Kenan Fellows
Determining Stream Health by the Diversity and Types of Benthic Organisms
How diverse are the benthic organisms found in local streams? Using the information learned in previous lessons on identification of macroinvertebrates and on calculating stream index values, groups determine the health of local streams....
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Groundwater Pollution Site Assessment
Students study how a geologist examines a hazardous waste spill using an actual site. They use site data to map the spill, find its source and determine how fast the spill is spreading.
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How Clean Is Our Water?
Students examine samples of water to determine its cleanliness. They visit a waste treatment plant and/or reservoir. Students explore what protects the water supply from contamination by chemical or organize pollution. They trace the...
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Microbial Contaminants in Drinking Water
When presented with three unopened bottles of water, high schoolers are asked to tell decide which one is contaminated with a microbe. Students work in small groups and role play being a Microbiologist, a patient, or a recorder. The...
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What is a Watershed?
Students create a classroom size model of a landscape to define the concept of a river watersheds. They spread crumbled newspapers around the floor to simulate different elevations then cover the whole landscape with a sheet. They pour...
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Materials: Hidden Costs, Mapping the Source and Cost of Raw Materials.
Students map connections among raw materials. In this environmental stewardship instructional activity, students design strategies to minimize the use of raw materials and discuss how to use more sustainable materials.
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Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature
Young scholars are shown how temperature affects dissolved oxygen and they create a graph showing this relationship. They think about the adaptations of animals to live in different water temperatures. Students test four different water...
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Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
Here's a fine lesson on renewable and non-renewable sources of energy for your 5th graders. In it, learners list a number of natural resources on the board, then try to sort the resources into appropriate categories. This helps them to...
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Class Presentation on Coal
Did you know that coal was formed from plants? After being assigned a coal-related topic, groups gather, organize, and present information about this energy source. The presentations should include visuals like graphs, charts, tables,...
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Know Your Watershed
Students investigate the importance and the location of their own watershed by visiting and EPA website and also work in groups to create an action plan on how to protect their local watershed.
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Language Arts: How Can Research Shape Ideas?
Students are able to characterize arsenic and determine its potential health threats in writing. They are able to compare and contrast arsenic to other water pollutants using Venn diagrams. Students are able to demonstrate essay skills...
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Acid Rain And Plants
Students observe the effects of acid rain on plants. They simulate an experiment using vinegar or lemon water. They observe the impact of acids on plants and recognize how acid rain can affect the environment. They examine their plants...
Teach Engineering
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of several garbage patches around the world where garbage accumulates naturally. As part of a GIS unit that combines oceanography, environmental science, and life science, class members investigate...
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Activity #5 Soils-Permeability and Impurity Removal
Middle schoolers predict which types of soils would work best for keeping contaminants contained. They comprehend that in the past, landfills have been one major source of groundwater contamination. Pupils comprehend that placing and...
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Beyond the Tap
Students explain the basic properties of a watershed including how water flows from higher to lower elevations and how watersheds are interconnected. They comprehend how the placement of buildings, roads, and parking lots can be...
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Pea Soup Ponds
Young scholars perform an experiment where they learn how water can be polluted by algal bloom. They grow algae with different concentrations of fertilizers or nutrients and analyze their results.
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What is an Aquifer?
Students examine how an aquifer operates. They discuss the implications of the groundwater becoming contaminated. They work together to create an aquifer model to observe the connection between surface water and groundwater.
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WHAT'S ORGANIC?
Students explore how certain foods come to be certified "organic." They write the words "organic" and "synthetic" and given the definitions of each. Students are given dictionaries. They are asked: "What is organic food?" Students grow...
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Environment: Just Around the Bend
Students decipher landforms on a map and corresponding satellite imagery. They consider the impact of pollution on agriculture and water. They draw diagrams demonstrating how pollution works its way into the food source.
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Does the Introduction of Pesticides and Fertilizers Alter an Aquatic Ecosystem?
Learners conduct an experiment using a small sample from a local water source. They introduce fertilizers and pesticides, separately, and carefully examine the results in their simulated aquatic ecosystem.
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Particulate Matter: The Lorax
Students investigate how dirty air is outside. They read and discuss the book, The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. They investigate using jars and lids to compare the dirt left each day as they remove the lids. They observe the lids and discuss if...
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Karst Topography
Students observe a movie about karst topography over the Internet and note nonpoint source pollution. They discuss ways to manage pollution and their experiences with any polltion sources.
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Arctic cleanup
Ninth graders examine pollution problems and how it affects the community. In this arctic cleanup lesson plan students study ocean currents and how they affect pollution.
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Fighting Disease
Seventh graders explore the concept of medical intervention in African nations. In this geography lesson, 7th graders research primary and secondary sources in search of information regarding Guinea worm disease. Students use their...