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Making Decisions: Packaging and the Environment
Students work in small groups to redesign the packaging of several common items. They attempt to reach the goal of 25% reduction in packaging materials currently used and explore the impact of various materials and designs in landfills...
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Teaching About the Hydrosphere
Eighth graders are introduced to the Earth's hydrologic system including the cycling of water in the atmosphere and the movement of water on the surface of the planet using the Great Lakes watershed as an example.
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TE Activity: Hot or Not
Students examine how the human immune system responds to germs and explain what a fever is. They design a thermometer in order to further explore temperature before completing a temperature conversion worksheet. They detail the work of...
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Plant Disease Identification and Classification by Using Sterile Techniques
Seventh graders identify how to use sterile techniques when identifying plant pathogens. In this plant diseases instructional activity students complete a lab activity in which they see how plant diseases are identified and...
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What's the Connection?
Students explain hardground communities in the Gulf of Mexico. In this deep-sea ecosystem instructional activity, students investigate the connection between deep-sea ecosystems and petroleum deposits. They discuss the relationship...
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Climate and Periodic Functions: Science & Math Integration
Students complete a lab that introduce the scientific concept of climate on Earth. Following the lab, they complete further research on climate. Using average monthly temperatures students construct a mathematical model and analyze the...
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Climate And the Greenhouse Effect
Students demonstrate the greenhouse effect. They recognize that relatively small changes to our environment can stimulate significant climate changes. They determine that the "scientific method" is a process of testing hypotheses and...
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Hide In Plain Sight
Learners view video clips and use the Internet to look for hidden animals. They then use the Internet to print out animal shapes and color them. They create environments on construction paper in which their animals can hide.
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Energy Sources
Students identify natural resources and describe the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources. They also identify the disadvantages and advantages of the resources.
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A Recipe for Air
Students create a pie graph using M&Ms to demonstrate the composition of air. They label each section of the graph, and list the fractions from largest to smallest.
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Dangerous Air
Students investigate how pollution is a global issue. They locate the countries affected by radiation from Chernobyl, sequence the progress of radiation transport from Chernobyl and plot the pollution points on a world map, and read and...
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Insect Monitoring
Students practice the scientific method in the classroom, either in preparation or as a substitution for real-world field experience. They examine a simulated biodiversity research situation, using a "mini-plot" or
sampling square...
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Endangered Species
Students create a postcard about endangered species. In this biology instructional activity, students identify how human activities endanger other species. They research and recommend ways to help protect them.
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Biodiesel: An Alternative Fuel Source
Students explore the advances that are being made in alternative fuels.In this biodiesel lesson students evaluate different petroleum and alternative fuels.
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Micro-Ecosystems
Students create a sustainable, self-contained ecosystem in a ten-gallon aquarium.
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Garbage Pizza
Students examine amount of garbage disposed of by average household weekly, classify different categories of garbage and describe composition of landfills, investigate what happens to waste after it is collected by garbage trucks, and...
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THE BUSINESS OF CLEAN AIR
Students determine that air pollution control is caused by a combination of market incentives and government regulation. They realize that businesses exist to make profits for their owners and that governments make rules for individuals...
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Biodegradability
Learners study the effects of water, salt water and heat on common household materials. They separate an emulsion and show that the materials are completely recoverable and observe the effect of acetone and water on polystyrene.
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Oil Spill!
Students examine how oil spills are cleaned through an interactive program. They review the facts of oil spills and how the oil spreads. They discuss the short and long term effects of a spill and how they can be avoided.
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Energy of the Future
Middle schoolers examine technologies that already exist and record their findings in a journal. They work with students in other countries to explore alternative energy sources They publish their designs online.
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Biome Exchange - Send the "Stuff" Not The Kids
Students exchange ecological information with students from different geographic biomes. They box up the "unique ecologically significant features" of their area, send the box to another class in another area and then receive a similar...
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Plant Needs
Students explore the needs of plants. In this plants biology lesson, students work in groups to perform an experiment with tomato plants. Each group records observations in a journal, takes pictures, and interprets the...
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Tropism
High schoolers conduct various experiments on tropism. In this biology lesson, students explain how gravity affects the growth of plant roots. They identify the different types of tropisms.
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Watershed Tourist
Learners recognize and categorize different bodies of water. In this watershed and water environments lesson, students "Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean." Learners define the different bodies of water and sort from smallest to...