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Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Arctic Smorgasbord!

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Two blooms of phytoplankton, instead of just one, now occur in the Arctic due to declining sea ice, which will have widespread effects on the marine life and climate. In small groups, participants build an Arctic food web with given...
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Lesson Plan
Facing History and Ourselves

Decision-Making: Introduction to the Unit

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Make your classroom a supportive and communicative place to be before beginning a unit on the Holocaust. Working together as a class, learners reflect on their previous experiences of classroom discussions before establishing a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where is Away?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Focusing on where are garbage goes once we dispose of it, learners explore environmental concerns. Using a clear format, this lesson leads learners through a discussion of waste reduction, recycling, and composting. Then, they discuss...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Renewable Resources: Ancient Civilizations

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students examine how ancient people used natural resources. In this renewable resource lesson, students will be put into 5 groups each focusing on a different past civilization. Each group will identify they types of resources their...
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Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Greening Your Middle School

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers redesign their school to make it more energy efficient, and create a model of their design. Learners get together in groups of 5, and they take on the task of making their school more energy efficient. To do this, they...
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Lesson Plan
Carnegie Mellon University

International Perspectives to Climate Change 1

For Teachers 8th - 12th
After a lecture about how the first industrial revolution triggered the path to climate change, your environmental studies class discusses what the impacts are. In a culminating activity, they get into groups and identify countries on a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sugar Bush Sap Production - Human Environmental Impact on Sap Sand

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders compare the amount of sugar sand present in tree sap. In this environmental science lesson, 11th graders measure different tree circumference. They prepare a report and share findings in class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

pH Potential

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students experiment to determine the positive and negative impacts of human activities on environmental change. They examine how physical and biological processes such as decomposition affect soil characteristics while looking at the pH...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biodiversity Study -- A Unit Study

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students sample a site with low human impact, one with moderate human impact, and a third with high human impact. Students chart the data for each site and then compare the sites and discuss.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extra! Extra!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students describe how plants and animals depend on each other. They see how living and nonliving environments change over time. They identify ways in which humans have changed their environment and the effects of those changes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's Just a Barn

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Investigate Pennsylvania Barns. Have your class consider the elements common to Pennsylvanian barns and why they are significant to the food production process. They write summaries of Frederick Watts and his impact on agriculture.
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Lesson Plan
Michigan Sea Grant

Fish Habitat and Humans

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Strict habitat requirements are needed for the survival of fish populations and fish variety in the Great Lakes. Young scientists become experts in the basic needs of fish and understand how survival necessities can vary with different...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

“THE LORAX” by Dr. Seuss

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help...
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Lesson Plan
Carnegie Mellon University

Transportation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Teach your environmental studies, life science, or engineering class how an internal combustion engine works using the first few slides of the accompanying presentation. Then, focus in on the resulting carbon emissions. Finally, take a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Choices Affect the Environment-I Make a Difference

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students examine and research how personal and societal choices can affect the environment. Student find resources that provide scientific research about the possible impact of each of the choices. Students then create a four-panel...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Resources: Getting a Fair Share?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the impact of human behavior on key components of the environment, examine how theirn own personal decisions have added to the problem, and explore possible solutions to the current ecological crisis.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Lights On ! Lights Off! Exploring Human Settlement Patterns

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders write informational paragraphs based on the settlement patterns of the United States. In this settlement lesson plan, 3rd graders read about population and how it affects where people settle next.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Raindrops Keep Burning On My head

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the effects and causes of acid rain. They test pH of household items to familiarize themselves with pH scale and compare that information with acid rain solutions. They investigate impact of acid rain via internet...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Ecosystems 5: In Defense Of Cities

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars explain that while cities have unattractive features, the density of human life enables energy efficiency, mass transit, recycling, and other benefits which are difficult or impossible in rural areas. This is the fifth in...
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Unit Plan
Rural Science Education Program

Cells, Genetics, and Biotechnology

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
For scholars tired of reading the textbook, this unit includes nine hands-on lessons. Through group work, lab activities, experiments, and even one inquiry-based lesson, scholars apply knowledge about cells, genetics, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Photosynthesis and Respiration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers comprehend the relationship between plants and animals in an aquatic ecosystem. They predict the effects of low dissolved oxygen on the organisms. Students create microcosms with plants, animals, or both. They determine...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Environment: How'd That Pollution Get There?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars examine how global wind and water patterns aid in the spread of worldwide pollution. In groups, they read articles about the domino effect of pollution and create posters displaying its journey. On blank world maps,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Kapok Tree - Economic Impact of Deforestation

For Teachers K - 7th
Students read "The Great Kapok Tree" by Lynne Cherry. They, in groups, research the economic impacts of deforestation in areas with rain forest and identify resources that humans use from the rain forest.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Human Organism

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students discuss human emotions and mental health. In this mental and emotional health lesson, students write a short story regarding the "think and share" choice. Students include emotion, the connection between feelings and conflict...