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Carbon for the World
Students explore the presence of carbon in the world. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students discuss the carbon cycle after they read assigned textbook pages. Students also discuss biomass content in different parts of the...
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Understanding Oxidation Numbers
High schoolers review atomic numbers, positive and negative charges, and the periodic table. They examine the relationships among protons and electrons, location of various elements, electron energy levels, and oxidation numbers.
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HAPPY SOIL, SAD SOIL
Students will be able to identify the characteristics of healthy soil and unhealthy soil.Take the class outside to an area of thick grass near trees, if available. Compare the
clothes people wear to the thin cover. Discuss the reasons...
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Solids and Water
Students investigate mixtures made of water and familiar solid materials. They observe and discuss the changes that occur immediately and set the mixtures aside for a day. Finally, students observe the mixtures, note changes, and graph...
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Succession in the Classroom
Students investigate their environment by growing plants in class. In this botany lesson, students discuss the lifespan of plants and animals and how they must be cared for continuously over time. Students grow a plant in...
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Archaeology and Prehistoric Native Americans
Students study the terms paleontology and archaeology and examine how they can help us learn about prehistoric Native Iowans. In this archaeology lesson students discuss these terms and view a video on Native Americans.
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Climate and Temperature
Students explore what the soil temperature would be on the north and south sides of a building. In this temperature lesson, students hypothesize what the results will be using a thermometer and then after a week see what the...
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Mystery Mollusc
Students investigate the different regions of our oceans by researching the Internet. For this oceanography lesson, students discover the different jobs related to ocean research and examine their roles by reading related...
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Avalanche!
Students explain that when forces on an object are balanced, the motion of object does not change. They describe how an object changes its motion when forces on it are unbalanced. They plan and conduct a scientific investigation to test...
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How Warm is the Water?
Learners research how surface sea temperature changes throughout the year. They draw a time series of sea surface temperatures for each month of the year and a depth profile for a summer and winter month using an OceanExplorer Profiler...
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Making Paper
Students explore how natural earth materials are processed into a human-made product. They simulate a manufacturing process by making paper. Students review the importance of recycling in preserving our natural earth resources.
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The Path of Pollution
Students conduct a brainstorming exercise that asks them to list all the ideas about air pollution that can be recalled. The ideas are recorded on a chart that the teacher has prepared. The lesson plan contains sufficient background...
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Exploring the Celestial Neighborhood
Ninth graders study the origin and organization of the solar system. They investigate the Earth's place in the system and how planetary motions explain natural phenomena observable from Earth.
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Life in Extreme Environments - Lakes Under Ice
Students collect chemical, physical, and biological data from a local lake throughout the year. In addition, students discuss the design of an experimental structure for water collection at several specific depths as well as assess the...
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Forecast Fever
Ninth graders investigate what high-tech tools are used to gather weather data and make weather forecasts. They view a video and a PowerPoint presentation, and conduct research on a cloud chart website. Students make local weather...
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Drifting Continents, Dynamic Results
Pupils plot earthquake and volcano data using a Compass Rose Plotting. They explain the relationship between plate movement and connection. They draw conclusions that earthquakes and volcanoes occur in predictable locations.
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Fallout!
Students 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. Next...
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Air Pollution Over Where?
Students predict the movement of an air borne pollutant using their understanding of air currents. They determine which governments and/or communities should be contacted to be forewarned. They also explore the properties of their...
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Measurement of the Depth of the Ocean
Students comprehend the physical properties of pressure and Boyle's Law by designing a depth gauge. They construct a capillary depth gauge and calculate the calibrated depth marks of the capillary tube. They determine the margin of error...
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Urban Impact on Chollas Creek (California): A Field Study
Students, in groups, take samples from a creek and keep a field journal on their samples. They also perform tests on their samples.
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Air Masses
Students examine the physical characteristics of several types of air masses to discover how air masses can be identified and defined by their temperature and moisture content.
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Current Interactions
Students design an experiment to see how wind, temperature, and salinity work together to influence ocean currents and present it in a report format. They explain to their classmates how experiment findings relate to ocean currents.
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Where Does the Water Around Our School Go?
Students in groups, map quadrants of the area around the school and make predictions about the direction of waterflow and zones of accumulation that will occur when it rains. Then when it does rain they check to see if their prediction...
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Sediment Tubes
Learners observe how different density soils and rocks behave in wind and in water. They make predictions and careful observations as they explore sediment transport and sediment rates in streams and rivers.