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Time For Action
High schoolers research the major waste management facilities in their community and are encouraged to speak with public officials.
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Fire Fighting
Students consider the effects of a wildfire on prairie life. They explore the ways that plants regenerate after a fire and create fictional plants that have adapted specifically to the prairie environment. They share models of their plants.
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Tropical Forest Food Chain
Learners explore the interdependence of the animals and plants in tropical rainforests. They explore the importance of conserving biodiversity and tropical food chains. They create a tropical forest food chain and identify species that...
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Poisoning the Prairie
Seventh graders investigate what pesticides are and why people use them. They examine the effect of pesticides on prairie grasses and what alternatives can be used.
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Name that animal
A great way to classify organisms, is by counting the number of legs it has or how it moves. Little ones count the legs on five different creatures, then match the leg count to the proper animal name. Tip: Have them come up with other...
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Rain Forests: A Disappearing Act?
Students examine and locate rainforests on maps, and research the patterns of their destruction. They develop a bar graph of rainfall and temperature data, write a journal entry, and research the people, animals, and plants/products of...
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Prairie Scavenger Hunt
Here is a simple lesson for young learners on the plants, animals, and flowers found in the prairie environment. There are worksheets embedded in the plan that pupils use once a teacher-led discussion and demonstration has taken place....
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Prairie Scavenger Hunt
Students search for a variety of items while visiting a Listening to the Prarie exhibition.
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Keys and Webs
Students explore and classify organisms found in a Rocky Mountain Ecosystem. Through discussions, students examine the effects upon an ecosystem if a component was removed or a new component was added. As a class, they survey reasons...
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Windmills and Blogs: The Impact of Technology in Rural Peru
How does technology affect a community? Research the benefits and consequences of technology in rural Peru. In this technology lesson, learners discuss how the effects of technology. They view a PowerPoint and learn about the Peace...
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Growing Poems
Students write garden inspired poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, students go out into the garden and write poems about how they feel, what they see, and what is going on in the garden.
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Exploring the Temperate Forest: Biodiversity and Interdependence
Students examine the consequences of cutting down large amounts of forests throughout the world. In groups, they use the internet to complete a module taking them on a tour through different temperate forests. To end the lesson, they...
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Introduction to Ocean Grazers
Students explore biology by creating a poster with classmates. In this oceanography activity, students identify the importance of coral reefs to the ocean's ecology and examine a food web of ocean animals. Students define a list of...
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Animal Life Cycle
Students conduct hands-on experiments. In this life cycle lesson, students are able to observe a variety of animals as they travel through their life cycle (brine shrimp, mealworms, frog eggs and chicken eggs). Students respond to what...
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Explore Your Natural Habitat
Students identify habitats and understand why they are important to our environment. In this environmental lesson students design their own habitat, observe and record data on the impact their habitat has on the environment.
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Change or Adaptation
Students identify the adaptive forces in the life cycle of plants, animals, and humans, isolate and identify the role that change and adaptation play in extreme environments and research and write a short term paper using MLA citations.
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Gathering, Traditions, and Nutrition of Our Food
Students gain a better understanding of what it means to eat seasonally through learning about traditional hunting, gathering, and food preparation methods of Athabascan tribes. By interacting with Native American Elders and...
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Biological Control of Purple Loosestrife
Students examine the role of Purple Loosestrife in Illinois and Indiana rivers. In groups, they collect a wide variety of plants in a wetland and raise beetles in a controlled environment. They introduce the loosestrife into the...
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Exploring the Biomes of South America
Sixth graders complete a five-week unit investigating the eight major biomes of South America. They conduct Internet research, collect short-term and long-term climate data, and create a HyperStudio slideshow stack about a selected biome...
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Freshwater Habitats
Young scholars take samples from local freshwater sources and examine them for macroinvertebrate life. They take samples from both shallow and deep freshwater environments, measure temperatures, and classify organisms found in their...
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Dissolved Oxygen in an Aquatic Ecosystem
High schoolers explain why dissolved oxygen is important in aquatic ecosystems. They evaluate the optimal dissolved oxygen levels for living organisms.
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The Interdependence of Birds and the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem
Tenth graders participate in the "Checks and Balances" game. This game lets them experience the interdependence of oragnisms specific to the Great Salt Lake. They recieved informaton about food chains, food webs, trophic levels various...
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Getting Thirsty?
Students explore the concept of drought and its significance as a natural hazard. In this drought lesson plan, students complete 13 questions on an "Introduction to Drought as an Ecosystem Stressor" worksheet and discuss the responses as...
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Locating Echo
Students read the book The Adventure of Echo the Bat. In this animal science lesson, students read the book and create a chart labeled "Land Feature," "Habitat," and "Food." Students fill in the table according to where the character...