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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pacific Salmon and Mountain Pine Beetle

For Teachers 2nd - 7th
Students compare fish anatomy. In this teacher demonstrated dissection lesson, students compare fish anatomy to that of humans. They explore different fish and their unique properties.  There are 4 distinct activities which can be...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Properties of Fresh and Sea Water

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work with three stations to demonstrate the properties of water. They explore water's boiling point, freezing point, and its ability to store heat.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water in Earth's Hydrosphere

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Environmentalists test stream water for temperature, pH, and turbidity. Each group shares their information and then the class makes an overall evaluation of the water quality. A slide show sets the backdrop for the teaching portion and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extreme Environments

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine extreme environments and the characteristics that make them.  In this adaptation activity students see how animals have adapted to these environments. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Too Hot? Gotta Vent!

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study deep sea exploration and underwater geology, specifically hydrothermal sea vents. They create digital video projects of their own to demonstrate their knowledge, illustrating the discoveries of the explorers of the ocean's...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Watershed Quest

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Young scholars examine their connection to local watersheds. They describe the water cycle and list species living in their local watershed. They also draw a map of their community.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oil Spill!

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine how oil spills are cleaned through an interactive program. They review the facts of oil spills and how the oil spreads. They discuss the short and long term effects of a spill and how they can be avoided.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating a Pond Habitat

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students create a pond habitat inside and outside their classroom. In this pond lesson plan, students create a habitat with animals, water, and plants in order to create a proper pond habitat.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Web of Predators and Prey

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers investigate the food chain by researching the Internet.  In this ecosystem lesson, students view the video "Competitor and Predator" and read a book from the series "The Magic School Bus."  Middle schoolers utilize a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bad Algae!

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore algal blooms.  In this ecosystem and health lesson, students define and describe harmful algal blooms, then discuss ways in which the impact of these algal blooms could be reduced.  Students work in groups to research...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do We Explore Strange Environments?

For Teachers K - 4th
Students identify and label the different parts of a robot, rover, or a spacecraft. They discuss and record all of the features their robot will need to accomplish its mission and be able to explain why they chose these features to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar System Search

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Learners research topics related to space and the planets using the Internet. They explore various websites, construct scale models of the solar system, and create a travel brochure using HyperStudio computer software.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

The Water Cycle--Model Simulation

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners build a model to simulate parts of the water cycle. They recognize and explain the essential elements of the water cycle.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystems and Remote Sensing

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Surface Air Temperature Trends of the Caribbean

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use real satellite data to determine the changes in near-surface air temperature at different times of the year over the Caribbean Sea. They discover how Earth's tilt causes seasonal differences in incoming solar energy. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Sources in Cape Verde and West Africa

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young explorers study the scarcity and importance of a continuous supply of fresh water in Cape Verde. They research the five main ways that fresh water is obtained in these countries. Each research group prepares a presentation, and...
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Lesson Plan
Ocean Explorer

Looking for Clues

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Upper graders become "shipwreck detectives" by studying the debris field from a shipwreck in the Aegean Sea which took place in the 700s.  A website is accessed that gives specific information about the debris field, and pairs of young...
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Lesson Planet Article
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Curated OER

Building a Documentary Library

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Documentary films allow your class to visit new places and gain a deeper understanding of complex issues.
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Succession

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The final lesson in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen in the future using...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light Stick Chemistry

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In groups of three with the lights off and the shades drawn, investigators place inactivated light sticks, in three beakers: one filled with ice water, another with lukewarm water, and the other with room temperature water. They wait...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Winter Wonderland - Winter Olympics and the Water Cycle

For Teachers 5th - 7th
After a concise introduction to the water cycle, junior meteorologists access NOAA's average snowfall data. They choose a city to examine in terms of precipitation. Then they look at historical snowfall data and use it to predict snow...
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PPT
Mr. E. Science

Climate and Climate Change

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
What factors make up climate? How does longitude and latitude affect climate? What is causing Earth's climate to change? These questions are the topic of a presentation that explains characteristics of climate and climate change.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fish and Zooplankton Through Remote Sensing

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Ecology aces examine sea surface temperature maps and relate temperatures to concentration in fish and zooplankton populations. Take your class to a computer lab and provide experience with actual remote sensing data. Some of the links...
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Activity
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National Park Service

It Was a Very Good Year

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park includes whitebark pines that are over 1,200 years old, meaning they have been there since before medieval times. The second lesson of five details how to read tree rings for climate change and...