Lesson Plan
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Combustion Reactions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students write a balanced chemical reaction. They articulate how burning fossil fuels increase the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Students incorporate all the environmental risks involved as well.
Lesson Plan
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Current Thinking About Magnets

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students construct their own magnet and wire device. In this inquiry instructional activity, students investigate the factors affecting the strength of magnetic forces. They manipulate different variable to determine their effect.
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Do You Have the Key?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students practice using a dichotomous key. In this classification lesson, students read an article about scientific exploration and identification of new species. They use a dichotomous key to identify objects and create their own key.
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Keep It Hot

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students design and conduct an experiment to explore the insulating abilities of different materials for keeping a liquid in a paper cup warm. A small group of lab partners test four different materials: black paper, white paper,...
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Sopay Water

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders design and conduct an experiment to explore the use of several substances in removing soap from water. During this activity they work with a lab partner. They keep their own individual lab notes, after they finish, they...
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Soiled Again

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers propose and perform an experiment using the scientific method. The purpose of the experiment is to discern some earth materials or combinations of earth materials that best increases the pH of "acid rain". From the results...
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Using the Very, Very Simple Climate Model in the Classroom

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the relationship between the average global temperature and carbon dioxide emissions.  In this weather lesson students develop a test scenario using a model then read and interpret graphs of data. 
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Getting to Know Soil

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students make predictions and analyze soil. In this soil properties lesson, students make predictions about soil properties for various soil samples. Students examine the types of soils and record their observations. Students analyze...
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Creating Public Awareness - Indoor Air Quality

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students design a poster about indoor air quality. In this indoor air quality lesson, students make a billboard that tells the occupants of a building about at least one air quality problem.
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Using the Problem Solving Wheel

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students solve problems about air quality. In this air quality lesson, students receive a scenario from the problem wheel and find solutions to the air quality problem. Students write a paragraph summarizing what they learned.
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Movement of Air Diorama Activity

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students make a diorama to illustrate the process of mechanical airflow. In this movement of air lesson, students discuss ventilation and air movement indoors. Students discuss ventilation systems and study pictures of the systems....
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Movement of Air Mind Map Activity

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students explore the movement of air.  In this air lesson, students discuss and give examples of air ventilation.  Students compare outdoor and indoor air quality.  Students create mind maps as a visual representation of...
Lesson Plan
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Identifying Indoor Environment Pollution Sources (List, Group, Label Activity)

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students identify the cause of indoor air pollution. In this indoor air pollution lesson, students list, group, and label sources of indoor pollution. They brainstorm a list of all of the indoor pollutants they can think of before...
Lesson Plan
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Understanding the Indoor Environment:Preventing and Fixing Indoor Air Pollution

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore air pollution.  For this environmental studies lesson, students work with a partner to create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting possible solutions to prevalent indoor air pollution problems.  Students...
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Invention Project

For Teachers 5th - Higher Ed
Young scholars study air pollution and design inventions to prevent indoor environment problems. In this air pollution inventions lesson, students read about and discuss famous inventors and inventions. Young scholars then research...
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Deck of Word Cards

For Teachers 4th - Higher Ed
Students study vocabulary words associated with indoor air quality. In this air quality instructional activity, students participate in a word card game where they write sentences for the vocabulary words given. Students then check the...
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Indoor Air Quality

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students make a work puzzle using air quality vocabulary. In this air quality vocabulary lesson, students design a word puzzle using a teacher designated number of vocabulary words. They peer edit the puzzles with their classmates.
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Understanding the Indoor Environment: Word Walls

For Teachers K - Higher Ed
Students study vocabulary words about indoor air quality. In this indoor environment lesson, students create a word wall with vocabulary words about indoor air quality and pollutants.
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Conserving Energy Resources

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders research on energy conversion. After they have researched several types of energy resources, teams of two to four create posters which depict how these resources can be conserved.
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Warm and Toasty

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students are introduced to the concepts of specific heat and heat capacity. In groups, they design an experiment to test these two topics on various fabrics. They compare and contrast the amount of heat loss on the different materials...
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Harvesting Oil from the Earth

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research sources of fossil fuels especially oil while determining how scientists take core samples from an Earth model. They look at oil consumption and production in the US and throughout the world.
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Strawkets and Thrust

For Teachers K - 5th
Students investigate the effect of thrust on rocket flight. They construct two paper rockets, one with a smaller exit nozzle, and compare/contrast the distances traveled by the rockets.
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Sky and Cloud Windows

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars monitor the weather, clouds, and sky. In this weather lesson, students create a sky and cloud window to focus their sky observations. They write observations in a notebook and include the date, time, cloud cover, types of...
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Energy Production

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the role of energy in our daily lives, and how energy is produced. Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each energy resource, and the controversy surrounding the use of nuclear energy.