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The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change
Students analyze the impact of climate variability and change utilizing a broad span of topics over a wide range of grade levels. This three lesson unit is easily adapted for the various instructional levels listed.
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Weather
Students explore the earth's atmosphere, weather, and climate. They begin class with a discussion about weather patterns, atmosphere, and the layers of the earth. After the class discussion, students rotate through four stations to...
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Ecosystems and Climate
Pupils examine climatic effects on ecosystems. They plant tomatoes and observe the differences in plant growth with differences in light. They create picture collages of plants, animals, and insects found in each climate of the U.S.
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Climate
Young scholars make and record observations about local weather. They write about their favorite kind of weather and what it would be like to live in a climate of their choice. They take a quiz on regional U.S. climates.
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Whales and Sea Ice: Investigating Insulation
Students investigate the properties of insulation as it relates to whales and sea ice. They research whales and examine the atmospheric changes that occur when there are changes in sea ice.
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EarthTrek Gravestone Project
Students explore the effects of acid rain. For this acid rain lesson, students investigate the effects of the weathering from acid rain in different places. Students visit cemetaries to collect data about the effects of acid rain on the...
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Blowin' in the Wind
Students discover how wind is created on earth: changes in temperatures and air pressure. They list good and bad effects of the wind and make a weather vane and practice using it for 2 weeks.
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Create Your Own Cloud
Learners explore and analyze weather conditions, climates, compositions and characteristics of the atmosphere and weather patterns. They explain in detail the water cycle and its relationship to weather patterns. A lab experiment is...
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Too Heavy For Me
Students explore the different arrangement of air molecules in high and low air pressure masses. They compare the temperature of high and low pressure masses and discover how a barometer works.
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Three Clouds Activity
Students explore how clouds are produced through three different age-appropriate hands-on experiments.
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Watch the Sky: Observing Clouds and Patterns
Young scholars observe clouds outside of the classroom. In this weather instructional activity, students investigate and record the clouds above their classroom everyday for three weeks. The young scholars then analyze their data and...
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Ozone Hole Expert Groups
Research topics associated with the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Researchers write five facts about their topic and one question for each of those facts. They present what they learned to the rest of the class. Six topics are...
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Drip... Drop... Raindrops
Young scholars demonstrate the steps of evaporation, cloud formation, and precipitation within the water cycle. They make and demonstrate how to use a hygrometer to record daily humidity and describe how rain, snow, and sleet form.
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Fahrenheit vs Celsius
Students make a thermometer and write a paragraph about how they did it.
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Air Pressure is Powerful
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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Am I Hot or Am I Cold?
Students practice using a thermometer to determine how the air around the earth gets heated and cooled by the sun. Students chart the daily inside and outside temperature for two weeks.
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Green House Effect
Students read about the green house effect and how our environment is deteriorating and what we can do to help it. In this green house effect lesson plan, students conduct a home and school energy audit, and create a rap.
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Three Clouds Activity
Students understand how clouds are formed. For this cloud lesson, students participate in three experiments to make clouds. Students complete activity sheets for each experiment.
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Science: Hurricanes As Heat Engines
Young scholars conduct Internet research to track the path of Hurricane Rita. They record the sea surface temperature of the Gulf of Mexico during and after the hurricane and draw conclusions about how hurricanes extract heat energy...
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"Use an Anemometer," said the Meteorologist
Students participate in an hands-on construction of an instrument to measure wind speed.
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"Use an Anemometer," said the Meteorologist
Students work in groups to make an instrument the Meteorologists use to measure the speed of the wind after the teacher reads them a poem about the wind. Students then review vocabulary that they studied from their lesson.