Curated OER
The Earth is a Changin'
Young scholars view examples of different types of erosion. In this erosion instructional activity, students discuss the different types of erosion and how erosion changes Earth. Young scholars explore erosion and the effect it has on...
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Carve That Mountain
Students investigate major landforms (e.g., mountains, rivers, plains, hills, oceans and plateaus). They build a three-dimensional model of a landscape depicting several of these landforms. Once they have built their model, they act as...
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Do As the Romans: Construct an Aqueduct!
Students explore how the Romans engineered and built aqueducts. They read a manual, explore the Construct a Roman Aqueduct online activity, and construct an aqueduct that will transport two liters of water across a short distance in the...
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Taking From the Giving Tree
Students explore the ways in which various American cities negotiate the protection of their "green infrastructure," gaining a broader understanding of proposed and enacted legislation as it relates to preserving and planting trees in...
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What is the Best Insulator: Air, Styrofoam, Foil, or Cotton?
Students investigate the properties of insulators by attempting to keep a cup of water from freezing, and once it is frozen, to keep it from melting. They conduct the experiment, record and analyze the results, and answer discussion...
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The Federal Legislative Process
Students investigate the concept of the Federal Legislative Process. This is done through the use of research on approved class websites. The lesson gives the option of developing other resources for students to use for the teacher to...
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In Search of a Land Ethic
High schoolers research the theory that everything is connected to everything else. Students explore the concept of how do we put normative values on our nonhuman environment. High schoolers investigate an ecologist and write an...
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Food Safety From Food To Fork
Pupils are introduced to the concept of food safety. In groups, they distinguish between fact and opinion and cause and effect while participating in a board game. They write an essay about what knowledge they gained and review the...
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Light Plants and Dark Plants, Wet Plants and Dry Ones
Young scholars plant sunflower seeds in plastic cups, and once germinated, these are exposed to different conditions of light levels and/or soil moisture contents. Students measure growth of the seedlings every few days using...
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What Trickles Down?
Students explore different levels of permeability and compare the permeabilities of several different materials. They are introduced to the basic concepts of building design, landscape architecture, and environmental pollutant transport....
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GPS Art
Students design their own logo or picture and use a handheld GPS receiver to map it out. They write out a word or graphic on a field or playground, walk the path, and log GPS data. The results display their "art" on their GPS receiver...
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Know Your Watershed
Learners investigate the importance and the location of their own watershed by visiting and EPA website and also work in groups to create an action plan on how to protect their local watershed.
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What's Hiding in the Air?
Fifth graders conduct experiments to study the effects of invisible air pollutants including one with a bean plant. They examine methods of invisible air pollutants.
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Who Needs What?
Learners identify the physical needs of animals and if plants need the same things as animals. They conduct an experiment to see if plants need light and water to grow. They compare the growth of the plants exposed to the different...
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TE Activity: Cool Views
Pupils define preservation and conservation before listening to an article read by the teacher about John Muir and Gifford Pinchot, famous environmentalists. They complete a Venn diagram before deciding which side of this environmental...
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Adaptations/ The American Horseshoe Crab
Eighth graders engage in a lesson about the horseshoe crab. They investigate the various adaptations of the organism. Students also conduct research to find how the crab is used for manufacturing different medicines. They synthesize the...
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Creating a Job Community
Students design their own job communities. In this art and career exploration lesson, students are placed into groups to create models of business areas based on job types.
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Planning a Railroad
Students use a topographical map to plan a route from Doknner Summit to Truckee, then compare it to the route selected by Theodore Judah.
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Determination of Phosphates
Young scholars engage in a laboratory instructional activity in order to increase understanding of the impact of phosphates at the chemical and ecological levels. The lab exercise is completed with the goal of getting them to predict the...
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Hog Watch
Sixth graders assume the roles of the staff of an Environmental Regulatory Agency and must assess the amount of damage caused by hog factories. Working in groups, they make recommendations that will decrease the impact of hog factories...