Curated OER
It's All in the Pattern
Here is a fantastic, nine-page, multi-session lesson plan on the Zia Sun Symbol (found on the New Mexico state flag), and the seasons of the Earth. Everything you need to implement the lesson is here, and the many engaging activities are...
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Discovering New Mexico
Seventh graders discuss the elements of maps and using basic linear measurement. They calculate the distance between the cities and create a simulated journey around New Mexico using a road map. They write out the directions for their...
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Estimation, Sampling, and Beyond
Students examine an ISS EarthKAM image of farm land in Texas and New Mexico. They select sample region of image and count the number of fields in that region. They estimate how many fields are in the entire region.
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Where in the Latitude Are You? A Longitude Here.
Students distinguish between latitude and longitude on the map. In this mapping lesson, students participate in mapping skills to recognize spatial relationships, and where to find natural resources on the map. Students create their own...
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Traveling Through Literature
Integrate geography with literature in this interdisciplinary lesson. Begin by reading a poem such as The Time We Climbed Snake Mountain by Leslie Marmon Silko. On a large map, place push pins in the cities or states mentioned. An...
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Using Maps to Make Public Health Descisions Case Study: Harmful Algal Blooms in the Gulf of Mexico
Students are introduced to GIS and its uses. Students participate as public health scientists to deliberate a course of action to explore possible research questions. Pupils interpret spatial data, and make predictions based on GIS data,...
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Investigating Latitude and Longitude
Young scholars examine the lines of latitude and longitude on a map, and explain why these lines might be useful. In this lesson students also explore websites that provide information to improve their understanding of how and why...
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Marine Archaeology
Students examine marine archaeology. In this archaeological data lesson plan, students see how archaeologists use data to make inferences about shipwrecks. Students read data and make their own inferences, write about marine life and...
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Scaling the Map
Students practice determining map distances using the map scales. They discover how much an area represents on the map in relation to the actual area. They decide on the best place to build their cavern.
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What's Eating Your Ship?
Students examine the processes that contribute to the deterioration of shipwrecked in shallow and deep water. In this research lesson students explore shipwrecks and how the deterioration process works. Students fill out the questions...
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Drought Threatens Huge Man-Made Lake
Students locate Lake Mead, then read a news article about Lake Mead drying up and how that would effect water and power supplies to the region. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a map and vocabulary...
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The Formation and Value of Temperate Grasslands
Learners study the Temperate Grasslands biome of North America. They explain that it is an endangered ecosystem because the rich soils have been converted to farming in most areas. They view videos imbedded in this plan, then complete...
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Volcanoes:How Safe Are They?
Students explore volcanoes, locate them on maps, record general information about volcanoes, and organize information on a fact sheet.
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Communications: To the Rescue!
Students role-play as soldiers rescuing lost mountain climbers. Working in teams, they interpret maps to locate the climbers and use flashlights to send and receive coded messages about the rescue. Their goal is to complete the task in...
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Predicting the Route of the Monarch's Spring Migration
Learners consider the habits of the monarch butterfly and predict the path it take as it migrates in the spring.
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Living Swamps, Bayous and Forests
Third graders explore interesting environments by exploring Louisiana. In this wetland lesson, 3rd graders utilize the web to research the State of Louisiana, the bayous in the area, and the Gulf of Mexico. Students write a journal entry...
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Drifting Continents
In this plate tectonics activity, students study the continents map and complete 8 short answer questions related to them. They predict what the Earth will look like millions from now.
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Possible Locations
Students create maps with cutout pieces of paper that represent caverns. They develop a scale for their map and decide where the best location is to live. They discover the importance of map reading skills.
Agriculture in the Classroom
Design 'Y'er Genes
How do changes in DNA affect an organism? Scholars explore chromosomes, genes, DNA, and mutations by modeling the DNA of a strawberry. They build a DNA model, then manipulate it to show how changing the genes transforms the strawberry...
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Is There Ice on Mercury?
For this ice on Mercury worksheet, students read about the data collected from the NASA Messenger and the Arecibo Radio Telescope indicating the possibility of ice on Mercury. Students solve 6 problems including finding the scale of the...
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Dark Days on the Prairie
Students explore U.S. geography by researching agriculture. In this dust bowl activity, students complete a cause and effect worksheet based upon the dust bowls that covered a large portion of Oklahoma and Texas in the early 1900's....
National Gardening Association
Migration Mishaps
Elementary ecologists pretend to be migratory hummingbirds. They fly between wintering and nesting grounds, trying to reach a habitat haven. In a musical-chair fashion, some birds will miss out, and are removed from the game. To further...
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Dancing Rainbows: A Pueblo Boy's Story
Students read the book "Dancing Rainbows," and complete a variety of activities across the curriculum. For this Native Americans lesson plan, students create pottery, discuss Pueblo traditions, discuss the importance of rain, and learn...
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Expedition Stories
Students use the Internet to research and discover information about expeditions that were formed to observe the transit of Venus. In groups, they work together to present information about the expeditions and create a visual aid.