Lesson Plan
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Rollin' on the River: The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers take a close look at the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation system. They study how the Army Corps of Engineers built and monitor the system. Learners discover how a lock and a dam work, and study three benefits of...
Lesson Plan
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The 1927 Flood

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the Great Flood of 1927 in the state of Arkansas. They each prepare an oral report about this flood and the huge impact it had on the economics of that time. Additionally, learners research...
Lesson Plan
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Salmon Vs. Dams: the Dam Removal Debate on the Elwha River

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students role-play a meeting of the Elwha River council in which they present opposing views to council members on hydroelectric power and salmon fisheries resources. They brainstorm possible conflicts between various people in land-use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evaluating an Illinois Earthquake

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars develop awareness of occurrences of earthquakes in Illinois and their past and potential future damage, and examine distribution of earthquakes in central U.S. regions.
Worksheet
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Zebra Mussels

For Students 7th
In this zebra mussels worksheet, 7th graders read an article about zebra mussel populations in United States' lakes and rivers. Students read about the negative effects and some positive results and then answer several questions about...
Lesson Plan
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Fish In a Bottle

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students work together to build their own fish ecosystems. As a class, they share their prior knowledge about catfish and use a diagram to label its body parts. They record their observations of the ecosystem and determine what they...
Lesson Plan
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Animals Finding Rice Paddies

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the animals who live in rice paddies and create a chart.  For this rice lesson, 4th graders link the types of animals living in each ecosystem with a bar graph. Students use colored bars to show...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evaluating an Illinois Earthquake

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students examine the frequency of earthquakes in Illinois. They discover the distribution of earthquakes in the Midwest. They also practice reading measurements from the Richter scale and Mercalli Intensity scale.
Lesson Plan
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Bridge Collapse

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students read about and view a real bridge that collapsed. They examine the fundamentals of building a solid and safe bridge and then construct their own bridge model using rolled newspaper and tape.