Lesson Plan
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Floodplain Modeling

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students simulate the impact of fluctuating river volumes on structures and landforms. They experiment with table top-sized riverbed models and water. Students consider how human design can help mitigate the effects of a flood.
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Microclimates of Our School

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students read the story "Weslandia" by Paul Fleischman, define the term microclimate, gather and record data in various places on school grounds to establish the presence of difference microclimates, analyze and compare microclimates,...
Lesson Plan
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Seasons Culminating Activity

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students develop a PowerPoint presentation as the culminating project in a unit on seasons. They complete a KWL chart, conduct Internet research, take an online quiz, and create a PowerPoint presentation using text, video clips, and...
Lesson Plan
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Scientist Tracking Network

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students correlate surface radiation with mean surface temperature of several geographic regions. They observe how these parameters change with latitude and construct an understanding of the relationship of solar radiation to seasonal...
Lesson Plan
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Seasonal Cloud Cover Variations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students, in groups, access data from the NASA website Live Access Server regarding seasonal cloud coverage and the type of clouds that make up the coverage. They graph the data and make correlations between types, seasons and percentages.
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Diversity

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students work in groups to research and prepare an oral report about a region.  In this regions lesson, students find out about the geography, population, state capitals, and landmarks.  Students assign attributes to the people...
Lesson Plan
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Diversity Geography

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research another country and its people.  In this diversity lesson, students work in groups to research an assigned country and develop a short oral report.  Students use diversity beans to represent the people of...
Lesson Plan
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Defining Drought

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine the hydrologic impacts of drought. Humans can change the course of the water cycle, to some extent, to meet their needs, but can they do so without imposing risks on the plants and animals?
Lesson Plan
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Cloud Observations using GLOBE Protocols

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students observe which of ten types of clouds are visible and how much of the sky is cloud covered. They see that by observing clouds, we can get information about temperature, moisture, and wind conditions in different places in the...
Lesson Plan
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Creating Climographs

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Pupils chart statistical information on graphs, interpret the information and use it to explain spatial relationships, and identify the relationship between climate and vegetation.
Lesson Plan
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In the Rain Shadow

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners, while utilizing a large wall map, experiment recording the annual precipitation for cities on the east and west sides of the Cascade Mountains. They discover that volcanic mountains do not have to erupt to affect the atmosphere.
Lesson Plan
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A Tale of Two Frogs

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders locate Russia on a map or globe and work in pairs to complete the Map worksheet. They read the book, A Tale of Two Frogs stopping after page 15. They write an ending to the story and then read more of the book stopping...
Lesson Plan
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What Do Maps Show?: Lesson 1 Introduction to Maps

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners brainstorm a list of the different types of maps they have seen or used. Using the activity sheet, they look through a social studies book to find all the maps and to determine what they are used for. Using a poster, they review...
Lesson Plan
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Tree Cookies

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students identify heartwood, sapwood, and a tree's annual rings, infer from a tree's rings what damage or stress might have occurred in its life, and make a time-line of human history that coincides with a tree's rings.
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Trekking to Timbuktu: The Geography of Mali - Student Version

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders locate Mali on a world map, describe the landscape and climate of Mali, and locate the city of Timbuktu and describe the local weather. They compare life along the Niger in ancient times to that of today
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Global Warming: The Greenhouse Effect Visualizer

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners work in small groups to study the various aspects of global weather and discuss the possibility of a Greenhouse Effect.
Lesson Plan
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Interdisciplinary Global Warming

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders are given a wide variety of earth science topics to choose from to write a report on. This lesson also has a scoring rubric imbedded in the plan. They utilize the internet and other sources to complete their research.
Lesson Plan
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A Cultural Palette

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine pieces of music and art that represent who they are. They study Haitian culture and traditions by performing the musical production "Once on the Island." They watch and discuss the film "The Nature of Music."
Lesson Plan
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Fahrenheit vs Celsius

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students make a thermometer and write a paragraph about how they did it.
Lesson Plan
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Graphing Data - Temperature

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders measure and record temperature over a given time period. They compare the recorded temperatures to the 40-year recorded normal average temperatures for the same area. Students display and interpret their findings in a graph.
Lesson Plan
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Air Pressure is Powerful

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students construct a barometer and collect data on the changes in air pressure. They work is small groups using plastic tubing, corks, and green food coloring. They then use a formula to convert inches of mercury to barometric pressure...
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Ocean Color

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners examine NASA's SeaWiFS Project Web site to explore how the SeaWiFS Project monitors environmental and climatic changes in the oceans and atmosphere. They answer questions and write a summary in support of continued funding for...
Lesson Plan
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"Across Oregon On The 45th N Parallel" A Transect of Oregon

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore the physical geography of Oregon. In groups, students collect weather and elevation information on Oregon. They organize the data and create maps and graphs of the information. Afterward, students compare the...
Lesson Plan
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Create Your Own Lightning

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students conduct an experiment. In this lightning lesson, students use a blanket and a dark room to simulate lightning.