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Forest Canopies: View from the Top
Learners examine the economic and ecological benefits of forest canopies. They read and discuss an article, answer questions, conduct research, draw field sketches of a canopy ecosystem, conduct a feasibility study, or prepare tourist...
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Making a Cave
Students discuss caves. In this science lesson, students experiment with how dissolution, a chemical weathering process, leads to the formation of caves. Once the cave is finsihed students draw a picture or describe in writing what it...
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Analyzing Hurricanes Using Web and Desktop GIS
Students analyze hurricanes. In hurricanes lesson, students use the Internet and GIS to analyze hurricanes. Students view the National Atlas of Maps to discuss the direction hurricanes move. Students study the wind and pressure fields to...
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Periodic Properties Lab
Students investigate the periodic properties of elements in the periodic table. In this periodic properties lesson plan, students experiment with elements from the Alkaline Earth Metals, the Halogens, the Transition Metals, and for extra...
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Weather History
Students study how weather is measured. In this climate lesson plan, students research how samples of the ocean floor reveal facts about the climate thousands of years ago. Students use clay samples to create layers that simulate real...
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Rock and Roll with Music and Movement
Fourth graders improvise music and dance to express their analysis of types of rocks. They discuss the three classes of rocks, list describing words, and create a short musical piece and dance to symbolize the rock they are dancing.
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Earth's Valuable Soil
Students investigate the concept of how the earth is segmented into different parts. They use an apple as a model to display the different layers. The apple is divided into different fractions by being cut into different size pieces.
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The Wedding of a Mountain
Students examine the differences between weathering, erosion, and deposition as it pertains to mountains.
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Science: Trouble in the Troposphere
Students research a NASA Website and record information about an assigned city's tropospheric ozone residual monthly climate. In groups, they graph the information for the past year. They form new groups and compare their city's...
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Climate Change: Is there a Controversy
Students explore climate changes. In this climate changes instructional activity, students research what causes changes. Students search the Internet, summarize reports they find and create a poster with the information.
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Comparison Activities
Young scholars explore the size of the sun and it's temperature. Using the Internet, students visit given websites to compare the sun's diameter, outer layers, and mass to visual items young scholars can relate to. They also compare...
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Solid Waste in Canada
Learners develop an understanding of waste and its effects. In this managing waste lesson students participate in one of a few activities including creating a poster, summarizing an article or writing a research paper.
National Park Service
Rock Ranking
Junior geologists sort rocks and soil. They separate a sample of river gravel by size, shape, color, and other characteristics. To include Common Core standards, you could have little ones graph the number of particles in each sample.
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Franklin Mountains
Fifth graders examine photographs of the eastern and western Franklin Mountains. As a class, they discuss what is shown and the different colored rocks and the orientation of the layers. In groups, they are given clay of two different...
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Rain Forest Rally
Learners discover facts about rain forests, list the common products that come from rain forests, recognize how important rain forests are to our daily lives, and list and describe the layers of rain forests.
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Biomes: Extreme Climate
Students discuss the causes of global warming. In this earth science lesson, students examine how global warming is connected to the arctic and world climate. They write a paragraph about their interconnection.
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Active Faulting in Idaho
Students use CAD maps to explore active faults in Idaho. Through observation of maps, they explore the layers of the Quaternary and Holocene faults. Individually, or in groups, they identify characteristics of faults such as scarps,...
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Environment: Battling for Oxygen
Students construct an interactive ozone depletion model using gumdrops and toothpicks. After analyzing the data obtained from the model, they record it on butcher paper and complete worksheets about oxygen.
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Greenhouse Effect: Pop Bottle Experiment
Students explore global warming by conducting a weather experiment. In this greenhouse gas lesson, students define the greenhouse effect and the impact on our ozone layer. Students utilize a soda pop bottle, floodlight bulb, thermometers...
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Plant an Ozone Monitoring Garden
Students create a garden. In this ozone lesson plan, students discuss ozone injury, identify plants sensitive to ozone, and then plant their own ozone garden.
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Deep Sea Vents
Students study the vent and non vent deep sea and see the differences in habitats. In this investigative lesson students complete a worksheet and work in groups.
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What's Happening to the Ozone?
Students identify causes of ozone depletion, generalize how that information affects everyday life, and discuss ways individuals can help slow down depletion of ozone.
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What's the Connection Between Convection and Inversion?
Ninth graders observe a simulation demonstrating the difference between convection and inversion. They explain where and when convection and inversion layers occur and how each impacts air quality, and by connection, human health.
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Volcano!-Is That a Volcano on Your Plate?
Learners explore how and where volcanoes form. They also explore how the interactions between oceanic and continental crust create volcanoes and other mountains and earthquakes in a simulation activity using cardboard of two thicknesses.