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Fish and Zooplankton Through Remote Sensing
Ecology aces examine sea surface temperature maps and relate temperatures to concentration in fish and zooplankton populations. Take your class to a computer lab and provide experience with actual remote sensing data. Some of the links...
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Ocean Life
Mini-marine biologists use Scholastic Explorers website to learn about declining numbers of leatherback sea turtles and dusky dolphins. They fill out a K-W-L chart and observation journal worksheet, which are both provided in the lesson...
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Monoculture and Polyculture
Ecology explorers collect soil and invertebrates from a monoculture and a polyculture area. They relate the number and types of invertebrates to the surrounding environmental conditions. This activity can be used as an introduction to...
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Habitat Assessment
Third graders demonstrate the effects of varying environmental components on plants and animals: chemical, physical and biological characteristics of a habitat. They find chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the lake at...
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Risk Communication: Media Presentation Exercise
Students work in groups to prepare a brief broadcast or print news report from one of five possible viewpoints about an environmental contamination scenario. Students are given basic information about a chemical spill in a small town and...
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T3 Lesson Plan: Number 3
Sixth graders investigate local water. In this water cycle lesson, 6th graders take samples from surrounding water sources. Students record data from the samples, compare and graph the results.
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Species and Specimens: Exploring Local Biodiversity
Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...
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Trash Talkin
Students investigate recycling at several scales, including local, state, national and global. They become aware of recycling, re-use, reduce efforts and policies. Students read the article Where Does Your Garbage Go. They look up where...
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Pavement or Dirt?
What are the pros and cons to having either permeable or impermeable materials for building? How do they affect the environment? Use this role-play and the extension activities to get your environmental scientists thinking about the...
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Women in Science: Dr. Grace Bush
Learn about the study of paleoecology with a resource about Dr. Grace Bush and her contributions to the field. After reading a one-page passage, learners answer comprehension questions and explore their personal interests in different...
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Bird Nests
Learners build bird nests. In this Science lesson, students consider climate, location, and structure when building their bird nest. Learners try to locate each other's nests within the activity site.
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Gaming in the Outdoors
Students explore their environment through a scavenger hunt. In this outdoor exlporation instructional activity, students use hunt cards and search for animal food, natural shapes, or both. Students share their finds. Students create ink...
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Great Streamboat Race
Students analyze currents. In this Science lesson, students race small boats in a creek or stream. Students time the currents and collect organisms from the creek or stream.
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Interactions of Living Things
Is it a producer, carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, or decomposer? Different relationships among organisms are explored here. It is a simple, multiple choice assignment. Use it as a quick warm-up or quiz.
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Moisture Makers
Students use cobalt chloride paper to find moisture in leaves. In this moisture content investigation, students compare and contrast the amount of water given off by various leaves.
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Mystery Marauders
Learners investigate plants with pest damage. In this plant life instructional activity, students study plants that have been damaged by insects. Learners try to discover which insects are causing the damage.
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Salt Water Revival
Students produce a high tide. For this Marine Biology lesson, students visit a tide pool to investigate the creatures response to changes in the tide. Students discuss the results of their experimentation.
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The Old White Sheet Trick
Students attract night animals. In this Science lesson, students use a large white surface and a light at night. Students observe and record what they see.
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Trail Impact Study
Students create maps through trails that keep the environment safe. in this trail plotting instructional activity, students mark off a trail to show hazards, erosion threshold, and slope. Students record information about their trail...
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Hopper Circus
Students explore biology by participating in an insect identification activity. In this grasshopper lesson plan, students discuss the types of insects who jump high and identify their anatomical parts. Students collect a group of...
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Monterey Bay
Students read background information about Monterey Bay, California, and conduct related experiments. In this ocean in motion lesson, students read information about the location, wildlife, and characteristics of Monterey Bay. They...
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Endangered Marine Turtles
Students work in groups and experience what it is like to be a hatchling marine turtle by playing a board game. In this endangered marine turtles lesson, students research the threats to marine turtle hatchlings. Students then create a...
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Finding Ocean Depth
How to oceanographers measure the sea's depth? Your scientists will step into their shoes in this application worksheet, first reading about how the speed of sound and a simple formula give scientists a depth estimation. Students...
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Endangered Ecosystems
Reading comprehension and note-taking skills are practiced as young ecologists embark on this journey. Explorers visit a website where they will read about three ecosystems that are in danger. They use interactive programs to build a...