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The State of the Planet
Learners address four different environmental topics (water issues, the threat of food shortages, human population growth, and global warming) as they watch a film and discuss the future of the earth. In groups, they complete various...
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Urban Changes
Students explore how landscapes undergo constant changes with urban development. They plan and build their own "city" by including features that have minimal resource demands to sustain the city itself.
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Modeling the Greenhouse Effect
Students simulate the greenhouse effect and draw a model of what he/she thinks is happening. They draw inferences from the model and from other resources to determine possible outcomes of increased earth temperatures.
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World Geography: Climate Change Round Table
Students are able to explain the suspected causes of relatively recent climate changes, specifically the observed global warming. They discuss how unusual or extreme global warming disrupts the balance of the earth's geo-spheres.
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Cooling With Sunshades
Students conduct research in order to find the effects of properties exposed to heat and how they change temperature. They consider the effect of sunlight upon objects that are placed outside with the help of an experiment. They also...
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What Causes the Seasons?
Third graders investigate why the seasons occur throughout the year. They read a traditional wisdom story pertaining to the seasons. They create their own wisdom stories about the seasons and act them out for the class.
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Comparing Sunscreens
Twelfth graders use a microcomputer connected to an ultra-violet sensor to compare the relative blocking power of different SPF sunscreens for the UVB region of the solar spectrum.
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Reflection and Absorption of Light
Students use a microcomputer connected to a light sensor and temperature probe to explore the reflection and absorption of radiation for different surfaces. Students follow instructions in this guided inquiry based lab and are then asked...
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Solar Cooking
Students create brochures focusing on one area of climate change that interests them. This instructional activity ends with a creative project building Earth Day solar cookers and having a class cookout.
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Agriculture is a Cycle
What do a bicycle and the life cycle have in common? Cover this and more with the series of cross-curricular activities included in this plan. Learners do everything from making bracelets that represent the life cycle to checking out the...
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What Can I Do About Global Environmental Change?
Middle schoolers complete a unit to evaluate their impact on the environment and greenhouse gas emissions. They conduct Internet research, develop a list of their electrical and energy use, calculate their share of greenhouse gases, and...
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How’s the Weather?
In this weather learning exercise, students unscramble weather words that describe features of the weather. An answer key and website reference for additional resources are included.
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Exploring Animal Habitats: Winter Changes
Students explore animals during the winter months. They discuss the changes that animals make during winter in order to survive. Students discuss migration, hibernation, and staying active during winter months. Students create various...
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Going in Cycles: The Life of an Aluminum Can
Students investigate the manufacture of aluminum cans and consider the energy and resources saved when the cans are made from recycled material. They explore the concept of closed-loop recycling using charts, worksheets and discussion.
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Charting Weather: Melbourne
In this earth science worksheet, students check the accuracy of the weather forecasts in their area for a week. Then they complete the chart by recording the forecast for the week's weather and then recording the actual weather for that...
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Exploration to Mars... or Not? An Exercise with Split-Screen Electronic Peer Review
Students use split-screen technology which is utilized for an electronic peer review assignment that has students justify whether humans should continue their investigations of the Red Planet or not.
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Become an Expert
Students practice their researching techniques by preparing a presentation with little notice. In this information research lesson, students utilize the Internet to research one of several subtopics concerning panthers....
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A Model of Three Faults
Pupils investigate faults. In this science lesson, students explore the many stresses and strains in the earth's layers and research the types of faults in their state.
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Wax On, Wane Off! the Different Views of the Moon
Young scholars create a three-dimensional model of the Earth and Moon to show the different phases of the moon as they appear on Earth. In small groups, they draw a diagram for a phase, set up the model in the drawn positions then test...
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Physics: Visualization of Hydrogen Wave Functions
Students explore various methods for visualizing the results of hydrogen wave function. They observe trends using a polar plot tool and make plots for the first three energy levels of the radial wave function for hydrogen. Students apply...
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Here Comes the Sun
Third graders watch a video on the solar system and examine the role of the sun. As a class, they complete a KWL chart and make different color temperature pockets to use during their experiment. In groups, they make predictions about...
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Mayonnaise Jar Greenhouse
Third graders examine the Greenhouse Effect, how it operates and finally allows the student to experiment using a model created in the classroom. They explain how the greenhouse effect affects the Earth.
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How Do Atmospheres Affet Planetary Temperatures?
Students perform a literature search and use reputable research resources in order to find the surface temperature of different planets in our solar system. They speculate about the observed and unobserved factors. Then brainstorming is...
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Hurricane Scavenger Hunt
Fourth graders use Internet and/or library resources to locate and record information about hurricanes on a worksheet..