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Changing Planet: Melting Glaciers

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Resource links to a video, satellite images, data, and photographs of glaciers provide emerging earth scientists the opportunity to examine how the ice has been retreating over the years. A data table is included for pupils to record...
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Changing Planet: Ocean Acidification - the Chemistry is Less than Basic!

For Teachers 7th - 10th
A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this lesson on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of carbon dioxide...
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Changing Planet: Fading Corals

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Show the six-minute video, "Changing Planet: Fading Corals," and then demonstrate how calcium carbonate forms a precipitate in the presence of carbon dioxide. Separate your scientists into small groups to gather information about coral...
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Changing Planet: Withering Plants - Stressing Over Lost Water

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Expectant earth scientists examine the bottom side of a leaf and learn the role of the stomata. They consider the gas exchange that occurs through these structures and relate how the climate is changing to its impact on food crops. This...
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Changing Planet: The Warming of Our Large Lakes - Reasons for Concern

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Another A+ lesson on the impact of climate change comes to you from the National Earth Science Teachers Association. In this installment, learners model the stratification of water in lakes due to temperature differences. The lab also...
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My Angle on Cooling

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore how the angle and distance of an object can change it's temperature. After reviewing how the position of the Earth affects the temperature of the planet, student groups design and perform an experiment to test how...
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Solar System and Planets

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students identify the main components of the solar system. In this earth science lesson, students order the planets according to their distances from the Sun. They differentiate planets from dwarf planets.
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Microbial Influence on Earth's Systems

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners identify the different biogeochemical cycles on Earth. In this biology lesson, students observe microbes under a microscope. They compare and contrast respiration and photosynthesis.
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Earth's Magnetic Field and Magnetosphere

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate the magnitude of Earth's magnetic field using PASCO. In this physics lesson, students describe the features of the magnetosphere. They explain how atmosphere layers protect the Earth.
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Sun's Impact On Earth's Temperature

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students view NASA images and movies of Venus, Earth, and Mars to deduce weather patterns and manipulate computer models to test competing hypotheses. They manipulate computer models to investigate the influence of solar distance and...
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Mercury, Venus, and Earth

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students learn information about the planets Mercury, Venus, and Earth by playing a trivia game.
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How does the Earth compare to the other planets?

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students equate the size of the planets by determining their relative size. In this planet's size lesson, students use a variety of measurements to evaluate the sizes of the planets. Students share their comparisons and chart the...
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What's "In" There: A Study of the Inner Planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify and explore the four inner planets. In this planet science lesson, 1st graders watch a PowerPoint about the planets. Students read the book Our Solar System and discuss the inner planets. Students create a book...
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The Rare Earth - How Rare Is Earth-Like Life?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students systematically investigate the time frame for complex life to develop on Earth. They approximate how many other planets there may be harboring Earth-like complex life in our galaxy.
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Earth's Changing Atmosphere

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners examine the constant changing of the Earth's atmosphere. After labeling the layers of the Earth, they identify various processes inside the Earth that can cause gases to be emitted. Using the internet, they research how the...
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Planets Curriculum

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate the planets in our solar system. They conduct research using a variety of resources in order for students to make cognitive connections with the demonstrations made by the teacher. Students discover how to recognize...
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Planets Curriculum

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners complete an in-depth study of the known planets in the solar system. As a class, students identify the planets that are known in the universe, in the night sky. They explain the differences between planets and stars and the...
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Create a Planet

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners craft planets from clay. In this geography skills lesson, students create model planets that mimic the geographic features found on Earth as well as the other planets. Learners conduct research about characteristics of the...
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Learning Planet Sizes

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Pupils utilize the concepts of greater than, less than, and equal to, in order to classify student height, object size, and planet size. They build scale models of the planets based on their discoveries of planet size.
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Puzzling Planets

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners examine the concept of a solar system. In this research based lesson, students compare a star and a planet. They explain the requirements for life in a biosphere.
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Be A Planet

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify the name, order and attributes of the planets. They role play the position of planets, and draw pictures of the planets as well.
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Inner Planets

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research characteristics of the planets and record their findings on Planet Web worksheet. They create fold paper to create a foldable booklet to display the information they discover about the planets.
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Inner Planets

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students create a booklet about the inner planets after researching the characteristics of each planet. Students research the following items for each planet: moons, size, rotation, orbit, atmosphere, an interesting fact. Their final...
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Clay Planets

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Pupils create scale models of the planets out of clay and compare them to the real planets.