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Excavating the Past
Students discover how palaeontologists conduct a dig for fossils and how they interpret the age of the fossils. In small groups, they prepare a "dig site" consisting of bones, rocks and soil layered in a cardboard box. They switch boxes...
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Franklin Mountains
Fifth graders examine photographs of the eastern and western Franklin Mountains. As a class, they discuss what is shown and the different colored rocks and the orientation of the layers. In groups, they are given clay of two different...
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Sedimentary Structures- An Adventure in Painting and Collage
Students identify and interpret concepts about how the Earth was formed and convey some of these ideas in a painting.
Students experiment with different types of paints and paint applicators to achieve a variety of visual textures....
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Rain Forest Rally
Students discover facts about rain forests, list the common products that come from rain forests, recognize how important rain forests are to our daily lives, and list and describe the layers of rain forests.
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Geologist and Core Sampling
Third graders observe a cupcake and attempt to answer each question on the observation page. They write three sentences that explains how a geologist takes core samples of the earth's surface. Students make sketches and write...
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How's the Air Up There?
Young scholars experiment with soda cans and water to discover why air pressure is greater closer to Earth's surface.
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Earthquake Unit
Eighth graders watch the "Earth, the Environment & Beyond" video on earthquakes. Take notes and give an oral summary. They build a working, two dimensional model of a strike-slip, thrust, or normal fault.
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Biomes: Extreme Climate
Middle schoolers discuss the causes of global warming. In this earth science lesson, students examine how global warming is connected to the arctic and world climate. They write a paragraph about their interconnection.
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The Sun
For this space science worksheet, students learn 4 facts about the sun. Students also read a short passage about the sun to gain more information.
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Recycled Water?
Young scholars participate in a hands-on activity to investigate how water is recycled in a small environment, and determine how water is cycled on earth.
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"Space" Investigations
Sixth graders understand the patterns of change observable on Earth as a result of the movement of the different bodies in the solar system. They identify the physical characteristics of the different components of the solar system.
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Active Faulting in Idaho
Students use CAD maps to explore active faults in Idaho. Through observation of maps, they explore the layers of the Quaternary and Holocene faults. Individually, or in groups, they identify characteristics of faults such as scarps,...
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What Lies Beneath the Upper Crust?
Students discover if information in an article is accurate and current. In this science lesson, students read the story carefully and decide on what the subject of the article is. Students search the Internet to see more information...
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Understanding Salinity
Students discuss why the ocean is salty. They discuss what salinity is. Students are told that is they want to know how much salt is in a body or water, they would use a special scientific tool. They complete an Estuarine Layers science...
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Study of Fossils
Fifth graders dig for fossils. In this fossil lesson, 5th graders read about the oldest found fossils and discuss the process of fossilization. They dig for their own fossils in a fossil box made of several dirt layers.
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Dig Into Ireland
Students explore environments and wildlife of Ireland to find out how they were formed, and how they helped form Irish culture. Students research online to determine connections between present elements in Irish culture and wildlife and...
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Friendly Volcanoes
Young scholars discuss the benefits of volcanic activity on marine life. They explain the process of tectonic plates.
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Capillary Action and Adhesion
Students perform classroom experiments to observe adhesion. They perform a second experiment using sand, salt, water, and a heat lamp to observe the principle of capillary action. They also experiment with adhesion in plants.
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The Tallest Plants ... are Trees!
A fabulous worksheet about trees awaits your students. They read a lengthy selection on the various parts of trees, then complete 13 fill-in-the-blank and matching questions about what they have read. An excellent reading comprehension...
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How High Does the Atmosphere Go?
Students explain how relatively thin the atmosphere is, compared to the size of the planet, and determine the relative extent of the four major atmospheric layers.
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Kids Astronomy
In this astronomy word scramble worksheet, students examine the 16 letter groupings and use the decoder to help them reveal the 16 astronomy terms listed at the bottom of the worksheet,
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Building a Better Sentence
Sentence construction is both a science and an art. This bare bones lesson 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 resources...
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Volcanoes Crossword Puzzle
In this Volcanoes Crossword Puzzle worksheet, students solve a crossword puzzle by answering 13 questions related to volcanoes. An example question includes, "the outer layer of the earth."
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Whales and Fish: Creatures of the Deep
Practice comparing and contrasting details in informational text with a reading passage about whales. It explains the ways that fish and whales are similar, as well as the ways they are different, and specific characteristics of various...