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Powering a Green Earth
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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THE EARTH FROM ABOVE
Young scholars comprehend the geographic themes of location, movement, and human-environment interaction. They identify ways in which individuals depend upon each other within their community. Students identify examples of linkages and...
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Build A Model of the Water Cycle
Students identify and describe the steps in the water cycle. They discover the sun as the source of the cycle. They work together to create their own water cycle model.
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Urban Changes
Students explore how landscapes undergo constant changes with urban development. They plan and build their own "city" by including features that have minimal resource demands to sustain the city itself.
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What are Rocks and Minerals? How can they help us?
Sixth graders investigate the difference between rocks and minerals. They name the three kinds of rocks (sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic) and know the differences between them.
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Water, Water Everywhere
Students explore water. In this water cycle lesson, students conduct a scientific investigation that requires build a terrarium models of the earth. Students record their observations of the changes regarding water in the terrarium.
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Geological Forces and Topography
Pupils discuss and research the Earth's geological processes. In this geology instructional activity, students study maps of Utah and the United States to learn about geological features. Pupils then complete the research cards for each...
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A Reef of Your Own
Students study the reproductive strategies of reef building corals. In this coral reef lesson students describe the behaviors of reef building corals and their nutritional strategies.
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Earthquakes
Sixth graders explain that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults. They list the major geologic events including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mountain building, which are the result of crustal plate...
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Sundials: Observing and Using Shadows
Students build sundials and observe changes in shadows over the course of one or more days. They identify patterns in the shadows and discuss how shadows may be used to tell time.
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Solar Power
Young scholars discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They investigate the thermal properties of different materials. They evaluate the usefulness of each material.
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Miniature Water Cycles
Students construct a model of the water cycle in action using two-liter pop bottles to build a terrarium. Locate examples of evaporation and condensation in the water cycle (e.g., water evaporates when heated and clouds or dew forms when...
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Heat Up the Floating Plates
Eighth graders research the connection between the convection currents within the mantle of the earth and the moving of Earth's plates. A connection to lessons at previous grade levels on the rock cycle and important background...
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Rocks Up!
Students will design and build a structure to support a rock. Students will use their knowledge of movement of objects to determine the proper base to be built to support their rock. Students will explore their natural area for...
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Recreating the Greenhouse Effect
Students recreate the greenhouse effect. In this environmental science lesson plan, students gather materials and follow procedures to create the greenhouse effect on a small scale.
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Hanging Around
Students explore weight by building a spring scale and observing how it responds to objects with different masses. Each team of students can make their own spring scale by following steps which are specifically outlined in the plan. As...
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Climate and Temperature
Learners explore what the soil temperature would be on the north and south sides of a building. In this temperature lesson, students hypothesize what the results will be using a thermometer and then after a week see what the temperatures...
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Windmill activity
Students explore how to build an efficient windmill design by taking into account how the lift and drag caused by the movement of wind can be used to make the blades of the turbine move. Through their readings, hypothesis and by trail...
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Go Glacier Go!
Students create a model of a glacier and observe how it moves. In this landforms lesson, students learn what a glacier is, build a model glacier and observe how it moves in a manner that more closely resembles a liquid than a solid.
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Working in Space
Young scholars design and build one of three engineering problems dealing with living and working in space.
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Our Water Resources
Students build a model aquifer to study groundwater zones and water table formation. Students use the models to measure the movement of polluted groundwater.
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Habitat Mural
Young scholars build a collage of an ecosystem. The goal is for them to understand interactions in a community, plant and animal adaptations, and how all life depends on plants. This activity is based on Wump World and students describe...
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Help Maggie Rebuild Her Airplane!
In this airplane learning exercise, students build airplanes out of paper and test their accuracy while flying them. Students build 6 planes and fill out test logs to go with them.
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Design a Reef!
Students design a functional model of a coral reef ecosystem. In this coral reef lesson, students identify the energy sources and material cycles of a coral reef. They write an essay about their niche in their own ecosystem.