National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Water Supply
Participate in three activities that look at the earth's limited water supply and the changes water goes through as it enters each phase of the water cycle. The resource is complete with three activities that demonstrate the changing...
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Edible Rock Activity
Who knew Snickers® could be used to teach science? Give your budding earth scientists a chance to explore the Law of Superposition, in addition to a well-earned snack.
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Living Swamps, Bayous and Forests
Third graders explore interesting environments by exploring Louisiana. For 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...
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Whose Water is It?
High schoolers study water quality and water quantity issues in their community. They will examine state water laws, learn about current issues relating to water use and water scarcity in their region and the state, investigate and role...
Learning Games Lab
Bacteria Sampling
Scholars explore the procedure for bacteria sampling in a virtual lab by first walking through a detailed step-by-step procedure of preparing the samples of raw milk and pasteurized milk, growing the bacteria, and comparing results....
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Binary and Communication Systems
Students participate in an activity that introduces them to the concept of binary coding as a language. They decode messages using special boards that has its own code for different letters. They create new codes by rearranging wires...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Wad-a-Watershed
What kind of impact do humans have on watersheds? Find out in a lesson that defines, explores, and promotes ways to protect our watersheds. The ultimate goal of the lesson is for learners to discover how a watershed is impacted by...
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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And Now, What to Plant?
Learners build a bird sanctuary. In this service learning lesson, students explore the variety of plants that could be put into the garden and make the selection of best plants for the area.
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Preparing and Planting the Garden
Students prepare to build and plant a garden. In this service learning lesson, students take all the necessary steps to prepare a community garden for planting and reflect on the experience.
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Ring Around the Rosie
Students examine the concept of angular momentum and its correlation to mass, velocity, and radius. They listen to a teacher-led lecture, conduct an experiment with rotational inertia, angular momentum, and rotation speed by making...
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Co-evolution of Plants and Pollinators
Students explore biological evolution and natural selection and its evolutionary consequences. They also explore how organisms are interdependent on one another.
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Landfills: A Solid Waste Management Plan
Middle schoolers are able to list the types of household waste that they produce daily. They are able to describe some other types of waste that are produced by industry or agriculture to help maintain their lifestyles. Students are...
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Flowers and Plants
Students are assigned to bring five flowers. They explore flowers to distinguish different physical features of flowers. They compare and contrast different flowers to determine what features they have in common. Students develop an...
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Ecotourism in National Parks and Wilderness
Young scholars develop a plan for ecotourism after researching a nearby national park or wild area.
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Native Species Restoration and its Impact on Local Populations
Students explore how predators help control the growth of prey species for a more balanced ecosystem.
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The Formation and Value of Temperate Grasslands
Students get an overview of the climate and organisms of the North American Prairie. After a lecture, and watching some videos imbedded in this plan, students compile research data on the North American Prairie.
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Mammals: Mammals and Their Ways
Students study the difference between innate and learned behaviors. They observe the adaptations and behaviors of mammals in this series of lessons.
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Testing the Caverns
Middle schoolers build model caverns using paper mache or clay and bury them in a tray of sand. They test the models by dropping balls onto them to simulate an asteroid hitting the earth. They evaluate the effectiveness of a structure...
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Floods: Rising Waters and You
Students examine the relationship between human-made structures, flood waters and the increasing population through video clips, websites and a lab experiment.
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Volcanoes:How Safe Are They?
Learners 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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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.
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Scaling the Map
Middle schoolers 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.