Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CONTAMINANT SCAVENGER HUNT

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners identify substances and activities within a household that contribute to water pollution and identify safe cleaning alternatives for commercial cleaning products.
Lesson Plan
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Neon Signs

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Middle schoolers study a commercial art form and explore its historic and social meaning. They apply linear color to a shape, bending and forming the lines in much the same way a sign artist would form glass tubing. They design their own...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Create a Commercial

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Learners apply their knowledge of the persuasive appeals by creating a commercial which uses one or more of the three appeals (logos, pathos, and ethos) in order to persuade. They also differentiate among the three appeals as used in...
Lesson Plan
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Puppy Poop Pouch

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students create a device to hold dog poop to help keep trails clean.  In this animal care lesson, students utilize donated fabric to create a couple hundred pouches to help people clean up after their dog.  Students spread...
Lesson Plan
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Laundromat Skills

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
The worst part of the week is trying to scrounge quarters for the laundromat. Make the task of cleaning laundry an easy one for your high-functioning special needs learners. You take a trip to a local laundromat to practice using coin...
Lesson Plan
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Groundwater: Cleaning Up

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners research the various aspects of groundwater contamination that threaten health and human safety. They create a model and display that informs other about the health and safety risks. Students illustrate ways in which these...
Lesson Plan
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Got Water?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners determine that delivering clean, fresh water to citizens around the world involves and affects politics, economics, international relations, and technology. They brainstorm a list of factors that might affect their town's...
Lesson Plan
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Natural Cleaners

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore natural cleaners. In this science lesson plan, students gain an understanding of the effects that commercial cleaners have on the environment and teach them to make their own cleaners out of less hazardous materials.
Lesson Plan
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Eraser Carving

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students get involved in rubber stamping. They comprehend that rubber stamps have been in use for a long time for commercial purposes and in crafts. Students find they are easy to print and provide a quick way to make multiple copies.
Lesson Plan
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Where Should It Go? Recycle? Compost? Incinerate? Landfill?

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students discuss what happens to trash after it is collected. They sort "clean" trash into groups depending on whether it should be recycled, incinerated, placed in a landfill, composted or if it is something we could avoid using.
Lesson Plan
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Exploiting Antarctica

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read the story and diary "Lizzie's diaries from Antarctica and Antarctica" to get massive clean-up. Students discuss their knowledge of life in Antarctica and raise the fact of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and its...
Lesson Plan
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For Creative Minds

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study pictures of plants, animals, and minerals. Students classify the pictures into the three groups. In this rock identification lesson, students complete a rock finding lab experiment by finding, cleaning, identifying, and...
Lesson Plan
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Marine & Aquatic Habitats -- Journey of a Drop of Water Through a Watershed

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners discuss pollution and the steps in the hydrologic cycle. They follow a drop of water through a watershed simulation. They discover the components of a water cleaning system as well.
Lesson Plan
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A River Ran Wild

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students describe and illustrate pollution and how to clean up pollution. They display their solutions by creating posters, signs, bumper stickers, slogans, T-shirt designs, commercials and poetry. This lesson ties in with 'A River Ran...
Lesson Plan
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What Is Special About Polyethylene Food Storage Bags?

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students participate in an investigation in which they compare a polyethylene bag designed for recycling or disposal with a polyethylene food storage bag. Students use hexane to determine the differences between the low density...
Lesson Plan
Clean Up Australia

Why are Batteries Harmful to the Environment?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Open this lesson by reading together about primary and secondary batteries (such as nickel-cadmium cells), problems they can cause in the environment, and how humans can minimize the damage. Afterward, little ones examine a collection of...
Lesson Plan
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Connecting the Dots: Workers and Their Importance

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore the role of workers and their jobs in the community. They write a friendly letter to a community worker expressing appreciation for the work they do and their importance to the community.
Lesson Plan
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Bird Seed Mining

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students search through the seed mixture and separate out our "mine" beads, sunflower seeds, and other grain products, making piles of each. students count up the number of gold, silver, and blue beads, and sunflower seeds from their piles
Lesson Plan
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The Magic of Solar Thermal: How the Sun Can Be Used to Heat Water

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students are introduced to how the sun is used to heat water.  In this solar lesson students identify the different types of solar water heating and demonstrate how it works.
Lesson Plan
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Fractional Distillation

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students brainstorm the different uses of petroleum distillates. In this chemistry lesson, students explain the process of fractional distillation. They analyze the impact of oil extraction to the environment.
Lesson Plan
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I'm Convinced!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine persuasive techniques used to sell products, and create and write an advertisement for peanut butter.
Lesson Plan
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Current Groundwater Contamination Research

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers research the effects of groundwater pollutants on life. They name and describe 1 environmental factor that has an effect on our drinking water. Students read the Water-Groundwater and Pollution Article. They discuss...
Lesson Plan
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Making Soap

For Teachers K - 8th
Students explore what chemical indicators are and use pH paper to determine if something is alkaline or basic.  In this pH lesson students manufacture their own soap.
Lesson Plan
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Whatsit?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students create something useful and/or decorative from throwaway items brought in from home.