy puppet style animal from cress seeds. Students cut off the excess cress...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Venn Diagrams to Compare Two Ecosystems

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students explore the distribution of two ecosystems on a global scale; and map the distribution of tropical and temperate rain forests throughout the world. They use a Venn Diagram to describe these ecosystems and the differences between...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth Science

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the planets and celestial bodies in our solar system. For this outer space lesson, students identify the planets and record journal information about them and other celestial bodies. Students define outer space words.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mission Planning: Earth/Mars Comparisons

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students compare and contrast conditions on Mars to those on our own planet, specifically, their local or regional environments. The physical characteristics, the atmosphere, and other astronomical data is considered.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Surfaces

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars identify and define geology and earth surface vocaulary and their meanings to classify rocks and explore caves and their properties. Students find rocks and test them according to Moh's scale. They create a color coded...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Powering a Green Earth

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students compare and contrast renewable and nonrenewable energy. For this environmental science lesson, students discuss the importance of going green. They identify the different components in a power grid system.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading the Shapes of Volcanoes on Earth and Mars

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Young scholars compare and contrast the volcanoes of Earth and Mars, and examine specific volcanoes on Mars. They model the processes that create cone and shield volcanoes, and measure the slope angles of cone and shield volcanoes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Compare & Locate via the Internet

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders compare the location of their home city/town with a town in another country (non U.S.) that they have selected and researched utilizing the Internet. They create a binder of their reports for future research.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Basin & Range Faulting

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify that the crust of the earth is constantly moving and that with the exception of faults accompanied by earthquakes, this rate of movement is far too slow to notice. Then they print a copy of cross-section map A and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cold As Ice

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate how glaciers cause the weathering of landforms. They observe a brick that has been placed on a frozen slab of ice, and discuss the results, comparing them to the movements of a glacier. In small groups, they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Soil?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students examine soil. In this earth science lesson, students define and describe weathering and erosion as it relates to soil. Students compare and contrast potting soil with forest soil and complete a science observation worksheet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forest Loss Slows as Asian Nations Plant

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners survey the loss of forests around the world. In this environmental lesson, students read an article that outlines how forests are being lost and government interaction which encourages forests to be rebuilt.  Activities to...