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Exploring Environmental Change
Students examine environments and how the impacts human activities can cause. In this environmental change instructional activity students research how human activity is causing local environmental changes.
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Environmental Conditions: Friend or Foe
Students research and answer questions on how organisms are classified and how their needs are met through their environment. They work in small groups and create a poster, chart, rap, PowerPoint, or brochure demonstrating how organisms...
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Nutrient Enrichment vs. Oxygen Depletion
Students investigate how excess nutrients enter a body of water, and the harmful effects they have on aquatic organisms.
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Interactions of Science and Technologies
Learners explore how science and technology interact. They discuss important inventions, discoveries and technologies. They research a specific technological advance, or invention, and prepare a presentation that includes the...
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Temperature Affects The Heart Rate
Young scholars relate heart rate and development to environmental conditions through experiment. In cooperative groups, students record the heart rate in developing zebra fish. Groups create a standard curve to predict the temperature...
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Where Creatures Live
Students discover that the environmental conditions of a place determine the types of plants and animals that live there.
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Animals
Second graders define and describe the characteristics of a mammal and a mammal's importance to man. They also describe the life cycle of a frog and compare and contrast a larva and an adult frog. Finally, 2nd graders study and explain...
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A Cat's Life
Students construct a timeline of a panther's life. Students decorate their timeline with illustrations and words, or they can choose to have it orally read to the class. Students use the computer to construct their time-lines. Students...
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Half Life Lab
Seventh graders model radioactive decay using pennies, collect data from their model, apply scientific visualization techniques to their data and create animated models explaining the concept of radioactive half-life.
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Are Dams Forever?
Students consider the life span of dams, and what would happen if a dam falls apart. In this environmental impact lesson, students discuss what the purposes of dams are, how they could be damaged.
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The East Fork Project
Students identify possible sources of health risks, types of exposures, routes of exposure, and populations that could be affected after discussing water pollution and environmental health hazards. After discussion, students conduct a...
Disney
Renewable Energy
Bring some energy to your physical science curriculum with this engaging Bill Nye the Science Guy instructional activity. Based on his Renewable Energy video, students explore the concepts of potential and kinetic energy and learn how...
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Plants in Your Gas Tank: From Photosynthesis to Ethanol
Explore ethanol and how it is produced. Young scientists investigate photosynthesis and fermentation to the concept of conservation of energy and mass. They discuss the environmental and economical benefits of ethanol as a fuel additive.
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Habitat Assessment
Third graders demonstrate the effects of varying environmental components on plants and animals: chemical, physical and biological characteristics of a habitat. They find chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the lake at...
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Toxicants and California Blackworms
Students determine the normal behavior of California blackworms. They determine how various concentrations of assigned toxicants affect the worm's behavior. Students are introduced to testing of potential toxicants, an important...
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In My Opinion
Young writers craft letters to the government stating their opinion on different topics. They pick an environmental or ocean issue, research it, and craft their formal persuasive letter. Ensure your learners include supporting facts and...
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Ecological Footprint--How Does The Way We Live Affect Earth?
Students demonstrate an awareness of the global implications of decisions that individuals and families make about their needs and wants. They identify environmental and health issues related to the production and consumption of food....
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Plankton in the Air
Here is a lab activity adequate for use with any full lesson on environmental factors that shape animal adaptations or marine animal characteristics. Pupils will discuss the role plankton plays in the environment and filter-feeding...
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Poetry Through Digital Storytelling
Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...
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Fish and zooplankton habitat through remote sensing
Students are exposed to the variety of ways in which scientist use remote sensing and it used in everyday life. They investigate about zooplankton and fish. Students list the two important groups of organisms in both aquatic and marine...
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The Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Fifth graders identify all parts of an egg, and explore their importance to the life cycle of a chicken. Learners compare all sorts of birds and place them in categories based on what they look like. This five-day activity effectively...
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Changing Planet: Ocean Acidification - the Chemistry is Less than Basic!
A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this activity on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of carbon dioxide...
Teach Engineering
Water Power
Young hydrologists observe a waterwheel which helps them investigate the transformations of energy that occur when the blades of a hydro-turbine are turning. They work together in pairs and pretend to be engineers who are building a new...
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Garbage or Art?
The three R's are, reduce, reuse, and recycle. Third graders use recycled materials to design and create an environmentally themed piece of art. They discuss and examine major art works that were created using recycled materials, then...