Lesson Plan
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Carbon for the World

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore the presence of carbon in the world. For this environmental stewardship lesson, students discuss the carbon cycle after they read assigned textbook pages. Students also discuss biomass content in different parts of the...
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Cricket Times

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Young scholars design a class newspaper all about their study of crickets, including illustrations and various sections of the newspaper, like sports, jokes, articles, food, and reviews. Students create a plan to design a cricket from...
Lesson Plan
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Ocean Color

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine NASA's SeaWiFS Project Web site to explore how the SeaWiFS Project monitors environmental and climatic changes in the oceans and atmosphere. They answer questions and write a summary in support of continued funding for...
Lesson Plan
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Determine Soil Particle Size

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine various soil samples in groups. Using the samples, they identify the characteristics of them and calculate percolation and infiltration rates. They use this information to discover why some species can survive in one...
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Acid Rain: The Disappearing Statue

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders examine the effects of acid rain on statues and buildings. They participate in an experiment in which they use different chemicals on building materials. They observe and record their observations.
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Acid Rain: An Air Pollutant

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders participate in an experiment in which they examine the effects of acid rain on buildings. They discover how huge a problem acid rain is not only to structures but to the environment. They gather pictures of acid rain to...
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How Many Bears in the Forest?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders model the tag and recapture of bears and use proportions to estimate the population of the bears in their forest. This is a statistical sampling method used by scientists and naturalists to determine population numbers.
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Math Under Pressure

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are told that an air tank contains a fixed volume of air under pressure. As air is used, the pressure decreases at a rate that depends on the depth. Students discuss how SCUBA divers calculate the amount of time they can spend...
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Aquifers and Recharge Areas

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers create a model of an aquifer and describe how an aquifer works. They describe how running affects an aquifer and prepare a model presenting to local planners the important aspects of protecting recharge areas.
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Glaciers and How They Form lands

For Teachers 4th
As a whole class, the students define glacier and perform an experiment involving glaciers. The students brainstorm ideas of what a glacier is, and narrow the ideas down to a definition. The students then participate in an activity that...
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DAY AND NIGHT

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students use a lamp as the sun and his/her body as the earth. They rotate in different directions to explain how the earth moves around the sun. Using specific questions in their discussion, students discover the reasons for day and night.
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"Tri-County" Project--Ground Water

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore data on some of the landforms in Nebraska to distinguish between porous and nonpremeable soils. The state's groundwater is investigated.
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"Tri-County" Project--Ogallala Aquifer

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the Ogallala Aquifer in the state of Nebraska. The signs of pollution found are examined and the data classified.
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"Tri-County" Project--Rivers Lakes Reservoirs

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine data about the rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the state of Nebraska. An understanding of the political implications of boundaries is developed.
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Tri-County Project: Precipitation

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine and research the annual rainfall in Nebraska. They create a map of the annual rainfall in Nebraska and use the map to develop explanations of settlement.
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Suck It Up

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the "wicking capacity " of fabric; that is how well various fabrics draw water "perspiration" away from the body and let it vent to the outside. They brainstorm possible protocols to measure, tabulate and analyze the...
Worksheet
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Super Scientists Code

For Students 6th - 8th
In this science activity, students use the key code on the right to unscramble each of the scientists. They also match each of the scientists found to their correct description.
Lesson Plan
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Observing Motion

For Teachers 1st
First graders explore movement and motion. In this motion instructional activity, 1st graders how objects can move as well as how the Earth is in constant motion and the force of gravity. Students complete a coloring sheet.
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Plants and Air Purity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore how green plants help improve air quality. They read an article and discuss the importance of air quality and its effects on the human body. They investigate by connecting hose to the top of a Bell jar and to a funnel....
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Weightlessness

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders study weight, force and mass as it pertains to the earths pull.  In this weightlessness lesson students are divided into groups and complete an activity. 
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Thar She Blows!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify the advantages and disadvantages of wind farms and turbines. They examine how weather conditions can affect their effectiveness and how engineers are trying to solve the problem. They discover how engineers use this...
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Solving Saturn's Mysteries

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners study the Cassini spacecraft and its travel to Saturn. They discover the results of the space mission and examine images of Saturn that Cassini sent back.
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Building an Ecologically Balanced Living Space

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students design and build an ecologically balanced living space based on the principles of an old growth forest. They take one part of a house (or structure in the community) and redesign it according to the principles of the forest cycle.
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Spy on a Spider

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Pupils view slides or live specimens to name and describe the distinguishing features of groups of arthropods, especially spiders and insects. They complete worksheets, observe webs and then search for and record where spiders can be...