Lesson Plan
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Tsunamis

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students investigate the natural disasters known as tsunamis by researching the Internet.  In this nature instructional activity, students define the word tsunami and discuss how they are created.  Students complete an online...
Lesson Plan
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A Funky Healthy Life Style!

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Learners name the five food groups and classify foods according to group. They tell how proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins/minerals, and water help their body. Students discuss how play and exercise can help their body.
Lesson Plan
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Glitter Germs

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students participate in a fun experiment involving glitter that teaches young children the importance of why they should wash their hands with soap and warm water. They explore that germs can easily spread if they don't properly wash...
Lesson Plan
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What Goes in Must Come Out

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Young scholars monitor their calorie intake and energy expenditure. They keep track of daily data in a journal and assess and adjust their diets as appropriate.
Lesson Plan
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Keeps on Pumping

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars measure and calculate heart rates per minute and for other units of time. They determine the amount of blood pumped by their heart during various intervals of time.
Lesson Plan
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Ocean in a Bottle

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create an enclosed ocean in a bottle and add different pollutants to explore the effects of pollution on the environment.
Lesson Plan
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Happy the Fish

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore the ways in which people's actions affect fish. They discuss pollutants that are in the water. Students define the terms chemicals, cooling pond, and pollutant. They create a book about Happy the Fish.
Lesson Plan
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It Is the Little Things That Count

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders are introduced to the importance of warm-ups, stretching, hydration and cool-downs in exercise. They perform these activities and discuss any observations.
Lesson Plan
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Storm Drain Dumping

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students develop an awareness of what happens to water contaminated through neighborhood runoffs. Students perform an experiment that shows what happens to runoff when it's diverted to different places.
Lesson Plan
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Baleen Whale Feeding Activity

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Learners compare the size of baleen whales to humans. They also assimilate the different feeding methods of baleen filter feeding and gulp feeding whales.
Lesson Plan
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Nudibranchs-Splendid Sea Slugs

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students brainstorm a list of colorful animals and research why they are colorful. In this biology lesson, students sketch what a nudibranchs look like before watching a video. They compare their sketch to the actual...
Lesson Plan
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Ocean Color

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine NASA's SeaWiFS Project Web site to explore how the SeaWiFS Project monitors environmental and climatic changes in the oceans and atmosphere. They answer questions and write a summary in support of continued funding for...
Lesson Plan
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Plants and Air Purity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore how green plants help improve air quality. They read an article and discuss the importance of air quality and its effects on the human body. They investigate by connecting hose to the top of a Bell jar and to a funnel....
Lesson Plan
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Thar She Blows!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify the advantages and disadvantages of wind farms and turbines. They examine how weather conditions can affect their effectiveness and how engineers are trying to solve the problem. They discover how engineers use this...
Lesson Plan
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Determine Soil Particle Size

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine various soil samples in groups. Using the samples, they identify the characteristics of them and calculate percolation and infiltration rates. They use this information to discover why some species can survive in one...
Lesson Plan
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What Do You Think About Sharks?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore sharks. They read a story about sharks and act out using Reader's Theater. They discuss fact and attitude statements about sharks and complete a Shark Survey. They create a shark promotion brochure informing...
Lesson Plan
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Swim Like a Whale or Fish?

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Learners recognize the difference between whales and fish by categorizing them according to their method of swimming. They synthesize this information by simulating the swimming patterns of whales and fish and comparing it to their own.
Lesson Plan
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Climate in the Western Regions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine the interactions of the Earth's systems and other objects in space.  In this climate change lesson students study the pros and cons of different climates and what their preferences are. 
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The Learning Bottleneck

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students identify and analyze what energy is and how they feel after moving around a lot. They identify other ways that they can acquire heat and if there is some sort of mechanism for storing energy. Finally, students construct their...
Lesson Plan
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Directions on a United States Map

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students generate directions for an imaginary trip. For this map lesson, students review the four main directions and how to use a map legend. Students locate destinations based on directions given by classmates.
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Our Fifty States

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders identify and locate all fifty states in the United States and their capitals. Individually, they research one state identifying when it became a state, its motto, song, flower and nicknames. To end the lesson, they are...
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Barnacles: Harder than Cement

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders watch the movements of the complex animal hidden inside the tiny barnacle shells. This instructional activity allows students to study the behavior, adaptation, and larval stage of the barnacle.
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Bird Beak Anatomy

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders participate in an activity to determine which tool will work the best to gather food. They create analogies about how the experiment relates to birds. They brainstorm about which adaptation helps or hurts the survival of an...
Lesson Plan
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Reading Around the World

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students use the internet to identify the seven continents. Using maps, they locate and identify major physical features of Earth. They are read different books by various authors on the Earth and answer questions related to it. They...