Curated OER
Soils
Students apply knowledge of soil, environmental impacts, economics, multiple human demands, and use given data for a proposed scenario in making land use decisions. They debate land use issues and/or scenarios and discuss a case study.
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Nitrogen Cycle-Stream Side Science
A thorough background and nitrate sampling lab sheet are provided to share with your young scientists. After discussing the nitrogen cycle with the class, you will break them into small groups and show them how to use their inquiry...
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Changing Planet: Permafrost Gas Leak
Pair earth scientists up to use an amazing online arctic portal mapping tool and Google Earth to analyze permafrost changes. They compare changes to data on atmospheric concentrations of methane to see if there is a correlation. Then...
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Getting to Know Soil
Students make predictions and analyze soil. In this soil properties lesson, students make predictions about soil properties for various soil samples. Students examine the types of soils and record their observations. Students analyze...
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Stream Table
Young scholars 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. Young...
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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Air in Soil Administration Procedures
Students study soil and its composition. In this soil composition lesson, students study examples of soil during several days of aeration. Students summarize their data, organize it, and must be able to explain their findings.
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The Greenhouse Effect
Seventh graders investigate the temperature change in open and closed containers. For this earth science lesson, 7th graders relate this lab activity to greenhouse effect. They create a line graph from data collected in the experiment.
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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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The Effect of Moisture on Soil Temperature
Students analyze the relationship between soil moisture and its effect on soil temperature.
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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.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Carbon Through the Seasons
Meteorologists view an animated video by the Environmental Protection Agency to learn how the carbon cycle works, and then move into groups to analyze and graph actual data of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration from Hawaii's...
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What Is Natural?
Your junior highers will learn about which objects are natural and classify objects as abiotic or biotic. Your class will trace human products to their natural resources using matter cycles and then create their own definition of nature.
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Sediment Tubes
Students 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
Students 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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Dirty Decomposers
Students 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. Students utilize a ziploc plastic bag,...
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An Investigation into Effects of Rhizobium Soil Bacteria on Nitrogen Availability
Students identify the control and the variables in the experiment. They describe the growth of plants with and without nitrogen fixing bacteria, then name the bacterium responsible for making nitrogen available to the plant.
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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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Particulate Matter in the Air
Learners conduct an inquiry exploring the different kinds of particulate matter in the air. They name three different types of particulate matter found in the air and identify different types of solid particulate matter found in the air...
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Barnegat Bay Watershed
Students design a model watershed. In this watershed lesson plan, students learn the needed parts of a watershed and how they work. Students evaluate how watersheds effect communities.
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Worms in a Bottle
Young scholars 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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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
Young scholars 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...