Curated OER
When A Car Coughs. . .
Budding scientists collect and compare particulate exhaust from four different vehicles. They discuss how cars contribute to air quality. To get the most mileage out of this resource, have learners complete the optional step 5, in which...
Curated OER
Water Cycle Reading and Writing
After listening to a story about the water cycle, learners create their own versions of this tale. This is a great way to have your class review the concepts of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.
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Earth: Our Big Blue Marble
Students investigate Earth and its resources. In this Earth, space, and nature lesson plan, students collaborate to design presentations on the Earth, its cycles, and how humans have impacted the planet. Images, diagrams, and background...
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Water Pressure Blaster
Third graders complete an experiment to introduce them to the concept of water pressure. In this water pressure lesson plan, 3rd graders create pressure in a water bottle and observe the force of water that is created.
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Fish and Zooplankton Through Remote Sensing
Ecology aces examine sea surface temperature maps and relate temperatures to concentration in fish and zooplankton populations. Take your class to a computer lab and provide experience with actual remote sensing data. Some of the links...
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Trash Talkin
Students investigate recycling at several scales, including local, state, national and global. They become aware of recycling, re-use, reduce efforts and policies. Students read the article Where Does Your Garbage Go. They look up where...
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Blue Crabs - The Blue Crab's Chesapeake Journey
A plethora of information about the blue crabs of Chesapeake Bay will amaze and delight your marine biologists. They learn, through direct instruction, about the characteristics and life cycle of this fascinating arthropod. A highlight...
NASA
Making Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide
Some like it hot! Scholars observe both exothermic and endothermic reactions as part of the carbon dioxide oxygen cycle. First, scientists demonstrate (or watch) a chemical reaction to create pure oxygen using fire for...
Polar Trec
Polar Detectives: Using Ice Core Data to Decode Past Climate Mysteries
How does examining an ice core tell us about weather? Learners set up and explore fake ice cores made of sugar, salt, and ash to represent historical snowfall and volcanic eruptions. From their setups, scholars determine what caused the...
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Rainforest Complexity and Diversity
Second graders investigate the diversity of plants and animals in a rainforest. They watch an online story developed by the Rainforest Alliance, observe and record animals in their local area, explore various websites, and compare and...
National Wildlife Federation
The Amazing Adventures of Carbon: How Carbon Cycles through the Earth
Here's a stat for your pupils: 18 percent of the human body is carbon! Part 10 in the series of 12 takes pairs on an adventure through the carbon cycle. After a class reading about carbon, pairs read and choose their own adventure...
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Exploring Ecosystems
Students examine the relationships between plants, animals, and the environment in ecosystems. They sort animal cards, collect natural materials from the schoolyard, and record an ecosystem web in the form of a poster.
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Recycling: The Way to Save...Fad or Fact
Students write stories about recycling and illustrate them. They examine various containers and determine whether or not they are recyclable. They make a chart about the containers and visit a recycling center.
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Fossil Fuels
Fifth graders explore the use of fossil fuels and relate it to effects on the environment.
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Oceanography: Understanding the Relationship Among Ocean Food Chains
Fourth graders explore relationships among organisms involved in ocean food chains to investigate interdependence of the organisms.
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Windmill activity
Young scholars explore how to build an efficient windmill design by taking into account how the lift and drag caused by the movement of wind can be used to make the blades of the turbine move. Through their readings, hypothesis and by...
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The Earth's Rain Forests
Learners study the importance of the world's rain forests. In this rain forest lesson plan, students read about the role of the rain forests in the world's environment. Learners then write a formal letter to a member of Congress or...
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What's the Big Deal?
Students define terms and describe where they are found and formed. In this methane lesson students complete an activity and describe ways in which methane hydrates impact our lives.
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Studying a Piece of an Ecosystem
Students carry out an outdoor land study in which they identify organisms living in the soil, and any other animals living within the site. Groups also examine abiotic factors. They respond to a series of questions concerning their data...
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Food Chains & Food Webs
Students examine the concepts of food chains and food webs. They trace back common food chains found in nature, demonstrate the interdependence of organisms through a food webbing activity, and analyze the flow of the food chain of a...
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Butterfly Life Cycle
Students investigate the life cycle of a butterfly. In this life cycle instructional activity, students read the book Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons and discuss the four stages of the life cycle. Students illustrate the life cycle on...
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Exploring Ecology
Students explore the basics of ecology. They discuss ecological succession, the water cycle and human impacts on the environment. Students explore the owls, succession, the human impact on the environment and complete the "Incredible...
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TV Documentary on Coal
Students are divided into five groups with each group assigned one of the following topics: how coal is formed, how coal is mined, how coal is used to create energy, environmental impact of coal mining, and the benefits of coal energy....
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Mining in Texas
For this mining and nonrenewable resources worksheet, students read about mining in Texas and simulate the extraction of nonrenewable minerals. They use cookies and their components to represent the minerals they will mine and they...