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To Protect Your Streams, Protect Your Mountains
Young scholars build and experiment with a watershed to understand the effects of pollution. In this movement of water lesson, students work in groups creating rock formations and change the viscosity of the liquids falling down the...
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Measurement of Biotic and Abiotic Objects
Students identify biotic and abiotic factors. In this environmental study lesson plan, students conduct a series of experiments to collect and record data and draw conclusions based on the results.
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Landfills: A Solid Waste Management Plan
Students are able to list the types of household waste that they produce daily. They are able to describe some other types of waste that are produced by industry or agriculture to help maintain their lifestyles. Students are able to...
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Wonderful Wetlands
Fourth graders create a model of Utah wetlands using clay, sponges and soil. They identify the value the wetlands have to plants and animals. They simulate rainfall to observe how wetlands help filter silt and pollutants from the water.
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Composting
Using 2-liter bottles, junior ecologists create composting tubes in which they place nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich materials. They observe what changes occur over two weeks' time. Provide more specific direction to your class as to what...
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Marine Debris
Now is the time to educate tomorrow's citizens to care for the planet, and here is a lesson to help facilitate the process. Collect some marine debris and bring it into class. Have your class separate it into types and then test each...
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Marine Debris
Learners perform experiments to examine if debris float, or blow in the wind. The effects of these characteristics on the marine debris are then discussed. They determine how a material can influence what becomes marine debris.
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Wacky Water Critters
Learners recognize the biodiversity that exists in a wetland ecosystem. They identify individual wetland organisms. Students define, identify, and comprehend the importance of adaptations. They describe the process of metamorphosis.
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The Acid Rain Test
Fourth graders engage in a research project to increase their ability to conduct experiments, interpret data and discuss results in a scientific paper. After doing a lab which simulates effects of acid rain, pairs of students write a...
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Introduction to the Barnegat Bay Estuary
Students research estuaries. In this estuaries lesson, students discuss the differences in a bay and an ocean. Students watch a PowerPoint of the properties of the estuaries and geography of Barnegat Bay. Students complete a worksheet...
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How Much Water?
Students investigate amount of water available in different countries around the world, compare it to their daily water use, and explore how unequal distribution of water can cause challenges to survival. Students then discuss need to...
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Ecology
Learners gain an understanding of necessary components required within a healthy, sustainable environment and ways human actions can impact that balance while discovering how to recognize and analyze explanations and models used in...
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Does the increased use of fertilizers effect biodiversity?
Students conduct a hands-on lab activity in which they analyze a sample of water from a local stream or pond. They introduce a fertilizer solution into the sample and analyze and describe their findings.
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Water Quality
Students examine water quality and how to improve it, how to measure it and how it relates to human activities. In this water quality lesson plan students sample water from different sources, and test the samples.
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Mouthpart Madness
Students explore the basic biology of a pest. They identify the four major kinds of insect mouthparts and explain how they work. Students examine the specific mouthparts and how they can limit food resources and in what environment an...
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Earth Water Distribution and Water Consumption
Students explore the need for conserving fresh water and understand that it is a limited supply. In this water consumption instructional activity students participate in an activity and answer questions.
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Groundwater as Part of the Water Cycle
Ninth graders study the effects of soil and rocks on filtering groundwater. In this groundwater lesson students complete a lab activity that includes sources of contamination.
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Wetlands/Watershed Model
Pupils make a model that will demonstrate the flow of surface water across the land in Texas and how materials that originate many miles away can end up in the wetland along the coast.
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Wacky Water Critters
Learners visit a local creek or stream. They collect water samples from the creek and observe and sort the "water critters" they find in the sample, observing smaller organisms under a microscope if necessary. They identify each organism...
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Freshwater Macroinvertebrates
Students identify and count Macroinvertebrates at a Hydrology website. In this macroinvertebrates instructional activity students collect, sort and identify Macroinvertebrates.
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Radical Raptors
Students are introduced to raptors and their role in the environment. They identify three characteristics of raptors and list several types of raptors found in nature. They discuss their positive and negative experiences with raptors and...
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Water Quality Tests Explained
Students define all eight water quality parameters and list at list one source for each of the eight water quality parameters. They determine how each of the eight parameters affect river ecosystems.
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Erosion
Fifth graders study what erosion is, what causes it, and ways to slow its progress. They complete an experiment that depicts soil moving down a slope as water is poured on it to show how moving water erodes land. Next, they observe...
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Who? Who? Whoooooooo?
Students read Poppy by Avi and then dissect an owl pellet. They complete a KWL chart and play vocabulary games to prepare for the dissection. They examine what the pellet can tell us about the owl's life.