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Rocks and Minerals
First graders examine different types of rocks and minerals. They create models of the rocks and minerals they find interesting. They discuss and explain three ways in which the earth changes.
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The Physical Environment
Fourth graders use damp sand, a baking pan, and water to simulate erosion. For this erosion lesson plan, 4th graders participate in a simulation to show what moving water does to land.
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Hold on Tight!
Students explore the close connection between plant roots and the soil in which they grow. They investigate the roots of plants, make models of plant roots using pipe cleaners, and examine photos and images to explore the connection...
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LOSING GROUND
Students will observe wind erosion and how crop residue prevents erosion.Point out the three kinds of fields to the students. Do as much or as little instruction as needed to explain the pan with crop residue. Conservation tillage...
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Creeping
Learners observe, measure, and graph a model of slow down slope movement representing soil creep. This task assesses students' abilities to collect, record, and organize data, set up graph axes, plot data points, draw line graphs, apply...
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Class Conservation Corps (CCC)
Students investigate how the loss of soil, a valuable natural resource, affects their lives through loss of productive land to grow food, loss of coastal land mass, and poor water quality from runoff. They design a project to keep soil...
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Sediment Tubes
Students observe how different density soils and rocks behave in wind and in water. They make predictions and careful observations as they explore sediment transport and sediment rates in streams and rivers.
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Ecological Impact of Wood Extraction
Students explore their local environment by conducting a class experiment. For this deforestation lesson, students discuss the effects of wood harvesting on forests around the world and research environment related vocabulary terms....
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Playing in mud puddles
Pupils examine the effects of rainfall on different surfaces and discuss water pollution. They review the water cycle and the uses of water in daily lifestyles. Students discuss the effects of soil run off in streams and rivers.
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Weathering Landforms
Stduents create and color plaster landforms, and describe how weathering and erosion change the Earth's surface.
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Hold on Tight!
Students explore the relationship between plant roots and the soil in which they grow. They examine photos of uprooted trees and desert areas and
conduct experiments designed to highlight this mutual relationship between roots and soil....
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Plop! Plop! Fizz! Fizz!
Fourth graders study physical and chemical weathering. They explain how the processes of weathering and erosion change and move materials that become soil. They create a K-W-L chart to show what they know and list what else they would...
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Weathering and Erosion Splashdown
Fourth graders investigate how plants and their roots help slow the erosion process.
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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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Making & Breaking : The Rock Cycle
Students examine the rock cycle and how rocks can change over time. In this geotechnical engineering instructional activity students draw a diagram of the rock cycle.
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Earth Surface Socratic Questions
Students explore the ways Earth's surface is shaped by hydrologic, climate and tectonic forces by participating in a whole class discussion. They respond to prompts that lead them to conclusions about the relationships between landforms...
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WHO CARES FOR THE LAND?
Students explore the importance of natural resources. They are given copies of the story, "Who Cares For The Land," and students follow
along as the teacher reads it. Students identify the key points in the story. (Soil, water and air...
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TRB 5:2 - Activity 3: Earthquakes
Students watch a classroom demonstration, and experiment to discover the five ways that Earth's crust shifts along a fault.
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Stream Ecology In Wisconsin and Puerto Rico
Students identify the different types of water and explain in what proportions they exist on Earth. They identify and correctly label the parts of the water cycle and how these parts interact with each other. Students identify the...
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Earth in the Hot Seat
Middle schoolers identify the different viewpoints on the issue of global warming. While watching a video, they take notes on the issues presented to them and answer questions about what Alaska, Peru and East Africa are doing to prevent...
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Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
Fifth graders are introduced to the important topic of renewable, and non-renewable, resources. They are expected to be able to correctly categorize different types of resources as renewable or non-renewable. Another emphasis of this...
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Water Pollution
Here is a fine lesson for fifth graders that will give them an idea of the variety of impacts that human-introduced pollutants have on the environment. After an initial class discussion and teacher-led demonstration, pupils brainstorm...
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Effects Of Weathering
Third graders simulate weathering and erosion using sand and soil. They define weathering and the ways in which surfaces become weathered. Working as a class, 3rd graders complete various activities that demonstrate physical and...
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Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
Fifth graders, after brainstorming why conservation of resources is important, distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources. They make a list of different types of natural resources on the board and then sort them into two...