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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Get Down and Dirty: How Does Soil Change With Depth?

For Students 6th - 8th
What covers less than 10% of the Earth's surface, yet is a vital natural resource for terrestrial life? What filters ground water and supports most of our food production, not to mention the production of building materials and paper?...
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Soil Compaction

For Students 3rd - 5th
Have you ever had to dig a hole in really hard dirt? It is a lot of work. In this experiment you can make an instrument to test the soil and find out how compacted it is, before you dig.
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Website
Virtual Museum of Canada

Virtual Museum of Canada: Community Stories: A Little Brick Plant in the Middle of Nowhere

For Students 9th - 10th
The Claybank Brick Plant is in the Dirt Hills of south-central Saskatchewan and the only complete example of such a plant in North America. Its equipment and structures are intact and functional, preserved as they would have been in the...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: What Is Soil?

For Students K - 1st
Have you ever played in dirt from your yard? You were actually playing with one of the most important natural resources on earth - soil. Watch a short video on soil and a second video showing the phases of plant development using...
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Interactive
Other

The National Arbor Day Foundation: What Tree Is That?

For Students 9th - 10th
Imagine a world without trees. Students can click on a barren field to see the transformation of the bare dirt by plants and trees. The authors include an online reference guide that lists the benefits of trees and an excellent...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Superhydrophobicity: The Lotus Effect

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students are introduced to superhydrophobic surfaces and the "lotus effect." Water spilled on a superhydrophobic surface does not wet the surface, but simply rolls off. Additionally, as water moves across the superhydrophobic surface, it...
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Interactive
Other

Texas Beyond History: Kids Only?

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Engaging games about Texas History. Adobe Flash is required for some of the games and will not launch.
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: A Trip Through Space to Calculate Distance

For Students 9th - 10th
Imagine two aliens racing across outer space to their moon. Who can we deem the fastest alien? With DIRT- or the equation Distance = Rate x Time- we can calculate their rates, using the distance they traveled and the time they took....
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Website
Other

Cal Earth the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture

For Students 9th - 10th
Founded and directed by the internationally renowned architect and author Nader Khalili, this institute works to create homes from the earth using such materials as sand, clay, and dirt. Its mission is to create tree-less places for...
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Interactive
PBS

Pbs: Meerkatcher: Divide Fractions With Unlike Denominators

For Students 6th - 8th
The rascally meerkat gang is making a mess of the zoo. Divide fractions to dig the dirt and catch those 'kats! In this activity, students will focus on dividing fractions, starting with single-digit denominators and working up. This...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: Count on It!: Blossom and Snappy Redecorate, Part 1

For Students K - 1st Standards
Blossom and Snappy start to make a container garden in a cardboard box. The dirt seeps through onto Robbie's carpet so they go to the carpet factory to figure out the most cost-effective way to fix it. They also go to a home improvement...
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: The Stupa

For Students 9th - 10th
Can a mound of dirt represent the Buddha, the path to Enlightenment, a mountain and the universe all at the same time? It can if it is a stupa. The stupa ("stupa" is Sanskrit for heap) is an important form of Buddhist architecture. View...
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Interactive
Michigan State University

Michigan State University: Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology: Microbe Zoo: Ag Acres

For Students 3rd - 8th
A simple overview of the important roles microbes play in agriculture. You'll learn how some microbes can be hazardous to plants while others help fertilize and build soil, and kill insects.
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Website
Other

Bike ride.com: Bicycling Events Calendar

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource lists cycling events for the entire U.S. and Canada. There is a searchable database that allows you to put in the city you want and how many miles away you are willing to travel for all types of cycling events.
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Interactive
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Soils Around the World

For Students 9th - 10th
Check out a world map hosting a variety of options for views of various soil types. Identify the different soils and where they can be found.
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Lesson Plan
Peace Corps

Peace Corps: Fighting Soil Erosion

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Educate students about soil erosion with this thorough lesson which focuses on the geography of Guinea.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Poetry of Liberation: Lorna Dee Cervantes

For Students 9th - 10th
Lorna Dee Cervantes is presented in this brief biography, drawing attention to political and social messages which are camouflaged by vivid use of nature in her writings. See "Lorna Dee Cervantes Activities" for related materials.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Earthworms Do Good Work

For Teachers 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about earthworms and how they help the soil. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Inch by Inch

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this lesson students will do a variety of learning activities while they meet many math, science, and language arts objectives. Students will measure items, analyze and record data, listen to instructions, and follow directions. They...
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Graphic
Curated OER

Chinese Filling in Secret Town Trestle With Dirt

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides images and short description of the importance of Chinese labor in the construction of the railroad.
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Activity
University of Oxford (UK)

Beazley Archive: Augean Stables

For Students 9th - 10th
Illustrated dictionary definition of King Elis' filthy Augean Stables which Herakles must clean for his Fifth Labour. Describes what animals were kept in the stables and how Herakles was able to wash away the dirt.
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Website
Geography 4 kids

Geography4 kids.com: Ecology, the Study of Ecosystems

For Students 3rd - 8th
Get the dirt on ecology! Look at how different ecosystems interact with one another, what alters ecosystems, and the cycles they experience.
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Botta's Pocket Gopher

For Students 4th - 8th
Pocket gophers dig with their front claws and with their teeth. A pocket gopher can close its mouth behind its front teeth, so it can dig without getting a mouthful of dirt. Learn more about the Thomomys bottae, more commonly known as a...
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Idaho Pocket Gopher

For Students 4th - 8th
Idaho Pocket Gophers are active all year long. When they excavate burrows in the winter, they leave the dirt piled in snow tunnels. Learn more about the Thomomys idahoensis, more commonly known as an Idaho Pocket Gopher, in this...

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