Lesson Plan
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Ecology of The Sonoran Desert Soil Crusts: Biology, Geology

For Teachers 6th - 11th
This lesson is designed after research done on the ecology of soil lichen in the Tucson Basin area during the summers of 1997 and 1998. Its purpose is to guide learners into adopting the problem solving thinking of ecologists. The lesson...
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Rollin' on The River - the Hudson River!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine how the Hudson River was important to the development of the United States. They examine the role of steamboats played in the development of the Hudson River Valley.
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One Path

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discover that charge movement through a circuit depends on the resistance and arrangement of the circuit components. In a hands-on activity, students build and investigate the characteristics of series circuits. In another...
Lesson Plan
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A Year (a Day or a Week) In My Life as a Shorebird

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students describe the basic life history of one shorebird common to their area. They use the writing process which includes brainstorming, rough draft writing, peer editing, and re-writing to create a factually and grammatically...
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Endangered Relationships

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students study the interrelationship between the horseshoe crab and red knot. In this ecology lesson plan, students explain why several species became extinct. They research about endangered species found in their region.
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Is There Liquid Water on Mars?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students assess whether there is liquid water on Mars by analyzing images and data.  In this planetary lesson students analyze temperature and pressure graphs and hypothesize about how water could have flowed on Mars.
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Power Point Lesson Plan

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create a multimedia animal research presentation based on the include criteria for both information and sideshow format. They follow directions on slide set-up from creating a slide to transitions and musical insertion.
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Sewage Spill into Biscayne Bay

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students use a hypothetical case study to learn about environmental health issues associated with water, recreational water, and sewage. They use an inquiry-based learning module to generate questions, draft a research plan, and generate...
Lesson Plan
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Island Biogeography and Evolution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners use this activity as a logic problem that is based on real organisms and real data. The problem is to develop phylogenies for seven related populations of lizards living on the Canary Islands. Three phylogenetic charts are...
Lesson Plan
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Island Biogeography and Evolution: Solving a Phylogenetic Puzzle With Molecular Genetics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students engage in solving a logic problem based on real organisms and real data. They develop phylogenies for seven related populations of lizards living on the Canary Islands.
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Beaver, or not?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars study the role of the beaver in Illinois during the 1800's and how overtrapping cause the near extinction of the beaver colonies in Illinois by 1900. Students role play various people in 1945 who have an opinion about the...
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Ocean Floor Model

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students construct a simulated model of the ocean floor in a shoe box. They determine that the floor of the ocean is composed of hills, plains, ridges, trenches, and sea mounts. They draw out a plan for their ocean floor which includes...
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Career & Technology Education Introduction to Farming: Seeds of Successful Marketing

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners play an agronomy game. In this agriculture lesson plan, students explore modern farming practices pertaining to the cultivation of grains as they play a game that requires them to act as agronomy specialist as they...
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How the Environment Affects Our Health

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore how the environment affects health. In this infectious disease instructional activity, 9th graders investigate what environmental situations cause infections diseases. Students study the symptoms, treatments,...
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Diversity in Insects

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders examine bug photos from across the world. In this biodiversity lesson, students use a field notebook to make observation of insect photos. The class gather on the floor to investigate a mock field of...
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Rapid Ecological Assessments

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students conduct an ecological assessment of a small area on school property. They inventory plant and animal life of a sample area and make calculations to determine implications for a larger area.
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State Poster Fair: US Geography, Social Science, Art

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research a US state, design and construct a state 'poster' to display important facts about that particular state. They present their work to the class.
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Geography and Social Sciences

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify and explain how geography is connected to other academic areas and historical events.
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My Farm Web

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students examine the role of agriculture in everyday life. In this agriculture lesson, students read books such as Harvest Year and identify products which from from the farm. Students fill in a word web using the knowledge they gained...
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Ocean Currents

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders work in groups to research ocean currents and create posters with their findings. They locate the patterns and names of major ocean currents and identify them on a map. Students also use red pencil to show ocean currents...
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Cell Types

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders create cartoon characters which compare and contrast two types of cells: nerve and muscle. Cartoon characters show how these two cells are similar, how they are different, and the relationship between the two cell types.
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As the Bird Flies

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students investigate the properties of lines and congruent triangle theorems as well as apply geometric properties and relationships to real-world mathematical problems. Given two different scenarios, they examine maps that have been...
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What Does It Matter?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students define matter, the chemical properties of matter, and the physical properties of matter. They name physical and chemical properties of matter (by classifying using a Tree Map). Students determine the mass, volume, and density of...
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Energy Extravaganza

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders study how cells and organisms acquire and release energy through photosynthesis and cellular respiration. They explain that living organisms use matter and energy to synthesize a variety of organic molecules and they will...