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Flowers and Plants
Students are assigned to bring five flowers. They explore flowers to distinguish different physical features of flowers. They compare and contrast different flowers to determine what features they have in common. Students develop an...
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The Oregon Trail
Middle schoolers discuss migration and reasons people came across the Oregon trail. Students create a time line of important events along the Oregon trail. A Historical Time Line is included for student use. Middle schoolers work in...
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Archaeology and Prehistoric Native Americans
Young scholars study the terms paleontology and archaeology and examine how they can help us learn about prehistoric Native Iowans. In this archaeology lesson students discuss these terms and view a video on Native Americans.
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Black Hawk Island Hike
Students explore Wisconsin's natural and cultural history through hands-on exploration of Upham Woods. They are shown the basic paddling skills and they work in teams to paddle across the river on barge. Students describe cultural...
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Sense Of Place
Students study ecology, listen to speakers and research conservation topics. In this investigative lesson plan students discuss wilderness resources, learn about Native Americans and participate in activities that help them to better...
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Edible Wild Plants
Students explore the benefits of recognizing edible wild plants. In this wild plant lesson, students collect, make ready and eat edible plants. Students answer questions about the plants.
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Threatened Species and Public Policy
Students discuss the Endangered Species Act and its impact on people and the environment. They read the act and watch video footage. They examine why sea turtles are endangered and efforts to protect them. They analyze numerical results...
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Ecotourism in National Parks and Wilderness
Students research a wilderness or natural area and develop a plan for ecotourism.
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Testing the Caverns
Middle schoolers build model caverns using paper mache or clay and bury them in a tray of sand. They test the models by dropping balls onto them to simulate an asteroid hitting the earth. They evaluate the effectiveness of a structure...
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Economic Use of Public Natural Areas
Students examine the public controversy between the use of public natural areas for economic activities by viewing video clips, researching on the Internet, and calculating sustainable land.
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Floods: Rising Waters and You
Students examine the relationship between human-made structures, flood waters and the increasing population through video clips, websites and a lab experiment.
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Co-evolution of Plants and Pollinators
Learners, while studying the rolls of pollinators and plants, explore co-evolution of mutualistic relationships.
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Non Native Species: English Ivy-Landscape Plant or Deadly Killer?
High schoolers examine an area overrun by English Ivy. They explore how invasive species affect an ecosystem. They also study about the lack of biodiversity and how to measure it out in the field.
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Salmon vs. Dams: The Dam Removal Debate on the Elwha River
Students use roll playing to discuss the merits of tearing down these dams so that the Elwha River can run free. The activity is presented in the form of a council meeting to encourage students to try to build consensus in finding...
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Volcanoes:How Safe Are They?
Learners explore volcanoes, locate them on maps, record general information about volcanoes, and organize information on a fact sheet.
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Special Report: Flood of the Great River
Students work together in groups and role play the role of television crews. Using the internet, they research specific events of the Mississippi River flooding and report their findings to the class from different angles. They are to...
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My Promise
Learners define their own civic responsibility and create a PowerPoint presentation about their volunteer efforts. For this civic responsibility lesson, students define the word volunteer and read an article about a volunteer in their...
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Mark Twain- Teaching About American Authors
Mark Twain lesson plans can shed light on his famous works, like "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
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Cycles of Change and Growth in the Mormon Trek: Contra
Fifth graders examine the contributions of Native American Indians, explorers, and Utah's pioneers. They play a "what if" game to illustrate cause and effect.
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Spark Activity: Louisiana Line Dance
Students learn and practice 1 step at a time of the Louisiana Line Dance, then put all steps together and practice the dance to music.
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Fire and Fire Suppression
Students explore forest fires and forest service's new stategies. They study a case of natural burn and the impact of lowering the intensity of a larger forest fire.
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Native Species Restoration and its Impact on Local Populations
Students watch video clips of ecosystems and answer questions relating to them.
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Possible Locations
Students create maps with cutout pieces of paper that represent caverns. They develop a scale for their map and decide where the best location is to live. They discover the importance of map reading skills.
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Scaling the Map
Middle schoolers practice determining map distances using the map scales. They discover how much an area represents on the map in relation to the actual area. They decide on the best place to build their cavern.