NOAA
Calling All Explorers
Let's get moving! The second installment of a 2-part series of six adventures helps learners take part in individual explorations by sea and by land. After navigating the waters in an informative WebQuest, groups create and hide their...
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Runoff: Intro to Watersheds
Students are taught that a watershed is, what types of basic land cover are impermeable and permeable to water. They trace the flow of water around their school and around their home. Students determine what watershed their school is a...
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Los Volcanes Mexicanos
Students conduct Internet research on Mexican volcanoes. They explore various websites, complete a website worksheet, answer questions in Spanish, and create a timeline of a volcano's eruptions.
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Make a Windmill
Students explore Earth science by conducting an energy experiment in class. In this windmill lesson, students identify how wind has been used to pump water throughout history and the latest developments wind energy has produced. Students...
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From Lake to Tap
Learners use the Internet to study how water is treated to make it safe to drink. They use a tutorial on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website to gain this information. They complete a worksheet for the assessment portion...
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TE Activity: The Great Divide
Students simulate the distribution of nonrenewable energy resources using cookies. They determine how the world's growing population effects the equitable distribution of these resources. They look at how engineers work to develop...
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Moving without Wheels
Students observe a simple water cycle model to better understand its role in pollutant transport. This activity shows one way in which pollution is affected by the water cycle; it simulates a point source of pollution in a lake and the...
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Earth's Hydrologic Cycle
Young scholars examine the water cycle. In this hydrologic cycle lesson, students follow the provided procedures to demonstrate the how water moves around the planet through the dynamics of the water cycle.
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Oil + Water + Wildlife = A Real Mess
Middle schoolers conduct an experiment. In this environmental protection lesson, students explore how oil spills affect living organisms in an ecosystem. Middle schoolers work in groups to complete a lab activity and then discuss their...
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Identifying Pennsylvania Watersheds
Ninth graders study and identify the six major drainage systems in Pennsylvania. In this watershed lesson students read an article, complete an activity and take a quiz on what they learned.
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Fresh or Salty?
Students explore water bodies on the planet Earth and their various uses and qualities. They examine several ways that engineers are working to maintain and conserve water sources and think about their role in water conservation....
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Groundwater Modeling
Students evaluate the effects of point and non-pointy sources of water pollution using a model. They assess human impact on water quality. Students build a model which represents an aspect of the hydrosphere and compare their model with...
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Water Molds (Oomycetes)
Students explore a group of fungus-like organisms; the Oomycetes, by baiting them from natural sources (water and soil) and observing them.
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Design an Island
Students explore islands. They create a two- or three-dimensional map of an island. They explain how the topography of an area influences the location of water sources, ecosystems, and human settlements. Lesson includes adaptations for...
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Not A Drop To Drink
Fifth graders discuss ways that humans pollute our natural water supply. They observe a video about water pollution. Students identify eight different ways water is contaminated. They investigate an oil spill by conducting a hands-on...
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Down By the River
Students examine how watersheds work and determine the difference between point and nonpoint source pollution. They research management practices to reduce pollution and investigate how everyone can participate in reducing water pollution.
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Wetland Habitats
Eighth graders explore the program Alice and the Internet to research wetland habitats. In this habitat lesson students build their own Alice world that includes wetland habitats, food sources and ways to protect the...
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A Limnology Study of Drainage Ditches
Students chemically test water, observe microscopic organisms in the classroom, and screen the sample for macroinvertebrates. They design a reporting sheet that list all the items to be tested and a space to record the results.
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Aquatic Field Data
Students use laptops and sensors to measure water quality and graph their results. In this aquatics activity students post their results to a website or email.
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Be a Watershed - Create a Living River
Students investigate water ways by conducting an experiment with classmates. In this natural resources lesson, students define a watershed and identify where large ones are located within the United States. Students utilize...
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The Physical Environment
Fourth graders use damp sand, a baking pan, and water to simulate erosion. In this erosion lesson plan, 4th graders participate in a simulation to show what moving water does to land.
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Energize Your Future
Students consider the positive and negative aspects of alternative energy. In this physical science instructional activity, students consider the sources of energy they use everyday. Students compare alternative sources of...
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Design a Service Learning Activity
Students work together to design a service learning activity for their community that would benefit the Tijuana estuary. Using the internet, they research the elements of a service learning project and plan their's accordingly. They...
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Clean Energy: Hydro-power
Students read about and discuss renewable and non renewable energy and identify how a dam produced energy using hydro-power. In this water energy lesson plan, students look at diagrams and pictures of water energy technology.