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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

DAY AND NIGHT

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students use a lamp as the sun and his/her body as the earth. They rotate in different directions to explain how the earth moves around the sun. Using specific questions in their discussion, students discover the reasons for day and night.
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Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Earth Structure and Processes

For Teachers 8th
Students classify different rocks according to their types. In this earth science lesson, students explain how plate tectonics created Earth's landforms. They explain the continental drift theory and sea floor spreading in their own words.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery Minerals

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners minerals and how they form. They investigate the classification of minerals according to physical properties. Students watch a video about mineral characteristics. In groups, learners participate in hands-on activities and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rocks

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine how sedimentary rocks are formed.  In this rock activity students research different rock formations and different types of rock. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying Watersheds with Topographic Maps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students model a watershed and delineate one using topographic maps. In this hydrology lesson, students use aluminum foil to model a landscape and observe how water moves on it. They also observe the features of a topographic map and use...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Surveying and Assessing the Environmental Compatibility of a Building Construction Site

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students examine an area of land and assess its suitability for construction purposes. This project requires a vast amount of hands-on experimentation, data analysis, community involvement, and job shadowing/career awareness.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners research separate elements of the theory of Plate Tectonics, then share that information with each other, drawing conclusions from the culminated information.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Mineral Mixtures

For Students 6th - 8th
In this science worksheet, students use basic scientific concepts to complete the series of puzzles that are intended to increase science literacy for classifying types of rocks and minerals.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Earth Moves Under My Feet

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers study earthquakes, monitor seismic activity using the Web, and plot real-time activity. They examine movement of the Earth's tectonic plates. They create an earthquake preparedness project.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Testing Your Water

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students perform several water quality tests on groundwater from their area. They use test strips to determine the pH, hardness, alkalinity, nitrates, iron and chloride levels.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Allosaur Survival Game

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students uses this game to see how difficult survival is even for a fierce predator, especially when it is young. It stresses: How much energy it takes to keep a large animal alive or a small one growing, The differences in the fauna...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elements for Disaster Reporting

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students identify the elements of natural disasters and gain an understanding on how the media influences people's responses to disasters. In this natural disaster lesson plan, students study the impact of natural disasters, and the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth Science

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore how water and waves erode the earth. In this erosion instructional activity students determine the processes of wave erosion and building.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pangaea Puzzle

For Teachers 5th - 11th
Students explore plate tectonics and the formations of the Earth's surface and why maps are distorted.  For this Earth's surface lesson students complete a lab and answer questions. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mercury in the Environment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry. They develop an understanding of chemical reactions, structures and properties of matter. They develop decision-making skills in natural and human-induced hazards.
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Lesson Plan
Project SMART

Rocks and Minerals: Touch the Earth

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students complete a unit of lessons on rocks and minerals. They conduct research, write e-mail questions to geologists, write daily journal entries, label maps demonstrating types of rocks/minerals found, and create a web page that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Place In Space

For Teachers 4th - 8th
The purpose of this unit is for students to make the rich set of connections between astronomy and the rest of science and technology, language arts, cultural studies (social studies), math, art, and music.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Name that Wind

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners study wind and the direction terms related to wind. In this meteorology lesson, students learn about the wind directions by completing a wind direction activity where kids locate cones marked with the specific wind directions....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

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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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Wellington Fault Field Trip

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students take a field trip to Harcourt Park in California to view the results of river erosion and an active fault line. In this science lesson plan, students go to different parts of the park to discuss the results.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drifting Continents, Dynamic Results

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students plot earthquake and volcano data using a Compass Rose Plotting. They explain the relationship between plate movement and connection. They draw conclusions that earthquakes and volcanoes occur in predictable locations.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

You Either Know It or You Don't

For Students 6th - 7th
In this research activity worksheet, students research using the Internet or library as their source. Students answer 15 research questions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Use and Conservation

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students discuss the different types of water found on Earth. They discover why not all water is used for drinking and calculate how much water they use. They create their own water conservation plan.