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Getting Fired Up
Students explore first-person accounts of volcanic eruptions throughout time and use second-hand information about volcanoes. They use both types of accounts to write news articles covering the events of a historic volcanic eruption as...
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Prairie Restoration and Prairie Ecology
Students collect data as they identify and classify native prairie plants and insects. They create their own population study using a variety of sampling techniques to determine the population density of various species. Students...
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Charles Darwin
High schoolers research Charles Darwin and the process he used to develop his theory of evolution. They keep a journal about the skill of observation and make a newspaper of their learning.
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Destructive Impact of Environment on Artifacts
Middle schoolers recognize that artifacts are destroyed over time. In this environmental factors on artifacts lesson, students experiment and observe through the microscope to find the environmental impact on artifacts. ...
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Sharks: Scavenging Stomachs
Students examine the role played by sharks in the marine food chain. They conduct a scavenger hunt collecting items that have actually been removed from the stomachs of sharks, and create a display that includes the items and newspaper...
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Beautiful Butterfly Tiles
Third graders create a butterfly drawing that includes the elements of art and principles of design. They create artwork that can be made into ceramic tiles to be installed around the classroom doorways in our new addition.
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Wappo Indians of Napa County
Third graders describe the American Indian nation in their local region long ago and in the recent past in terms of national identities, religious beliefs, customs, and various folklore traditions. They synthesize their findings into a...
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Green Space in the City
Students examine city parks and their importance and affect they have on the health and well being of a community. An oral report with visual aids is prepared as a group to educate the class on the importance of green space in the city.
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Harriman and Plant Identification
Students observe and record botanical details from the plant specimens. They identify plants using sorting key and field guide and classify specimens for preservation and display purposes.
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How Do You Know A Panther Was Here?
Students research the signs that panthers leave. In this panther track lesson, students conduct Internet research into the signs that panthers leave such as tracks, scat, scrapes, and scratches. They make a three-dimensional poster using...
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A Day in the Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Students write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Students research animals indigenous to the area.
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Maple Syrup Production
Students make their own maple sugar and learn about how it is made on a grander scale. In this maple sugar lesson, students make their own maple sugar and learn about evaporation and what labor is put into making it.
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Water-Is There Going to be Enough?
Students research the availability, usage and demand for water in the local area historically and use projections of the availability, usage and demand for water up to the year 2050. They gather data and present the information in...
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Discover a Pond Food Web
Students study the biodiversity of animal life in a pond. They investigate the interdependence between pond organisms by completing a pond dipping activity and completing a checklist.
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Medicine, Technology and Society
Students compare and contrast traditional Chinese and contemporary Western approaches to medicine. They bring a rational and scientific approach to the evaluation of alternative medicines. They study acupuncture from a Chinese and...
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Ecotourism in National Parks and Wilderness
Learners develop a plan for ecotourism after researching a nearby national park or wild area.
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The Earth Moves Under My Feet
Students study earthquakes, monitor seismic activity using the Web, and plot real-time activity. They examine movement of the Earth's tectonic plates. They create an earthquake preparedness project.
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Environmental Health Hazards and Children
Students are introduced to the environmental hazards their community is facing. In groups, they develop a list of the ways humans have changed the Earth and how these changes have lead to environmental hazards. They record their...
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Fossil Inferences
Fourth graders use their knowledge about fossils to arrange fossil pictures in sequence from oldest to youngest. They explain how fossils can be used to make inferences about past life, climate, geology, and environments and discover...
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Primary Lessons for Grades K-2
Students study wildlife and identify similarities and differences between their home and wild environments. In this wildlife lesson plan, students make connections between wildlife and wildlife habitats. Students then build...
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Teacher's Plant Collection Guide
Students explore a variety of guidelines that involve collecting plants in a responsible manner and participate in a plant pressing activity. In this teacher's plant collection guide lesson, students collect data regarding plants,...
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Reaching Across Borders In Southern Africa
Students gain a greater understanding of how political borders impact human and environmental development. Then, either individually or as a class, establish a correspondence with a Peace Corps volunteer working in Africa.
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Oil Spill
Students explore an important role of environmental engineers by studying the Exxon Valdez oil spill. They experiment with different strategies in order to clean up their own manufactured oil spill.
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Three D Constellations
Students address a major misconception in astronomy, the understanding of scale. The lesson is designed to introduce students to both celestial coordinates and to the first rung on the distance determination ladder, parallax.