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Getting to Know Soil
Students make predictions and analyze soil. In this soil properties instructional activity, students make predictions about soil properties for various soil samples. Students examine the types of soils and record their observations....
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Investigating the Soil
Students explore the Earth's crust by researching pH levels and acidity. In this environmental safety lesson, students identify the pros and cons of acidity within soil and how it affects plants. Students collaborate in a pH level...
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Stream Table
Students explore channelization, riparian habitats and soil erosion to find out about the aquatic habitats in Iowa. In this aquatic habitats lesson, students define important terms and read an article about pollution. Students complete...
NASA
Let's Investigate Mars
Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy lesson. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's nearest neighbor.
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Rocks and Minerals
Students are able to describe earth processes (e.g., rusting, weathering, erosion) that have affected selected physical features in students, neighborhoods. They are able to identify various earth structures (e.g., mountains, faults,...
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Peat Pots
Students place a peat pot in water to observe and calculate the rate of capillarity in a model of a soil. This task assesses students' abilities to make simple observations, collect, record, and represent data, use a data table to...
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What type of soil do worms like?- An Investigation
Students study four types of soil and predict which one worms would use for their habitat. They observe worms in each type of soil and monitor their activity. They create class charts highlighting their discoveries.
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The Effect of Moisture on Soil Temperature
Students analyze the relationship between soil moisture and its effect on soil temperature.
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Waste Not Want Not
Students are introduced to the need to save natural resources. Through inquiry, hands-on activities, and problem solving, students increase their understanding of solid waste materials and the need to reduce, recycle, and reuse.
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Demonstrating Erosion in Action
Students easure and record volume of water, then measure and record mass of soil. They explain the effects of the following in controlling erosion: Contouring, cover crop, strip cropping, reforestation, inter-seeding.
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Sediment Tubes
Young scholars observe how different density soils and rocks behave in wind and in water. They make predictions and careful observations as they explore sediment transport and sediment rates in streams and rivers.
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Creeping
Learners observe, measure, and graph a model of slow down slope movement representing soil creep. This task assesses students' abilities to collect, record, and organize data, set up graph axes, plot data points, draw line graphs, apply...
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Rock Cycles, Crayon Cycles
Students examine the rock cycle and the path that rocks go through to rearranged in different ways. They define key vocabulary terms, then in small groups conduct a variety of experiments using crayon shavings as simulated rocks and...
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Dirty Decomposers
Learners explore the ecosystem by conducting a ziploc bag experiment. In this recycling lesson, students identify decomposer organisms in our environment and how they speed up the recycling process. Learners utilize a ziploc plastic bag,...
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Excavate and Explore
Students simulate an archeological excavation to explain how archeologists identify, date, and make inferences about their findings. They explain the importance of spatial and stratigraphic contexts in archaeology.
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Pet Rocks
Students complete a variety of activities related to the physical characteristics of minerals. They classify and group candy, classify rocks and complete a Pet River Rock worksheet. Students try to guess which rock goes with each...
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Worms in a Bottle
Students gain a better understanding of the worm and its role in the recycling of organic materials into simpler forms by constructing worm bottles and observing for 60 to 90 days.
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Minerals
Students apply rules to compare and rank the hardness and softness of minerals. They perform a scratch test on four unknown mineral samples, read a bar graph that illustrates the comparative hardness and softness of four named minerals,...
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Aquifer Model
Students, after researching and brainstorming about aquifers and locating aquifer maps of Texas, participate in the building of a model of an aquifer complete with a pumping station. They also answer a variety of questions at the...
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Weathering and Erosion: Some Ways the Hydrosphere Affects the Geosphere
Learners explain the causes of erosion, describe the effects of erosion, and devise a method of preventing erosion. They model the before-and-after-effects of erosion.
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Building Materials
Fifth graders are presented with three rocks and a variety of tools and are asked to investigate the properties of the rocks to see which rock is best for building tables and benches for a museum picnic area.
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Formation of Rain
Students sequence the steps leading to the formation of rain, and design a model to represent these steps. This task assesses students' abilities to classify, generalize, infer, interpret and communicate data, and construct a pictorial...
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Water Pollution
Students study four samples of "rain water". They asked to determine the pH of the samples and then to neutralize them. Students are asked to predict any negative effects which might be associated with water having a low pH and to...
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Carbon for the World
Students explore the presence of carbon in the world. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students discuss the carbon cycle after they read assigned textbook pages. Students also discuss biomass content in different parts of the...