Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Great Lakes Birds Word Search

For Teachers 5th
In this science worksheet, 5th graders will focus on the names of Great Lakes birds. Students will locate the names of 16 birds in the word search.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Map - Lesson 11

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore lakes of the United States. In this geography lesson, students identify noteworthy lakes on a map of the United States.
Lesson Plan
Syracuse University

Erie Canal

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
While canals are not the way to travel today, in the first half of the nineteenth century, they were sometimes the best way to move goods and people. Scholars examine primary sources, including maps and pictures, to investigate the role...
Lesson Plan
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NOAA

Coastal Dynamics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Life's a beach! The 16th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program first examines different types of coasts and how they form. An activity then has learners investigate the shoreline...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Great Lakes Ecology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are able to use a secchi disk to measure the turbidity of water by determining the depth at which the sechi disk is no longer visible and using the data in a formula to quantify the results. They are able to use Vernier probes...
Lesson Plan
Outdoor Learning Center

Outdoor Survival

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Which of the following can you survive without for the longest time: water, food, or a positive mental attitude? The answer may surprise you. Guide learners of all ages through games, activities, and discussions about surviving in the...
Lesson Plan
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Section Two: Why is Biodiversity Important?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bell Live! The Great Lakes: A Superior Adventure

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students participate in a virtual field trip to Lake Superior. In groups, they perform experiments in which test the level of toxins and bacteria in the water. They also watch video segments life in the lake and discuss their observations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let the River Run

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore the environment by reading a story in class. For this water formation lesson, students define environmental terms such as rivers, streams, gulf, oceans and lakes. Young scholars read the story A River Ran Wild and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Great Lakes Snow Analysis Collaborative Network

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students interpret data on snow cover and analyze trend patterns. In this snow lesson students compare data and locate their school's GPS coordinates.
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Perfect Postcards: Illinois

For Teachers 4th Standards
Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered lesson on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional cross-state...
Lesson Plan
American Physiological Society

Sticky Adaptations A Lesson on Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Now you see it, now you don't! The stick bug exhibits the ability to disappear into a wooded environment. Why does this adaptation manifest in some species, but not in others? Life science students explore animal adaptations in nature...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Eerie Canal

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Pupils discover bodies of water in the United States by investigating the Eerie Canal.  In this U.S. Geography lesson, students discuss Lake Eerie and the canal that was built in order to transport goods.  Pupils research the...
Lesson Plan
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Science 4 Inquiry

An Investigative Look at Florida's Sinkholes

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
In May of 1981, the Winter Park Sinkhole in Florida first appeared and is now referred to as Lake Rose. Scholars learn about the causes of sinkholes through an inquiry project. Then, they analyze recent data and draw conclusions to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pike Problems in Lake Davis

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Pike fish pose a threat to native trout and catfish in lakes. Would you drain and poison a lake to get rid of the Pike fish? If the lake was drained and poisoned, then refilled and repopulated with trout and catfish, how would you...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Prime Factorization: Finding Factors in the Fifth Grade

For Teachers 5th
The lesson starts out with a brain drain, which is a great way to get students to activate prior knowledge and build lasting connections. They tell everything they know about prime factorization, use their knowledge to...
Lesson Plan
Lake Science Collaborative

Blood Circulation Simulation

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Act out the circulation of blood in the body with an innovative activity. Kids act as either body parts or blood, and carry necessary nutrients and waste throughout different stations to represent the way that oxygen circulates. 
Lesson Plan
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Japan Society

Nature and the Environment in Postwar Japan

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Japan has a complex relationship with the environment. Explore this relationship with your class through this resource. Included are thought questions, several activity ideas that range from writing, to discussion, to research, and an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Wave - A Science Lesson Plan

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students investigate the geography surrounding the Great Salt Lake and the three main benches in the area. In this Great Salt Lake lesson, students read a background for the areas geography and make their own beach to analyze wave...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ducks in the Flow: Resources about Surface Ocean Currants for the Upper Elementary Classroom

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate surface ocean currents. In this oceanography lesson, students work in small groups to create models that demonstrate surface currents, the Coriolis Effect, and how surface currents move debris. This lesson includes a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Galaxy Adventure

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Working in groups, learners create a mnemonic device, give an oral presentation, and create a pictorial representation of the correct sequence of the planets and asteroid belt from the sun. An assessment rubric is included in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Good Boat is Hard To Find

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders design and construct a safe and efficient human powered watercraft that can be used on a trip on the Great Lakes. Students utilize math and measurement skills to design and cut the pieces for their boat. Working in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Students Slide to School on Air-Powered Sled

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students locate the Great Lakes on a US map, then read a news article about a sled being used as a wintertime school bus in Wisconsin. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a map and vocabulary activity,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pollution Assessment: Is Wood Lake a Good Lake?

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars become aware of pollution in Richfield Minnesota's Wood Lake, identify sources of pollution in Wood Lake, learn to use variables, equations, spreadsheets and modeling software, and generate solutions for the problem.