Lesson Plan
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Spacing Out

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore environmental and geological conditions on other planets in our solar system, comparing their findings to information about Earth. They propose technologies that might assist in supporting human life on those planets.
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Creating Craters

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore parts of an impact crater and compare and contrast craters found in Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Crater formation is modelled and the relationship of mass, velocity, and size of the projectile to the crater formation is...
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Saturn’s Moons

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students compare Saturn's moons to the Earth's moon.  In this moon activity students work in groups and complete a lab activity then answer questions. 
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2005 Submarine Ring of Fire Expedition: Unexplored

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars compare and contrast submarine volcanoes at convergent and divergent plate boundaries, infer kinds of living organisms that may be found around hydrothermal vents, and describe ways in which scientists may prepare to...
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Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students estimate how many different species of organisms inhabit the Earth. In groups, they match the pictures of embryos at the different stages of development. They compare and contrast animals from the sky, land, and water and...
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Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Mt. St. Helens - Lesson Plan 2

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compile information on volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens.  In this earth science activity, students use the information they gathered on Mount St. Helens to answer questions and create charts in Excel.  Then...
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Astronomy and Me: Moons Over New Haven

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders study the features of different moons orbiting the planets. For this astronomy lesson, 3rd graders explore the different phases of the moon using an interactive online website. They compare and contrast the features of the...
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Is There Water on Mars?

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students decide whether or not there is or has even been water on Mars. They analyze temperature and pressure data from the Pathfinder mission to Mars, and then they analyze images of Mars, interpreting the landforms they see and...
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Why Do We Have Night?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students engage in a fun, creative way to discover how the Earth moves. This lesson helps students explain why there is day and night. It can also create curiosity to further study the solar system and eclipses!
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What Were Dinosaurs Like?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students view a video clips about Dinosaurs.  In this dinosaur instructional activity, students begin to understand the extinction of the dinosaurs by comparing them to contemporary animals. Students complete a research sheet on one...
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IS THE SUN OUR HEATER?

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students explore and discover how the sun provides heat to the earth, depending on the surface as well as the angle of the sun's rays.
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Deep Gardens

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students compare and contrast deep-sea coral reefs with shallow-water coral reefs. For this underwater ecology lesson, students describe three types of coral and explain why scientists are concerned about the future of deep-sea coral.
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The Great Heat Escape

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students observe a demonstration on the role of thermal conductivity in heat transfer.  In this thermal conductivity lesson, students design and conduct an experiment to compare the thermal conductivity of four substances....
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Lunar Lollipops

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students simulate the phases of the moon using a lamp and styrofoam balls. In this lunar phases lesson, students stand around a lamp and act as Earth. They hold styrofoam balls and rotate to show the phases of the moon.
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Bad Algae!

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore algal blooms.  In this ecosystem and health activity, students define and describe harmful algal blooms, then discuss ways in which the impact of these algal blooms could be reduced.  Students work in groups to...
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Modeling Hot and Cold Planets

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...
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The Effects of Meteor Impacts

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students investigate meteor impacts on the Earth's surface by using different size balls and charting their impacts, given their diameter and mass.
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What Were Dinosaurs Like?

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students compare and contrast dinosaurs to animals that are alive today through basic research.
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CUPCAKE CORE SAMPLING

For Teachers K - 12th
Students explore what is beneath the surface of the earth is one of the jobs of a geologist. Rather than digging up vast tracts of land to expose an oil field, or to find coalbearing strata, core samples can be taken.
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Greenhouse in a Bottle

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students create models of the greenhouse effect using recycled 2-liter bottles. They discuss how their models compares to the real greenhouse effect the earth experiences.
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Microclimates of Our School

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students read the story "Weslandia" by Paul Fleischman, define the term microclimate, gather and record data in various places on school grounds to establish the presence of difference microclimates, analyze and compare microclimates,...
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The Solution to Pollution is Dilution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars consider what happens to herbicides or insecticides that are used in agricultural practices, especially herbicides that are used to control noxious weeds. They become acquaint with a chemical assessment method known as...
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America's Favorite Landmarks

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students research using Google Earth a variety of websites to explore America's most prominent and famous buildings. They then compare and contrast architectural styles and write a position paper defending or arguing against their chosen...
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The City Inside a Cell

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compare cell structure to the structure of a city. In this cell structure instructional activity, students investigate differences and similarities between cell structure and city structure. Students create a 3-dimensional,...