Lesson Plan
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Snow on Sea Ice

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine different samples of ice and predict the amount of snow that has fallen in a given year. Using a calculator, they graph the various thicknesses. They analyze the graphs to determine the relationship between the...
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Day and Night

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students using experiments try to demonstrate how observations can be affected by the cycles of night and day.
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When Fish Die

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students discuss what to do with a very sick fish and help it to die without much pain. As a class, they answer questions about the fish and if they believe it is suffering or not. Using their own experiences, they share how they dealt...
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Eco-Logical: A Coastal Logic Problem

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study the characteristics of five coastal communities. They use logic cards and matching activities to identify the proper community for plant and animal species.
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Territorial Behavior in Dragonflies and Damselflies

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore dragonfiles/damselfiles and their behaviors. They examine their differences and their life cycles. Students observe the dragonflies in a field and determine the number of different species.
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Cloud in a bag

For Teachers K
Students relate the states of matter and clouds.  In this environment lesson, students create a chart of information they know about clouds.  Students put an ice cube in a bag and tape to a window. Students watch for...
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Measuring Humidity

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students measure humidity in the classroom. In this weather instructional activity, students use a psychrometer to measure the humidity in the classroom. Students complete a lab packet.
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Landfills: A Solid Waste Management Plan

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students 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 able to...
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Clouds

For Teachers K - 4th
Students recognize the three main types of clouds. In this clouds lesson, students create a cloud mobile to understand clouds.
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Going, Going, Gone!

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders use the scientific method to test variables of evaporation. For this evaporation lesson plan, 6th graders test a wet handprint on a paper towel and relate this experiment to weather conditions.
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Global Change- Earth as Home

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students create their own environment. In this environmental protection lesson, students pretend they are the owners of a tropical island. They create jobs for the citizens and develop the island as a model environment.
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Animal Sounds

For Teachers Pre-K
Students listen to books about animals. In this animal sound and characteristics lesson, students listen to books and a tape of animal and then identify which animal makes that sound. Students discuss and act out how the animal acts.
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Sky and Cloud Windows

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars monitor the weather, clouds, and sky. In this weather lesson, students create a sky and cloud window to focus their sky observations. They write observations in a notebook and include the date, time, cloud cover, types of...
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Watershed Analysis

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
Students conduct a regional watershed analysis of an area of their choosing. Using on-line data and their personal knowledge of the area, they determine the annual hydrologic budget and teach the class about "their" watershed.
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Polygons, Pingos, and Themokarst! Oh MY!

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students complete activities to learn about the common land features in Alaska. In this land study activity, students study an overhead for permafrost features. Students define ice wedge polygons, thermokarst, and pingos. Students also...
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Heating the Earth

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars explore how the angle of sunlight affects the Earth's temperature and seasons and then apply this understanding to their local situation.
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Chemistry: Changing Materials

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine physical change with different temperature and solvents. In this elements and compounds lesson, students conduct experiments to discover what happens to the mass of a substance when is undergoes a physical change.
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Ziplock Chemistry

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate various chemical reactions when creating mixtures in ziplock baggies. In this chemistry lesson, students will recognize various chemical reactions and cite evidence. Safety and assessment strategies are included in...
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The Salt Water Connection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the various factors that influence the Pacific Ocean and Monterey Bay, California. They watch a video about Monterey Bay and take notes, and conduct research and write a report about a specific organism living in...
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Amphibian Spawns

For Teachers K
Students observe tadpoles as they gradually change into adults.  For this amphibian biology lesson, students watch tadpoles in a tank in the classroom, keep a daily record of what they observe, and chart the growth development of...
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Brine Shrimp

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students gain a sense of the delicacy and complexity of a living organism and the rather narrow range of conditions under which it can live.
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Teaching about the Effect of Photosynthesis and

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students demonstrate the effects of photosynthesis and respiration. They decide which variables to analyze in a microcosm study. They produce a written paper, oral presentation, poster, or multi-media presentation
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Web of Life - Ecosystem

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders play the roles of various organisms in an ecosystem (focusing on insects) and pass yarn or string around to other organisms from largest animals to the smallest. The end product is a web which shows how all of these animals...
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Let's Take a Rock Apart!

For Teachers K - 12th
Students examine a crushed rock and sort the minerals they find in that rock by color and other properties.