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Listening to the Prairie
Students, in groups, visit an exhibit and for a prairie scavenger hunt to locate sunflowers and name products made from them. After sketching a prairie dog, they find nature cues farmers use when growing plants and raising animals. The...
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Change Since 1609
Young scholars recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation. They explain these changes using a reconstruction of the land use changes in the Hudson Valley composed of confetti, Ziploc bags and...
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Tides in the Hudson
Students view an illustration of the Hudson River watershed and identify the bodies of water shown. They discuss what happens when fresh and salt water mix. Students view a teacher demonstration of the stratification of fresh and salt...
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Paleoclimate of the Hudson Valley
Students recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation and be able to explain these changes. They reconstruct the paleoclimate of the Hudson Valley.
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Land Use Change Introduction
Students discuss the major changes that have taken place in the Hudson Valley over the past 400 years. They use aerial photos to describe major trends in Dutchess County. Students view a PowerPoint presentation. They work in small groups...
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Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature
Learners are shown how temperature affects dissolved oxygen and they create a graph showing this relationship. They think about the adaptations of animals to live in different water temperatures. Students test four different water...
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Dissolved Oxygen Introduction
High schoolers are shown how dissolved oxygen enters the water. They are taught the difference between a water sample that has been exposed to the air and one that has not. Students brainstorm what organisms need to survive. They use...
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Aquatic Ecosystem Exploration
Young scholars visit a local stream, pond, creek, or river and collect macroinvertebrates. They sort macroinvertebrates and identify each species using a dichotomous key. Students decide on trophic levels and construct a possible food...
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Runoff: Intro to Watersheds
Students are taught that a watershed is, what types of basic land cover are impermeable and permeable to water. They trace the flow of water around their school and around their home. Students determine what watershed their school is a...
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Water Chestnut Graphing Activity
Students are taught how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet. They make a graph and interpret graphed data. Students discuss possible impacts of water chestnut invasion. They graph data on water chestnut. Students report...
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Hudson Valley Rocks
Learners identify each of the rocks provided and locate where in the valley they are found. They explain why the rocks came to be as they are in each location. In addition, they relate the exercise to how the Hudson Valley's geologic...
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Glacial Groundwater
Young scholars study glacial deposition and groundwater in Dutchess County, new York. They identify the permeability rates in different glacial deposits and relate this information to ground water capacity of sediments found in Dutchess...
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How Much Water is in That River?
Students practice measurement using the Hudson River. They calculate the discharge measurement at a location on the Hudson River using ingenuity and a topographic map.
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A Tour Down the Hudson River
High schoolers discuss how the Hudson River is an ecosystem made up of both biotic and abiotic factors. They view the PowerPoint the Journal Down the Hudson River. Students become aware of where the Hudson River begins and ends, the...
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Zebra Mussel Population Simulation
Students are taught how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet. They make a graph, and interpret graphed data. Students discuss the possible impacts of zebra mussels on the Hudson river. They graph zebra mussel data.
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Leaf, Tree and Prairie Study
Students are introduced to the topic of Botany and the process of photosynthesis. Using various habitats, they research the amount of destruction it is facing and how to solve the problem. They make a leaf booklet with leaves they find...
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Explore Your Natural Habitat
Students identify habitats and understand why they are important to our environment. In this environmental lesson plan students design their own habitat, observe and record data on the impact their habitat has on the environment.
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Random Sampling
In this random sampling worksheet, students compare data collected by a random sample to data collected by an actual count using pieces of paper with numbers written on them. They compare their data for the actual count to the random...
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Succession in a Jar
In this succession worksheet, learners build an ecosystem using a jar, water, bird seed, soil and a water plant. They predict what their ecosystem will look like in 3 weeks and draw a diagram. Students record their data over the course...
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Populations – The Survival of the Fittest (Part 1)
Students explain in their own words why organisms live together. For this biology lesson, students model what happens to organisms if their environment changes. They explain the importance of evolution.
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Populations- The Survival of the Fittest
Young scholars examine the ways that populations become diverse and how mutation changes the diversity of a population. In this exploratory lesson students study natural selection by completing a lab activity and discussing what...
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Aquatic Ecosystems
Ninth graders record information on aquatic ecosystems and create a labeled diagram of an ecosystem of their choice. They can choose from an ocean zone, estuary, river, lakes, or beaches. The student has to explain their biome of choice.
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Predator and Prey Game
Young scholars explore the why the balance among producers, predators and prey is necessary in order for an ecosystem to be sustained over time. Through web games and activities, they discover how each component of the food chain works...
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Food Chains, Food Webs, Biomass Pyramids and Cycle
In this food chains worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle by placing 16 terms into the puzzle that match the clues given. Students review food webs, biomass pyramids, and the water cycle.