Curated OER
Water Quality in the Greenhills Stream
Seventh graders conduct year long study of water quality over different seasons using variety of probes, including D.O., pH, conductivity and temperature, that are attached to portable technology. Students select three data points in...
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I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore (Grades 2-5)
Learners give examples of erosion and weathering processes. They determine causes of America's Dust Bowl phenomena.Students define erosion as the condition in which the earth's surface is worn away by the action of water and wind.
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Weather Patterns
Fourth graders collect and chart weather data over the course of the school year either using tools at school or media resources. They agree on weather terms to use in their observations and write them on the assigned sheet. Finally,...
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Water Usage and Conservation
Young scholars investigate water usage at school and at home. They use graphs and tables to evaluate water usage. Students describe possible water conservation measures. They use graphs and tables to relate data as part of a written report.
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Habitat Hunt: Clue Box
Students compile a collection of specimens, descriptions, and data that describe their local environment. They exchange this collection with another school and use their collection to determine the ecosystem surrounding the exchange school.
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Salty Sea Water
Students conduct an experiment to find out if there is salt in the ocean. For this scientific inquiry lesson, students pour a cup of salt water onto an aluminum plate and observe the changes over a few days. Students complete an included...
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Operation Mexfly
Young scholars research information about pesticides. Students discuss the history of the Mexican fruit fly. They experiment to discover malathion concentration levels in organisms. Young scholars explore the effect of toxins at the...
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Teaching the Bell Tetrahedral Kite
Students complete readings on kite making and kite flying. They analyze how the parts of a system interconnect and influence each other. Students identifies and uses color and form in a 3D artwork.
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Edible Soil
Students model the soils layers using Oreo's. In this lesson students use their favorite food items to create a model of soil layers. A discovery lesson from a youth camp is adapted for classroom modeling and discussion of soil...
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Pollution Solution!
Students listen to the story "Clean Air, Dirty Air" by Lynne Patchett and discover the main types of pollution and how these affect their bodies. In this pollution lesson, students work in small groups to create a machine to prevent...
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The Rock Cycle
Students explore the concept of the rock cycle. In this geology lesson, students identify, classify, and observe three different types of rocks. Students then list and char the characteristics of their rocks.
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Lotto or Life: What Are the Chances?
Though the website does not seem to have the mentioned video, a reding and lottery style games simulate the chances of finding intelligent life somewhere other than Earth. Without the video, this lesson is short, but it can be a useful...
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Where Do We Come From? An Introduction to Primate Biology
Seventh graders explore skeletal biology. Through a discussion and video observation, 7th graders investigate how the anatomy is adapted to the environment. Students study primates and explore their characteristics and behaviors.
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Make a Windmill
Students explore Earth science by conducting an energy experiment in class. In this windmill lesson, students identify how wind has been used to pump water throughout history and the latest developments wind energy has produced. Students...
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Sink or Float?
Students predict and test different items to see if they sink or float. In this sink and float lesson plan, students predict whether an item is buoyant or not, and learn that size and weight do not matter when it comes to buoyancy.
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
Perpetual Flow Activity
Set up a demonstration of how gravity can drive the perpetual flow of water during your hydro power unit. Science learners work in teams to make observations and formulate questions about how it works. They compare the model to what they...
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How Much Water is in That River?
Students practice measurement using the Hudson River. They calculate the discharge measurement at a location on the Hudson River using ingenuity and a topographic map.
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Valley of the Butterflies
First graders explore why butterfly populations in Idaho's Lapwai Valley have decreased.
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Weather Whys- Cloud Watching Journal
Students examine how natural processes change the earth by identifying their local water cycle. Individual students complete a cloud journal over a specific period of time. They observe clouds daily and take photographs of the clouds...
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Marketing the New Hybrids
Students work together to develop a hypothesis on the natural and applied hybridization of certain species in an ecosystem. Using the internet, they research this topic and read any recent articles or studies. They must note the...
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Scientific Inquiry: Periodic Motion
Students construct their own pendulum. In this physics lesson, students design an experiment to find the factors affecting its period. They formulate a conclusion based on experimental data.
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Communications
Middle schoolers incorporate different disciplines into this lesson. For this science lesson, students investigate the use of communicating without words, and how it is different than communicating with words. They discuss the pros and...
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Balloons: Math with the Montgolfier Balloon
Students discover the history of hot air balloons by watching one ascent. In this physics lesson plan, students utilize a Montgolfier Hot Air Balloon from an earlier lesson plan and record the temperature, rate of ascent and the...
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Gravity: It's GREEEAAATTT!
Students calculate effects of gravitational force on planets, discuss the effects of weightlessness on the human body and describe and demonstrate how objects in a state of free fall are accelerated by gravity at an equal rate.