Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dust in the Wind; Chemicals in the Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore mechanical and chemical weathering at stations. They articulate some mechanisms of chemical and mechanical weathering through exploration in a lab. Students stations describe how chemical weathering differs from...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

RIDING THE WIND

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students locate the Trade Winds, Westerlies and Polar Easterlies on a map, explain the impact of the rotation of the Earth, and plot a route for a round trip voyage from New York to London.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parts of an Ecosystem

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study the Great Salt lake and the ecosystem that encompasses it. They study the relationship between an individual of a species, a population of that species, a community that includes that population, and the...
Lesson Plan
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Water, Water Everywhere (Pond Animals)

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders examine the characteristics of animals who live in a pond environment. In groups, they describe the various stages in the life of a frog and identify the characteristics of other pond animals. Using this information,...
Lesson Plan
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The Great Heat Escape

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students observe a demonstration on the role of thermal conductivity in heat transfer.  In this thermal conductivity lesson, students design and conduct an experiment to compare the thermal conductivity of four substances....
Lesson Plan
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Environmental Responsibility

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discuss the importance of recycling and preventing pollution. In groups, they complete mini-studies on various environmental issues and evaluate different consumer products. They use global warming data to determine the...
Lesson Plan
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Life in a Forest Stream

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students assess macro-invertebrates from a stream. In this science lesson plan, students observe, classify and identify organisms found in a stream. A lab station is constructed at the stream sight and students study the different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Portable Niche

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders, in groups, research animals, plants, and conditions found in ecosystems.
Worksheet
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Principles of Ecology

For Students 4th - 8th
In this ecology worksheet, students will fill in a graphic organizer showing the relationship organisms have with their environments and with each other. This includes biotic and abiotic factors, tropic levels, and ecological pyramids....
Lesson Plan
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Trail Adventure

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Pupils create a trail with numbered specimens. Students complete an accurate and functional interactive trail activity brochure. They complete a web page tree identification guide and interactive identification activity. Pupils answer...
Lesson Plan
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Acid Rain

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use real-time weather maps to determine the likelihood of acid rainfall in a region. Students apply their understanding of interaction between weather systems, land and air pollution, to address acid rain and the effects on...
Lesson Plan
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World Wide Winds

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students recognize that global winds move in specific directions in specific latitudes and describe that in a written form. They relate the motion of the wind belts to historical navigation.
Lesson Plan
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Winds Go Spinning Around

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers simulate the Coriolis Effect to comprehend why winds in the Westerlies are prone to cyclonic and anti-cyclonic motion. They arrive at an explanation of processes that drive world wind patterns
Lesson Plan
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Tanker Spills

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students predict the flow of an oil spill and depict it on a map. They explain the predicted route of the oil spill using knowledge of ocean currents in a short presentation to their peers.
Lesson Plan
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Cold Fronts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers determine its' direction of movement, and list at least five weather conditions associated with the specific front, given animations of several atmospheric variables during a cold front passage. They list at least three...
Lesson Plan
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Driving Currents

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers conduct a variety of investigations to see how water, heat, and salinity affect the flow of the world's ocean currents,as well as, explore many factors that affect the flow of the world's ocean currents. They also describe...
Lesson Plan
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Pangaea Puzzle

For Teachers 5th - 11th
Students explore plate tectonics and the formations of the Earth's surface and why maps are distorted.  In this Earth's surface lesson students complete a lab and answer questions. 
Lesson Plan
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Sun Seeking Plants

For Teachers K - 1st
Students investigate the story "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle. This story is used to introduce the children to the concept that seeds change and grow into plants when conditions in the environment including temperature, light, water and...
Lesson Plan
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Making Good Decisions

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars examine the consequences of behaviors and what the concept of trade offs are.  In this good decision lesson students read an article and answer questions on making good decisions. 
Lesson Plan
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Solar System: Let's Take a Trip

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders consider outer space. For this introductory solar system lesson, 3rd graders complete a KWL chart and listen to the story The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System, by Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen. They will...
Lesson Plan
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Sky and Cloud Windows

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars monitor the weather, clouds, and sky. In this weather lesson, students create a sky and cloud window to focus their sky observations. They write observations in a notebook and include the date, time, cloud cover, types of...
Lesson Plan
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Earth Science

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore how water and waves erode the earth. In this erosion lesson students determine the processes of wave erosion and building.
Lesson Plan
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Losing An Island

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine carbon dioxide and determine the impact of greenhouse gases on the earths spheres.  In this pollution lesson students complete a lab activity to see the impact of gases on the environment, 
Lesson Plan
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Fallout!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers plot the locations of fallout from two disasters that polluted much of the world's air. They plot the ash fallout from the 1980 Mt. St. Helen's eruption to see what the wind patterns in the United States look like overall....