Lesson Plan
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Shadow Trackers: From Photography to Writing

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore the rotation of the earth. In this science instructional activity, students view photos of various places around the world. Students conduct an experiment in which they can see how the earth's rotation creates shadows on...
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Seasons' Journey : Putting it All Together

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders complete a diagram of the revolution of the earth around the sun and write a one paragraph explanation of the factors that cause seasons.
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Musical Plates

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders engage in a study of the plates and how they are part of the formation of the ever changing landscape of planet earth. They access web sites that have applications for observation and conducting different activities. The...
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Oil Trap Model

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate oil accumulation by creating a model in their classroom. In this petroleum geology lesson, students discuss where oil comes from and why it is vital to our society at this particular time. Students cut out a 3-D...
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TE Activity: Nidy-Gridy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars make a grid and coordinate system map of their classroom as they investigate why it is important to have a common map making system. They look at how landmarks are used for navigating an area.
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Science: 4 X 4

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students generate four statements and four questions based on their current level of understanding of the article from the engage lesson. They evaluate the statements and questions that they have generated and those of their classmates...
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Camouflage in Animal Habitats

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate how animals in an ecosystem interact with a nonliving environment through camouflage. They work in cooperative groups to "go fishing" and record how many of each color of fish they "catch." After entering data on a...
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Global Warming

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners analyze the effect of global warming given a set of data. For this ecology lesson, students evaluate the impact of excess carbon dioxide levels to living things. They watch a video then investigate the major points of the film...
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Surface Air Temperature Trends of the Caribbean

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate the seasonal changes to sea surface and near-surface air temperatures near the equator. They use actual satellite data to track and graph the differences in air and sea temperatures during different seasons in the...
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Trouble in the Troposphere

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create graphs using NASA data, compare ozone levels of several U.S. cities, analyze and evaluate the data and predict trends based on the data, and discuss and describe how human activities have modified Earth's air quality.
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Geometry of Radio Meteor Reflections

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders investigate and describe ways that human understanding of Earth and space has depended on technological development. They describe and interpret the science of optical and radio telescopes, space probes and remote sensing...
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Ecosystems and Habitats

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders go on a virtual field trip to five ecosystems. They investigate and videotape a temperate forest in the school's backyard.
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Erosion

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design and conduct an open-ended investigation using a variety of earth materials to answer a questions posed by the teacher: How does the erosion of sand compare with the erosion of gravel? After producing evidence that...
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Geological Forces and Topography

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discuss and research the Earth's geological processes. In this geology activity, students study maps of Utah and the United States to learn about geological features. Students then complete the research cards for each area of...
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Driving Currents

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners conduct a variety of investigations to see how water, heat, and salinity affect the flow of the world's ocean currents,as well as, explore many factors that affect the flow of the world's ocean currents. They also describe in...
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Thunderstorms

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the attraction between two different charges to investigate lightning in a thunderstorm. They complete an experiment and a worksheet.
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Building Materials

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders are presented with three rocks and a variety of tools and are asked to investigate the properties of the rocks to see which rock is best for building tables and benches for a museum picnic area.
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Carbon Dioxide Heats It Up

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design an investigation to test whether vegetation in an area helps regulate the ambient air temperature. They make comparisons between the investigation and global changes in climate. In groups, they present their findings to...
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Hero Or Zero?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students investigate science and technology by reading a children's book.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the story Archibald Frisby and discuss the ways we use science and technology in everyday life....
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The Water Cycle

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders discover how water circulates through the earth and its atmosphere while determine how much of the Earth's water is suitable for drinking. They discover the meaning of evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation and...
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PLANETS IN PROPORTION

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover scales for both the solar bodies' relative sizes and their distances from the sun. They find equatorial circumference and volumes of their solar bodies. Students apply estimation strategies and proportioanl reasoning to...
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Apple: Bare to Pick

For Teachers K - 4th
Students investigate the seasons of the apple tree. In tree seasons lesson, students use a sun model and a globe to study the tilt of the Earth to create the seasons. Students discuss the tilt and the seasons. Students discuss...
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Tropical Atlantic Aerosols

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze NASA data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer. In this NASA data lesson, students access an assigned website to examine information from the MISR on the Terra Satellite. They determine how desert dust travels...
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Soil Formation

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders investigate how soil is formed. They analyze types of soil samples, examine soil using a magnifying glass or microscope, complete a chart, conduct a soil and plant experiment, and construct a soil profile.