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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fostering Geospatial Thinking: Space to Earth: Earth to Space (SEES)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students locate and access data to help them with their science inquiry.  In this geographical positioning lesson students evaluate and compare data sets. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students complete a data sheet. In this Earth composition lesson, students learn what happens when the Earth's plates push against each other. They watch a teacher demonstration and complete a data sheet.
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Finding the Epicenter

For Teachers 6th Standards
The epicenter is the point on the ground above the initial point of rupture. The 10th lesson in a series of 20 encourages scholars to learn to triangulate the epicenter of an earthquake based on the arrival times of p waves and s waves....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping and Excavating a Jello Mold

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders, in groups, map the three layers of different colored jello layers in molds and note the placement of fruit in them. On the grid paper they draw each grape, raisin, or other object and carefully remove each layer. After...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Hurricanes Using Web and Desktop GIS

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze hurricanes. In hurricanes activity, students use the Internet and GIS to analyze hurricanes. Students view the National Atlas of Maps to discuss the direction hurricanes move. Students study the wind and pressure fields...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roman Archy

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders use Google Earth to examine Roman architecture. In this ancient Rome lesson plan, 3rd graders visit the noted URLs to look at examples of Roman architecture. Students work in teams to examine data about the structures.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stratigraphy -- Layers of Time in the Earth

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners 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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Fuels (III), The Geology of Coal: Interpreting Geologic History

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students hypothesize about why various samples of coal have different characteristics. Pupils use information that they found during Internet searches to ascertain the validity of their hypotheses and verify the "story" of coal. ...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Breathtaking Nature of the Urban Explosion, Part 2

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore ozone levels. They measure the concentrations of ground-level ozone in the atmosphere. Students observe changes in the concentrations of ozone over time. Learners complete a data sheet to record ozone readings over a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Linkages Between Surface Temperature And Tropospheric Ozone

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers organize and analyze data regarding changes in tropospheric ozone and then hypothesize about the consequences of these changes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Liquid Layers

For Teachers 6th - 9th
In this density worksheet, young scholars investigate what will happen when various liquids with different densities are put into the same container. They hypothesis and make observations. Students answer 4 questions about their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rocks in our Backyard

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine igneous and sedimentary rocks. They observe and identify geological formations in their community, analyze igneous and sedimentary geological layers using a geological map, and use GPS to locate geological formations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics: Recycling the Seafloor

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students classify earth's layers and plates using Ocean Seismicity data. For this plate tectonics lesson, students outline where the plate boundaries are on the world map. They then compare these predicted boundaries with USGS map of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating and Analyzing Graphs of Tropospheric Ozone

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students create and analyze graphs using archived atmospheric data to compare the ozone levels of selected regions around the world.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plotting the Petroleum Plume

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine the difference between confining layers and aquifers in a basic water table aquifer scenario. They contour groundwater elevation and petroleum product thickness data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sea Surface Temperature Trends of the Gulf Stream

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners use authentic satellite data to produce plots and graphs of sea surface temperature as they explore the seasonal changes of the Gulf Stream.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sea Surface Temperature Trends of the Gulf Stream

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the importance of the Gulf Stream. Using a NASA satellite images, they examine the sea surface temperature. Students collect the temperature at various locations and times. Using spreadsheet technology, they graph the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Does Your "Homunculus" Look Like?

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students determine the density of touch receptors in various parts of the body on the right hand side. They use collected data to draw a picture of the "homunculus" of an experimental subject.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Finding the Deep Water Masses of the Atlantic Ocean

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students describe the role of density in driving deep ocean currents and the density layers of the ocean. They determine that the ocean is one continuous body of water with global currents that interact, with water surrounding all...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aquifers and Groundwater

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students understand the purpose of an aquifer. In this aquifer and groundwater lesson, students build a model aquifer find its relationship to water usage. Students record observations as they build the layers of the aquifer.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Does Your "Homunculus" Look Like?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the density of touch receptors in various parts of the body. They discover how the body senses various stimuli, then maps a picture of the "homunculus" of the experimental subject.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ozone: The Earth's Security Blanket

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students work in groups to define and research the terms: ozone, troposphere and stratosphere. Students watch videos, conduct Internet research, participate in discussion groups and complete worksheets.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coal: More Than Meets the Eye!

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students participate in a hands-on simulation to help them explain that coal resources are deposited unevenly between the earth's surface and under the ground.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rain Shadows and Sea Breezes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students plot the average rainfall for a variety of cities in the United States. Using the map, they work together to determine patterns on which toxicants are transported through the air. They determine the impacts of various weather...