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Woods Canyon Pueblo
Students read the relevant sections of Woods Canyon Pueblo: Life on the Edge online; they fill out the Native American Perspectives Eighth Grade Study Guide on paper. Several of them share their essays with the class.
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Threatened Species and Public Policy
Students discuss the Endangered Species Act and its impact on people and the environment. They read the act and watch video footage. They examine why sea turtles are endangered and efforts to protect them. They analyze numerical results...
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Relative Dating - Telling Time Using Fossils
Learners use fossil range charts to explain relative dating. They graph for ammonites, marine organisms that went extinct at the same time as dinosaurs.
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Ecotourism in National Parks and Wilderness
Middle schoolers research a wilderness or natural area and develop a plan for ecotourism.
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Testing the Caverns
Students build model caverns using paper mache or clay and bury them in a tray of sand. They test the models by dropping balls onto them to simulate an asteroid hitting the earth. They evaluate the effectiveness of a structure against...
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World War II
Students analyze primary sources (photographs) for evidence of American military technology during WWII. They debate the use of the Atomic Bomb. Students view the Rosenthal image. They discuss the image in detail.
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Economic Use of Public Natural Areas
Students examine the public controversy between the use of public natural areas for economic activities by viewing video clips, researching on the Internet, and calculating sustainable land.
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Floods: Rising Waters and You
Students examine the relationship between human-made structures, flood waters and the increasing population through video clips, websites and a lab experiment.
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Co-evolution of Plants and Pollinators
Students, while studying the rolls of pollinators and plants, explore co-evolution of mutualistic relationships.
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Non Native Species: English Ivy-Landscape Plant or Deadly Killer?
Students examine an area overrun by English Ivy. They explore how invasive species affect an ecosystem. They also study about the lack of biodiversity and how to measure it out in the field.
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Salmon vs. Dams: The Dam Removal Debate on the Elwha River
Students use roll playing to discuss the merits of tearing down these dams so that the Elwha River can run free. The activity is presented in the form of a council meeting to encourage students to try to build consensus in finding...
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Volcanoes:How Safe Are They?
Students explore volcanoes, locate them on maps, record general information about volcanoes, and organize information on a fact sheet.
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How the Great Depression Affected California and C¿¿sar E. Ch¿¿vez
Fourth graders examine the effect of the Great Depression on California. After reading a summary, they discover how the depression and Dust Bowl led to the immigration of great numbers of farm workers into California. They also...
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The Dust Bowl and the Ogallala Aquifer
Students research the characteristics of the Great Plains as an agricultural area. They examine farming techniques from the past and how those farming techniques are used today. They investigate the present uses of the Ogallala Aquifer.
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Swine Flu and Health Lesson Plans
With the swine flu on everyone's mind, students can benefit from learning about influenza, epidemics, and public health.
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Immigration Debate
Students examine statements made by immigrants about immigration. They use the internet to research the truthfulness of these statements. They practice their decision-making skills.
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Literature: Esperanza Rising
Young scholars read and discuss the book, Esperanza Rising. After analyzing and identifying the novel's structural elements, they examine working conditions for migrant workers in the 1930s. As part of the lesson, students in groups...
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A Personal Narrative on the Immigration Experience
The students create a personal narrative on their experiences with immigration. In this instructional activity, students are asked to read and understand examples of narrative writing as well as evaluate lyrics from Ben Folds Five to...
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After the Garbage Can: Where Does Our Trash Go?
Young scholars explore how waste disposal has changed over time and what the current issues are. In this disposal activity students collect data and create graphs.
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Lesson Plan for Day Five Part One of Unit on Bless Me, Ultima
Tenth graders participate in literature circles to discuss the novel, Bless Me, Ultima. They formulate questions based on their reading and answer them in small discussion groups.
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Native Species Restoration and its Impact on Local Populations
Students watch video clips of ecosystems and answer questions relating to them.
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Possible Locations
Students create maps with cutout pieces of paper that represent caverns. They develop a scale for their map and decide where the best location is to live. They discover the importance of map reading skills.
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Scaling the Map
Students practice determining map distances using the map scales. They discover how much an area represents on the map in relation to the actual area. They decide on the best place to build their cavern.
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Atomic Bomb-Truman Press Release-August 6, 1945
Students read a copy of Truman's press release regarding the atomic bomb. They answer a series of factual questions regarding the press release. They discuss the press release and then follow up with answering more in depth questions...