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Roots Need Oxygen

For Teachers K - 6th
Students investigate the growth of plants in soil with oxygen and soil without oxygen. They discuss what roots need to survive, and chart the growth of two plants to analyze the difference between plain soil and soil with two earthworms.
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Interpreting An Archaelogical Site

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Learners study the site of an archaeological dig site in order to begin looking at how they can be interpreted. They look at a soil profile and respond to a research question that simulates a real site. The other questions are used to...
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READY, SET, PLANT

For Teachers K - 1st
Students identify the basic steps a gardener takes in planting seeds. Students identify the many uses of tomatoes. Students examine the seeds and try to identify them. Students place their plants in a sunny window and water them when...
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Farming Idaho

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use a digital atlas to explore areas in the Western United States that depend heavily upon water. They explore the type of soil and the farming that is compatible with the soil. As a class, students explore Idaho's economic...
Worksheet
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Earth's Crust in Motion

For Students 5th - 8th
For this Earth's crust worksheet, students will review the different ways the crust is moving including soil erosion and earthquakes. Students will complete 6 word scramble/fill in the blank, 3 multiple choice, and 11 short answer...
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Air Quality Presentation for Youth

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students read two books about wind and dust and then participate in a demonstration in which they plant seeds and compare dry, dusty soils to moist soils. They identify the rationale and methods for keeping airborne dust down.
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Do You See What I See?

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders view a teacher-created terrarium, and complete a KWL chart. They discuss what they can see, Students go on a nature walk and compare the schoolyard to the terrarium, discussing the roles of rocks, plants, soil, and water...
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Planting

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students form groups to conduct an experiment. They plant seedlings to test the effects of sunlight, water and soil, on the growth of seedlings.
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Water Molds (Oomycetes)

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore a group of fungus-like organisms; the Oomycetes, by baiting them from natural sources (water and soil) and observing them.
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Decomposers at Work!

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design and conduct investigations that illustrate the process of decomposition. After a lecture/demo, students simulate the process of soil composting in the classroom. They closely chart the decomposition of their soil.
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Forests

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine soil in forests looking for animals and insects. They divide the animals based on their number of legs and draw the animal they have collected.
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The Compost Bucket

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students recognize that plants and soils have a close relationship. They view a photo essay on the common practice and natural process of composting. Afterwards, they observe the process of plant decay over the course of several days.
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Excavating the Past

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students discover how palaeontologists conduct a dig for fossils and how they interpret the age of the fossils. In small groups, they prepare a "dig site" consisting of bones, rocks and soil layered in a cardboard box. They switch boxes...
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Worm Composting: Vermiculture

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Students compost in a limited space and describe the decomposing process. Students convert unwanted, organic matter, particularly food scraps and paper into fertile soil.
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What Makes a Healthy Plant?

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students predict the effects of water, light, and soil on the development of a plant and then design an experiment to test their predictions.
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Stem Cuttings

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students select the best non-flowering stems of plants and remove the leaves from the soon to be buried portion of the stem. They fill seedling flats with soil and insert the cuttings, label, and water.
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Decomposing Artifacts

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders participate in an experiment in which they calculate the time of decomposition of different materials. In groups, they fill bags with different materials and cover them in soil. After six months, they create a line graph...
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Hagerman GIS Questions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine maps and pictures to identify specific geographic information. In addition, they explore data tables and GIS data to identify fossil beds and vegetation. Students explore the correlations between soil type, vegetation,...
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Identifying Wetlands

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers describe three major categories of indicators that are used to delineate wetlands.  In this wetlands lesson students visit a wetland and make observations then complete an activity using the soil. 
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Investigating the Uses of Backyard Bacteria

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners discover that the answers to some of society's waste and clean-up problems may be no further than the soil beneath their feet. They perform a Gram stain on the colonies to determine some of their characteristics.
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STABLE ANGLES OF SLOPES

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students conduct an experiment using soil and shoeboxes to explore factors controlling and affecting the slope of a hillside. They analyze angles, surfaces, etc. to gain an understanding of instability of slopes.
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Can the Radon Problem Be Fixed?

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students devise the solutions to the radon problem. They consider how radon enters homes and the air flow patterns within them while focusing on the fact that the ultimate source of radon is the rocks and soils under the house. They...
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The Rotten Truth

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students study the process of decomposition using lunch leftovers and soil. They complete the inquiry over set periods time as they observe the how composting takes place and finally, they sort the materials into biodegradable,...
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Settling Rates of Different Size Particles

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars discover how and why the settling rate of particles differs with the size of the particles. Using different soil samples, they calculate the amount of time it takes for a sample to settle in water for up to forty minutes....

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