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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

JUST THROW IT AWAY!

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students different types of reusable trash containers to class. They use the pieces of trash to create something like a bird feeder. They discuss other ways of reusing items to generate less garbage.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Erosion and Deposition

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study the processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition in soil. They walk outside the school to see examples and then accurately create a physical model which shows each type of soil movement and allows them to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Edible Coal Mining

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners explore the concept of bituminous coal and the role it plays within our world.  In this economic and earth science lesson plan, learners discover and model the extraction methods with hands-on activities.  Learners also identify...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Soil Separator

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Young scholars investigate botany by creating a soil separating device.  In this plant life lesson, students identify the needs of plants and how important the right soil is in the growing process.  Young scholars define different soil...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Machines, Odd Machines

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore simple machines. In this physical science lesson, students identify six simple machines, illustrate each and identify how these machines function or can be combined to create a compound machine.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aquifers and Recharge Areas

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create a model of an aquifer and describe how an aquifer works. They describe how running affects an aquifer and prepare a model presenting to local planners the important aspects of protecting recharge areas.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction To Bug Collecting

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore process of live collection of insects and spiders using sweep nets, aerial nets, and beating sheets. they collect, examine and release several different types of insects or spiders then compare their journal drawing of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Decomposing Artifacts

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders participate in an experiment in which they calculate the time of decomposition of different materials. In groups, they fill bags with different materials and cover them in soil. After six months, they create a line graph...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Ground to Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore groundwater and issues relating to groundwater. They discus the problems involving groundwater. Students write a newspaper story addressing groundwater problems. They create a comic strip addressing groundwater...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oil Trap Model

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate oil accumulation by creating a model in their classroom. In this petroleum geology lesson, students discuss where oil comes from and why it is vital to our society at this particular time. Students cut out a 3-D...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Model Professionals

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students learn about one scientist's quest to make her field of canopy ecology accessible to a wider audience and to synthesize their knowledge by developing toy figures that could potentially educate children about different scientific...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Geology of a Snicker’s Bar: Tectonic Plates

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore the layers of the Earth using a Snicker's bar. In this science lesson, students identify the parts of the Snicker's bar and identify which layer of the Earth the parts of the candy bar would represent. Students discuss...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Out of this World: Inquiry-Based Teaching

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Connect classroom learning with real-life experiences by using photographs and data taken by the Mars Pathfinder.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water and Ice

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore water as it changes states of matter. In this physical property lesson, students use observation, measurement, and communication skills to describe changes in water as it goes from a solid to a liquid and back again.
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Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Earthquakes: Third Grade Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Introduce third graders to energy waves with a hands-on geology activity, in which they answer questions and compare seismograms in the San Francisco Bay area. After a demonstration that shows how bigger waves indicate a high-intensity...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Geological Pyrotechnics

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students will be amazed at the wonders of volcanoes and learn about their characteristics as they build these models.
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

The Dynamics of Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Simple lab and modeling activities can help your students understand the movements of the Earth's crust.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Plate Tectonics: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers K Standards
This unit focuses primarily on plate tectonics and plate boundaries surrounding continents. It contains pre- and post-lab sections that walk young geologists through plate movements in order to visualize what's going on inside Earth.
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

What's This? Leeches

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Who actually likes leeches? Meet a scientist that makes his living letting leeches feed on him. Pupils learn about the characteristics of leeches and different variations of the species. The lesson works as a remote learning resource or...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Surface Water and Groundwater

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students examine distribution of water and minerals. In this surface and groundwater lesson plan, students conduct an experiment with fresh and salt water making hypothesis and drawing conclusions about minerals. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mineral Matters

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers work in a team to use the ProScope Digital USB Microscope and a computer to collect microscopic images from a variety of mineral specimens. They compare specimens and determine how they are alike and different by...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Particle Size and Oil Production

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners investigate how permeable different materials are. In this physics lesson, students determine what affects permeability and how permeability relates to oil production.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The Moon's Density-What's Inside?

For Students 9th - 11th
In this moon's density worksheet, students solve 4 problems about the Moon and a model planet. They find the Moon's density and they find its volume. They make a model of a planet's interior and use its mass and radius to find the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Hot Spot Hypothesis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils use a digital atlas, geologic maps, and topography maps to explore geologic regions of Yellow Stone National Park. They locate evidence that support the theory of hot spots. Students research and explore the movements of Hot Spots.