Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Relative Dating - Telling Time Using Fossils
Students use fossil range charts to explain relative dating. They graph for ammonites, marine organisms that went extinct at the same time as dinosaurs.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Co-evolution of Plants and Pollinators
Learners, while studying the rolls of pollinators and plants, explore co-evolution of mutualistic relationships.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Volcanoes:How Safe Are They?
Learners explore volcanoes, locate them on maps, record general information about volcanoes, and organize information on a fact sheet.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Native Species Restoration and its Impact on Local Populations
Students watch video clips of ecosystems and answer questions relating to them.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Volcanoes: How Safe Are They?
Students explore the most dangerous volcanoes on Earth, plot their locations, and research different volcanic hazards.