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Mining Minerals

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students define the properties of minerals and their uses in their world. In this multi-lesson unit, students contribute actively to discussions of mineral mining, mining methods and mine safety. A role play lesson asks students to...
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Review For Weather Quiz

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this science worksheet, students review the concepts that were previously covered related to weather fronts and other types of systems.
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Lesson Plan: Five Themes of Geography

For Teachers 5th - 7th
After learning the five themes of geography, learners take an Internet trip and categorize information found into one of the five themes. They answer five questions about the places explored. That is about all there is to this lesson; it...
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Rising Tensions Over The Nile River Basin

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze the concept of global commons dilemma.  In this investigative lesson students read an article on the Middle East Media Research Institute and answer questions accordingly. 
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Rivers that Flow from the Continental Divide: The Journey of Two Rivers

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore river routes. In this social studies lesson plan, students trace the route of a river from its source and discuss the Continental Divide. Students draw the route the river takes and name the states it flows through....
Worksheet
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Minerals

For Students 7th - 9th
In this minerals learning exercise, students are given 6 statements about minerals and they find the errors in each sentence and re-write each properly. They also fill in the blanks for 8 sentences with given terms related to minerals,...
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Ecology: Factors Influencing Animal Populations

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students assess the factors affecting animal populations. Working in groups they define specific vocabulary terms and complete several activities from "Project Wild."
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Reindeer Herders

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the life of of nomadic herders in Siberia. They read and discuss an article and maps from National Geographic, identify threats to this way of life, and write a letter to the Russian government identifying ways to...
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Plants

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students illustrate the major parts of a plant, classify some plant foods we eat as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds. They also name some animals that use seeds, leaves, and fruit for food.
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Discovering Places & Regions

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders research physical and cultural features of a place. They practice skills in gathering information from various sources, using tools such as graphic organizers, word processing, multimedia, and use of the Internet.
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Granary Door Dogon, Mali

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore a creation myth. In this visual arts instructional activity, students discuss the Dogon creation myth and the design and make refrigerator magnets in the style of Dogan granary doors. The design of the magnets should...
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Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students analyze the story Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain geographically, and explain the term climate and discuss its relevance in the story as well as to their own lives.
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The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners access information from the Destination Indonesia Web site to explore the island nation of Indonesia. They answer four questions and then write two full-page journal entries about one or more travel destinations in Indonesia.
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Population Dynamics

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover how organisms are dependent on one another for survivial. They also discuss how to conserve natural resources. They compare and contrast the different types of symbiotic relationships as well.
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Wet Water, Dry Land

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students observe and examine relationship between landforms and bodies of water, recognizing differences between them. Students then define island, peninsula, isthmus, archipelago, lake, bay, straight, system of lakes, and identify land...
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Use of Lasers

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students explore the use of lasers. In this "lasers" science and career education lesson, students search the Internet to find uses for lasers and make a list of companies that use or produce lasers. Students complete a lasers and making...
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Exploring Alternative Energies

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research various forms of alternative energy sources and examine the pros and cons of each type. They discuss American oil dependence and the Bush administration's policies regarding this issue.
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Power of Germs

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students view the film, Guns, Germs, and Warfare. They create projects based on the impact of germs on the development of societies and countries.
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They Were Born Where?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students assess where the presidents of the United States were born and analyze the role of geography in determining the outcome of presidential elections. They create graphs visualizing the birth and home states of the presidents along...
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Life in Space: International Space Station

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the potential challenges of living in space.  In this investigative lesson students search the Internet to locate 16 nations that are working together to build the Independent Space Station, then they divide into...
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Mountain Magic: Identifying the Basic Physical Characteristics of Mountains

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students read about and identify on maps the physical characteristics of mountains. In this mountains lesson plan, students also write about the characteristics using personification.
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The Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders investigate the temperature change in open and closed containers. In this earth science lesson, 7th graders relate this lab activity to greenhouse effect. They create a line graph from data collected in the experiment.
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Fallout!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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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Go West My Class

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students find data that can be mapped on the Factfinder Web page. They analyze the data from the web site and state recommendations on whether a person should live in Illinois or not based on their preferences.