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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Little Auk Survival Challenge

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
A bird's life is one of danger and intrigue as it struggles for survival in sometimes harsh environments. To understand how difficult surviving in the wild can be, children play a simulation game where they act as little auks, birds from...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Taxonomic Key

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students work as a team of abalone taxonomists who examine and classify abalones based on their shell characteristics of the four most common species. They also study the visible details of each species shell, make notes and eventually...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crab Lab

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in an activity in which they observe the behavior of a crab. In groups, they label and identify the function of each main part while observing and record their behavior. They make educated guesses on why they...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Tour Down the Hudson River

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss how the Hudson River is an ecosystem made up of both biotic and abiotic factors. They view the PowerPoint the Journal Down the Hudson River. Students become aware of where the Hudson River begins and ends, the plant and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students are shown how temperature affects dissolved oxygen and they create a graph showing this relationship. They think about the adaptations of animals to live in different water temperatures. Students test four different water...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dissolved Oxygen Introduction

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers are shown how dissolved oxygen enters the water. They are taught the difference between a water sample that has been exposed to the air and one that has not. Students brainstorm what organisms need to survive. They use...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Our Water Healthy?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students test water for a least one chemical characteristic. They hypothesize how a storm event might change the chemical characteristics of a stream. Students collect water samples and use the chemical test to test the water.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Zebra Mussel Population Simulation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are taught how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet. They make a graph, and interpret graphed data. Students discuss the possible impacts of zebra mussels on the Hudson river. They graph zebra mussel data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aquatic Ecosystem Exploration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students visit a local stream, pond, creek, or river and collect macroinvertebrates. They sort macroinvertebrates and identify each species using a dichotomous key. Students decide on trophic levels and construct a possible food web for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What If There's No Light?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
students discuss the importance of light and the consequences of living without it. Using a plant as a demonstration, students predict and observe what happens to a plant when it does not receive enough light. In groups, they experiment...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Runoff: Intro to Watersheds

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are taught that a watershed is, what types of basic land cover are impermeable and permeable to water. They trace the flow of water around their school and around their home. Students determine what watershed their school is a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Invasives and Marsh Birds

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are taught that invasive plant removal can have a variety of impacts. They are shown this by using graphs. Students view maps of vegetation change on Iona Island. They discuss implications of changes on marsh birds using data...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Chestnut Graphing Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are taught how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet. They make a graph and interpret graphed data. Students discuss possible impacts of water chestnut invasion. They graph data on water chestnut. Students report...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Quality with Samples

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students recognize whether one wants to drink water, swim in it, or for the health of the organisms living in it. They prepare different water samples to observe and collect samples regarding the water quality.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bottled Water vs. Tap Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars analyze the similarities and differences between tap water and bottled water. They make informed decisions about their use of each. Students are asked if they drink mostly tap water straight from the tap or water fountain....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wastewater

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss what happens to their wastewater. They read about the wastewater treatment process. Students are asked what types of things get flushed down toilets or goes down drains in sinks and showers. They are taught what happens...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hudson Valley Rocks

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students identify each of the rocks provided and locate where in the valley they are found. They explain why the rocks came to be as they are in each location. In addition, they relate the exercise to how the Hudson Valley's geologic...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Glacial Groundwater

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students study glacial deposition and groundwater in Dutchess County, new York. They identify the permeability rates in different glacial deposits and relate this information to ground water capacity of sediments found in Dutchess...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Water is in That River?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars 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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seashell Homes

For Teachers K - 4th
Pupils listen to a story about seashells. They discuss shelled animals. Learners describe the function of seashell. Pupils relate the function of a seashell to their own dwelling. They differentiate between shelled animals that make...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Architects of the Coral Reef

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students discuss reproduction in Cnidaria. in this coral reef lesson, students describe five characteristics of Cnidaria and compare and contrast the four classes. They describe the reproduction strategies they use. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pond Life

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Environmental explorers create an experiment related to ponds and then present their finding to the class. This resource is extremely open-ended. It needs more concrete objectives and procedures for meeting them.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paleontologist: Can You Dig It?

For Teachers K
Students investigate what a paleontologist does. They participate in a dinosaur dig, write a story, and explore the Dinosaur Dig website to view and discuss photos of a real dinosaur dig.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Experimentation with Teratogens on Zebrafish

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare mitosis and meiosis with regard to chromosome number in parent cells versus daughter cells, types of cells produced, total number of cells produced, and the number of divisions. In groups, identify and differentiate the...