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Moh's Scale of Hardness
Students investigate how to use Moh's Hardness Scale. In this geology lesson, students examine several minerals and develop a hypothesis about which mineral is the hardest. Students use the Moh's Scale Identification Chart to determine...
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Minerals
Students define the characteristics of a mineral. In this geology lesson, students are given out various materials to observe such as a chicken bone, salt shaker, white paint, and chalk. Students categorize the items and are told what...
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How Are Rocks Formed?
Students identify types of rocks. In this geology lesson, students view animated graphics to identify how sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks are formed. Students take a rock quiz to show how different rocks are formed.
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You're as Cold as Ice!
Students study the movement of glaciers and how they have affected the Earth. In this geology lesson plan students simulate the effects glaciers have on landscape and watch video segments.
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When Plates Collide
Students investigate tectonic plates. In this geology and geography lesson, students construct convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries using oobleck, foam, and tile. A large amount of background information and relevant...
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Building a Better Sentence
Sentence construction is both a science and an art. This bare bones lesson plan ties an analysis of earth's geology to sentence formation. Although referenced as a major part of the activity, there are no links to the technology or...
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History of Our Solar System Time Line
Ninth graders explore the concept of ratios. In this ratio activity, 9th graders construct a to scale time line that starts at the beginning of time. Students determine the correct placement of big events in time such as when the...
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Earth's History
Seventh graders study the law of superposition by creating models of fossils in layers of rock. They examine how fossils are usually found in sedimentary rock which leads to the study of geologic history in those rocks.
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Cave Men to Cave Painting
Students explore the Ice Age. In this geology and social studies lesson, students read the book Eyewitness Books Early Humans and create a KWL chart about the Ice Age. Students locate Asia and North America on the World Map and...
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PLATE MOVEMENTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Students label three geological maps with continents provided to analyze the relationships between the movement of tectonic plates and the changes in the climate. In small groups, they discuss their findings and form hypotheses about the...
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Natural Resources
Learners explore Iowa geography and topographic maps. In this geography and topographic maps lesson, student investigate maps, newspapers, Iowa flora and fauna. Students gain an understanding of how different landforms can be identified...
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Soil Comparison and Analysis
Students perform tests on different soil samples. In this earth science lesson, students classify the soil into groups according to test results. They write a lab report following a certain criteria.
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Geology of Waipi'o Valley
Students predict how the Big Island and Waipi'o Valley formed and write an essay that includes their predictions. They research online to find the real way it formed and experiment with sand to show how a stream develops.
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Stratigraphy -- Layers of Time in the Earth
Students are introduced to the process of stratification. Using the internet, they read about the Richard Beene archeological site near San Antonio. Using a map, they color code the different layers present at this site and answer...
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Geology/Earth Structure
Third graders examine the rock-soil cycle. They identify the steps and describe what happens. They also discover the three layers of soil.
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GeoHunt
Students describe the difference between geological resources and othe natural resources. They list the rocks, minerals, and fossil fuels that are found in Illinois and their uses. They identify ways to conserve natural resources.
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Digging Into the Past
Fifth graders study fossils and how they are charted. In this fossil lesson plan, 5th graders research the excavation process of discovering fossils, and view fossils. They then do a hands on activity that involves plastic fossils that...
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Fossil Hunt
Students ask questions about the nature of science as they experience a 'Fossil Hunt'. They reconstruct a book that has been literally destroyed, just as the fossil record has been changed by billions of years of geological processes.
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What's the Difference?
Students discover how volcanic processes differ at convergent and divergent tectonic plate boundaries. They identify three geologic features that are associated with most volcanoes on Earth.
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What's The Difference?
Students identify geologic features that are associated with volcanoes. In this volcanic exploration lesson students compare and contrast convergent and divergent volcanoes and are able to explain why some erupt more explosively.
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The Physical Geography of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica
Young scholars access information from the United States Geological Survey's Web site This Dynamic Earth to research the Ring of Fire. They answer four questions and then apply what they have learned to create a bulletin board display.
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Let's Go! Virtual Yellowstone Tour
Pupils research the geologic wonders of Yellowstone National Park. They locate the main geologic features of Yellowstone on a map of the park. Students write a description of the geologic features to be included on the map for a...
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Map your Schoolyard
Learners practice their mapping skills by creating an accurate map of their schoolyard using an aerial photo from the National Map web site. Students include legends, a scale, and a north arrow on their maps.
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Glaciers
Seventh graders summarize how Earth processes today are similar to those that occurred in the past, and explain how slow geologic processes have large cumulative effects over long periods of time.