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Cartographer on Assignment: Creating a Physical Map of Africa
Students use geographic information to make an outline map of Africa, then demonstrate their understanding of the physical landscape of Africa by using a variety of materials to create a physical map of Africa
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Vanishing Rainforests: How can We Save Them?
Students focus in on the Amazon Rain forest. They research about various plants and animals that exist in our rain forests. Students develop knowledge of resources that come from our rain forests. They analyze the cause/effect of rain...
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Genetic Disorders with Cultural Roots: International Insects
Students recognize that certain populations have specific genetic disorders that could benefit or harm them in their environment, work out punnett square problems and infer offspring probabilities from results, and provide advantages and...
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Water Quality Survey
Students identify the differences in the water quality of a stream and complete water testing. In this water quality lesson students collect aquatic insects and identify them.
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These Lakes are Great
Students examine the Great Lakes Basin and water conservation. In this Great Lakes and water instructional activity, students study the location of the lakes before reading the book, The River Ran Wild. They discuss the associated...
Michigan Sea Grant
Water Quality
Learners observe water samples and measure the samples' water quality. Students develop their own criteria for measuring water quality and test for temperature, acidity, oxygen levels, turbidity, conductance, sediment and hardness.
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Watershed Lesson Plan
Students are introduced to the concepts of a watershed, stream flow and water quality. This five-day plan is an excellent way to introduce students to the concepts involved. They create their own watershed using a paper bag, water and...
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America's Rain Forests Can It Be Real?
Students examine the attributes of unusual plants and animals before determining how they are adapted to specific habitat. They complete an associated worksheet. They make posters with information that they find during research sessions.
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Measuring Biodiversity
Students collect species data from a mock intertidal community. In this biology lesson, students graph their data and analyze the species in it. They construct a species accumulation curve and present it to class.
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Something Fishy - Bioaccumulation of Mercury
Students explore the dangers of eating high levels of mercury and how small amounts of mercury in water accumulate in greater quantities in organisms higher in the food chain. They list the health of effects of high levels of mercury on...
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Cumulative Effects Assessment - What if?
Tenth graders discuss natural and human influences that may affect the ecological integrity of national parks. They study the concepts environmental assessments. In groups, they research a park's situation and present their findings at a...
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Greeks Around the World: A Case Study on Greek Diaspora
Middle schoolers gain an understanding of the concept of Diaspora relating to Greeks. They use guided discovery to apply the geographic inquiry model to an examination of the reasons for Greek Diaspora.
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Land Assessment
Students work in small groups on a problem based learning activity. Students are presented with a problem of buying land to use for educational purposes only and must determine if it is feasible to buy it based on soil analysis and plant...
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ProjectWILD Aquatic: Migration Headache
Students explore the important factors that affect habitat quality and the associated survival of migratory water bird populations. They discuss an organisms dependency upon a variety of habitats and habitat quality. Students play a game...
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Radical Raptors
Students are introduced to raptors and their role in the environment. They identify three characteristics of raptors and list several types of raptors found in nature. They discuss their positive and negative experiences with raptors and...
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Some Similarities Between the Spread of an Infectious Disease and Population Growth
Learners compare and contrast the spread of infectious diseases and population growth. In this biology lesson, students identify the exponential growth pattern of spreading diseases. They relate this to HIV infection and AIDS.
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Freshwater Macroinvertebrates
Middle schoolers identify and count Macroinvertebrates at a Hydrology website. In this macroinvertebrates lesson students collect, sort and identify Macroinvertebrates.
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And the Rains Came Down: A South American Rainforest
Pupils examine the characteristics of a South American tropical rainforest. They analyze maps, develop graphs, listen to the book, The Great Kapok Tree, and create a rainforest mural.
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Natural Resource Awareness
Seventh graders design a collage that shows natural resources or things made from natural resources. They discuss the collages and decide how they use natural resources at home and school. They listen to a read aloud of a Native American...
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Mature Forest Mime
Young scholars come to understand vocabulary words through pantomime. In this vocabulary lesson, students first review several vocabulary words and their meaning, then they work in groups to pantomime the definitions.
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Managing Wildlife
Young scholars explore the relationship between wildlife and humans in northern New England. They also brainstorm ideas on why they think some species are greater in population than others in a given area.
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Wild About Wildfires
Learners conduct a debate. In this wildfire and controlled burning lesson, students watch the video "Legacy of Fire" and discuss the topic of wildland fires and controlled burns. Half of the class researches the arguments for these...
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Build a Bug
Young scholars design an ideally adapted macroinvertebrate to live in a water habitat. They illustrate their animal, name it and specify the adaptations it has that enable it to survive.
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National expansion of the United States (1815 to 1850), and its connection to local Illinois history.
Students discuss the importance of establishing the I & M Canal water route. They watch a video about the canal's history. They collect and write a personal migration story by interviewing a family member. They analyze trends and...