Curated OER
Drifting Continents
Students, through teacher-led demonstration, explore the idea of continental drift. They complete a worksheet involving the calculation of continental drift over time.
Curated OER
Puerto Rican Parrot Paradise
Students investigate the environment of the Puerto Rican Parrot. They visualize the ecosystem with and without information. They conduct research to find information and participate in classroom discussion to demonstrate comprehension of...
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Ecosystem Interactions Web
Students pick an ecosystem (forest, desert, coral reef, open ocean, grassland, mountain, savanna, etc.) and design an interaction web for their chosen ecosystem. Each group shares their ecosystem's web of life with the class.
Curated OER
Weather the Storm
Fourth graders complete multi-curricular activities for weather. In this weather lesson, 4th graders complete creative writing, research, and weather data analysis activities for the lesson.
Project SMART
Rocks and Minerals: Touch the Earth
Students complete a unit of lessons on rocks and minerals. They conduct research, write e-mail questions to geologists, write daily journal entries, label maps demonstrating types of rocks/minerals found, and create a web page that...
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Hurricanes
Learners use the internet to research the characteristics of hurricanes. Using this information, they read about past hurricanes and use a weather map to trace current disturbances in the oceans. They also discuss hurricane safety and...
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Plate Tectonic - Volcanoes (1)
Learners learn the different shapes of Volcanoes and discuss why volcanoes only have a few shapes.
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Cranes, Crosswalks, and Big Gulps
Students watch a video and answer questions based on wildlife jobs. In this wildlife lesson plan, students learn that biologists don't just play with animals but that there is a lot of study involved.
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Radiation: To Worry or Not to Worry
Students distinguish safe forms of radiation from those that are dangerous. Students watch a video about sources of radiation encountered every day. Students estimate their own annual radiation exposure.
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The Lesson: Species Under Threat
Learners consider the plight of endangered species. In this global studies instructional activity, students research selected websites about endangered animals and identify global issues that contribute to their demise.
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NASA's Mars gamble pays off
Learners read an article about NASA and Mars and complete short answer questions about the article. In this Mars lesson plan, students also create a scale model of the solar system.
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Coastal Quandary
Students explore the debate among development and environment experts on evacuation coastal areas and take part in their own debate on "evacuation versus redevelopment".
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Earth in the Hot Seat
Students identify the different viewpoints on the issue of global warming. While watching a video, they take notes on the issues presented to them and answer questions about what Alaska, Peru and East Africa are doing to prevent global...
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People & Trees
Students see that people have developed new technologies and new products that increase efficiencies and maximize the productive use of each tree harvested. This lesson provides many good ideas across the curriculum to study forestry.
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Planet X
Students select a wide variety of presentation methods to compare Planet X and Earth. Students share these with their classmates. Students select other methods to present their ideas about a livable planet for human life forms. ...
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Surveying an Environment / Ecosystem
Students visit a local ecosystem to survey the plants and animals present and identify interactions between organisms. They identify interactions that occur between living organisms and their ecosystem and present their ecosystem to the...
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The Water Dilemma
Students read about and discuss the importance of easily available, clean drinking water. They participate in a role play scenario in which only one drinking fountain in the school has potable water.
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Everything Weather
Fourth graders use print and electronic media to find the following essential elements of these storms: characteristics, effects, safety and preparation, and interesting facts. A graphic organizer is used to gather and record this key...
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Habitat Is Home
Young scholars are introduced to the concept and components of a habitat. They discuss the key components of a habitat and describe how certain factors can cause disturbances in a habitat and change its population. Activities are leveled...
Orange County Water Atlas
Location, Location, Location…
Young geographers discover not only how to read and recognize coordinates on a map, but also gain a deeper understanding of latitude and longitude and how climate changes can vary significantly across latitudes.
Teach Engineering
Weather Forecasting
According to the Farmers' Almanac, the weather will be nice today. Class members examine how weather forecasting plays a part in their lives with a resource that provides information on the history of forecasting, from using cloud...
Curated OER
Radiation Reassessed
Students investigate the dangers of radiation by exploring recent nuclear tragedies. In this scientific debate instructional activity, students define the idea of radiation "half life" and determine if low doses of radiation are truly...
Curated OER
The Chaos Game
Students measure and predict the behavior of a fractal. In this investigative lesson students divide into groups, and participate in an activity that includes drawing triangles and coloring vertices.