San Francisco Symphony
Prehistoric Music
What was music like during the Stone Age? Learners listen to a CD entitled, Art of Primitive Sound as they consider the culture of people in the Stone Age. They use objects found in nature to create instruments, and then...
Curated OER
Comparative Stream Quality
Students examine water quality on a nearby stream. They collect water samples and test for various factors, including any contamination from the treatment plant, and present their information in a Powerpoint presentation.
Curated OER
Project Design
Twelfth graders study Thoreau as "philosopher" and developing a personal philosophy of life (both metaphorically and literally). They come to an understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world. Students come to a realization...
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Into the Pond
Seventh graders use a pond to explore macroinvertebrates and other organisms. They use a dichotomous key to classify the organisms and maintain a journal recording their findings.
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"Approaching Walden: From Emerson to Thoreau"
Students examine selected local leaves in greater detail in the classroom by using more analytical drawing techniques. They use Thoreau's drawing of a Scarlett Oak as their model. Students choose a leave from a box of leaves removed...
Curated OER
Sunshine and Shadows
Students measure their shadows early in the morning, record direction of shadow, make marks in ground with chalk or tape, measure with ruler, and record results. Students repeat process at noon, and then later in afternoon. Students...
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Bats Migrate South
Students examine the life of bats in Illinois. Using the internet, they research the history of the bat in Illinois and describe the way they find prey by using echolocation. They report their findings to the class and answer any...
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Spatial Understanding of the Cities and Towns
Students engage in a fun stand up, move around activity that teaches some basics of geography. They develop concepts of distance between community locations and practice giving and taking directions in an organized manner.
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In the Wild
Third graders examine the concept of ecology and how animals are suited to their habitats. For this animal adaptation lesson, 3rd graders identify a variety of plants and animal species that live in a Beech forest.Students create a food...
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A Perfect Pond Study Lesson Plan
Students take a field trip to a wetland ecosystem. An informal pond study is performed by students. They examine their favorite animal, write a description of how it moves and illustrate it. In groups, students draw pictures of organisms...
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USA State Tag / Mississippi River Shuffle
Students reinforce the geographic location of the states of the U.S.A.
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Kids/Blocks/Learning
Help develop graphing skills in your young learners.. They create a picture graph, represent 1:1 correspondence, represent same and different, and draw conclusions. They write an experience story about the conclusions drawn from the...
Wild BC
The Greenhouse Effect: The Role of CO2
Though this is meant to be second in a two-part instructional activity, the two are not dependent on each other. Pupils play the roles of visible light rays, light or dark surfaces, and carbon dioxide molecules. They interact and react...
Curated OER
Calico Watercolor Cats
A fun art project, this lesson incorporates math and listening skills as young artists play with a new painting technique. First the teacher models how to draw a cat using shapes, an oval for the body, triangles for the ears and so on,...
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Natural Resource Management Course Outline
Gain skills in ecosystem evaluation including chemical, biological, and physical qualities. Students write a report on a local ecosystem.
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Understanding Community Environment
In this understanding community environment activity, students, after exploring 5 parts of a study unit (link provided), choose a project (make a video, book, game, plan a garden or nature map, collect data, write a rap or crossword...
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Getting to the Point
Students determine location by using the technique of triangulation. They imagine that they are out in the wilderness and have come to the top of a ridge. How can one identify the ridge on the topo map? How can one figure out where you...
Curated OER
What Is It?
Play the game of Tag and differentiate between plants and animals. Explore the characteristics of plants. Identify the major parts of plants (e.g., seeds, stem, pistil) and describe their basic functions. Compare the requirements of some...
Curated OER
USA State Tag / Mississippi River Shuffle
Students are given the opportunity to play a tag game while studing geographical sites in the U.S.A. (relative to the Mississippi River or to other geographic features you may choose).
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What is a National Forest
Students select and research a National Forest near their local community. They read and discuss the pamphlet "A Guide To Your National Forests," view photos of national forests, conduct Internet research, and complete the student...
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TE Lesson: GPS on the Move
Students participate in a scavenger hunt and a drawing activity to examine the use of Global Positioning Systems including a handheld GPS receiver for personal navigation. They practice using the GPS receivers while collecting data from...
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TE Lesson: I've Gotta Get Some Air
Learners investigate types and sources of indoor air pollutions both at home and in school. They decide on how to prevent poor indoor air quality. They debate smoking in order to determine how language usage can be an influence in...
Curated OER
The Physics of the Planets: How 16th and 17th Century Physicist Helped Us Understand Our Solar System
Eighth graders draw the paths of the planets in the solar system. In this astronomy lesson, 8th graders calculate speed of objects using distance and time information. They research about the work of scientists in the 16th and 17th century.
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Garbage Pizza
Students examine amount of garbage disposed of by average household weekly, classify different categories of garbage and describe composition of landfills, investigate what happens to waste after it is collected by garbage trucks, and...