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TE Activity: Stream Consciousness
Fourth graders study how environmental engineers monitor water quality. They use environmental indicators to determine the quality of stream water in their area. They count the number of macroinverabrates and use the information they...
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A "Sedimental" Journey-Sediment Collection
Students are asked how they would gather a sample of sediment from a lake, stream, river, pond, or swamp. They discuss safety concerns involving sample collections. Students are instructed to stay out of the water and to be careful not...
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A Coin Out of Water
Students examine the Michigan state quarter and identify land and water on the quarter. They locate the Great Lakes and other bodies of water on a map. They compare and contrast streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans.
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Pond 1: Pond Life
Learners work together to investigate familiar and unfamiliar ecosystems. Using the internet, they discover how different organisms use their environment to satisfy their needs. They also examine the relationshiops between organisms...
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Discovering The Oasis
Students participate in a lesson that is concerned with the ecosystem of a local pond. The teacher makes arrangements for students to take a field trip. Time is spent in class for preparation and afterward for debriefing of lab...
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Ecosystems
Third graders identify and define an Ecosystem and the basic needs of all animals. They collect pond water in a pickle jar. They observe the organisms that are in the jar to keep an ongoing record of the creatures and their population.
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The Marvels of Mud
Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine the role that...
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Pea Soup Ponds
Students perform an experiment where they learn how water can be polluted by algal bloom. They grow algae with different concentrations of fertilizers or nutrients and analyze their results.
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Pond Water Web
Learners identify the different organisms in the food web. In this biology lesson, students create food chains using the information on cards. They explain what happens if an organism is removed or added in the web.
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Mini-Ecosystems
Third graders identify the living and non living things in a book read aloud and discuss the interactions represented in the book. Then, they research and include a list of food that each animal needs in an ecosystem. Finally, 3rd...
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Fault Features
Students discuss the different kinds of faults in the earth's crust and examine photos of the San Adreas Fault. Working in groups, they experiment with fault making by placing fabric in a pan and filling the inside with wet dirt. When...
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Sand Shakes & Mud Pies: Investigating Sediment
Take a field trip to a location where water and land meet to study patterns of sediment organization in wet habitats: river or ocean beaches, sand dunes, tidal marshes, the edge of a pond, or a woodland stream. Small groups collect pairs...
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Over in the Meadow
Students discover how to locate books on meadow and pond animals and research them. Students discover how to locate fiction/story books about the animals mentioned in the counting book read. Students discover how to locate by author,...
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Week 3: Pollution Source and Effects
Lab groups set up an experiment to observe what happens over time in collected pond water when fertilizer, representing pollution, is added. This website does not include student lab sheets, but background information, materials, and...
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Michigan Quarter Reverse: A Coin Out of Water
Students examine the Michigan quarter reverse and differentiate between bodies of water. On copies of the quarter reverse, they color the land green and the water blue. After observing photos of water bodies, they complete a worksheet...
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The Great Water Hunt
Students create a model of the land to water ratio in a large group and search for all the places water is used at their school while on a Great Water Hunt. They identify where water can be found and compare how much of world is covered...
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Aquatic Ecosystem Exploration
Students visit a local stream, pond, creek, or river and collect macroinvertebrates. They sort macroinvertebrates and identify each species using a dichotomous key. Students decide on trophic levels and construct a possible food web for...
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River Study
Students study physical features of a local stream. They study how to identify water features on topographic maps.
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Explore: 5th Grade Dissolved Oxygen
Fifth graders, in groups, use basic science process skills to measure and compare the dissolved oxygen levels and pH levels of distilled, stream, and pond water.
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Living Organisms as Indicators of Pollutants in Fresh Water Ecosystems
Students observe the effects of pollution on living organisms. In this pollution lesson plan, students observe fresh water Hydra and look at their structures and movement. They place samples of pond and lake water on the Hydra and...
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Central Park Field Trip
Young scholars visit the park to observe signs of spring in the forest and pond environments. In this field trip lesson, students explore the park for various items
Rivanna Regional Stormwater Education Partnership
Invisible Passengers
How does water pollution affect the organisms living in the water? Use three science experiments to examine how erosion and other pollutants can affect water quality. Each experiment focuses on a different aspect of pollution and...
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Ranger Rick's Tracking Frogs
In this Ranger Rick's tracking frogs learning exercise, students find a pond, observe and record what signs of frogs they can see or hear.
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Effects of Water Pollution on Aquatic Organisms
Students investigate water pollution. They develop an understanding of the behavior of organisms, of the structure and properties of matter, and of natural and human induced hazards by conducting lab tests. They present their data...