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Worming Your Way Through the Soil
Students study soil, living and non-living particles in the soil, and learn about composting. In this soil study lesson, students study soil samples and discuss the living and non-living components of the soil. Students classify the...
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Fan 3: Sort and Color!
Students explore the concept of recycling. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students discover how to recycle and compost. Students complete an activity that requires them to sort recyclable items.
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Mr. and Mrs. Cress Head
Students explore Earth science by completing a plant art project. In this botany lesson, students utilize tights and soil to create a furry, grassy puppet style animal from cress seeds. Students cut off the excess cress after several...
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The Nitrogen Cycle
Students design and create a compost pile in order to study the Nitrogen Cycle. They then use the scientific method to determine if plants grow better when they add organic matter from their compost pile to the plant's soil.
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Vermicomposting
Fourth graders explore insect life by viewing a soil presentation in class. In this composting lesson, 4th graders read assigned text about the process of composting soil and the necessity of soil in plant life. Students view video clips...
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Rosa Parks Community Garden
Students explore gardening and nutrition in the Rosa Parks Community Garden. They work in stations to discuss food choices, the life cycles of plants, and mini-composting. After starting in one station, they rotate to try each activity.
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Sowing Seeds
Students observe earth science by participating in a planting activity. In this seeds lesson, students identify the process for seeds to transform into plants which eventually produce food. Students sow seeds in the ground and eventually...
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How Does Your Garden Grow?
Learners discover gardening by documenting plants grown on school grounds. In this botany lesson plan, students utilize digital cameras to capture images of plants on photo hikes which are turned into a slide show. Learners plant a...
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Vermicomposting
Fifth graders explore agriculture by viewing compost related presentations. In this worm and soil instructional activity, 5th graders identify the relationship between good soil and the worms who inhabit it by reading assigned text in...
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How Can We Conserve Water?
Students describe the importance of water conservation and list ways to conserve. They construct composts and fill them with materials that recycle nutrients. They inspect their homes for leaky pipes, toilets, and faucets.
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Lesson 3: Life Cycle of Brassica Plants
Students investigate the life cycle of brassica plants. In this science lesson, students observe each stage in the life cycle of their plant. Students record their observations and graph the data. Students
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Are You Balanced With Your Environment?
Students discuss the impact of not keeping the environment in balance for future generations. As a class, they are introduced to the concept of "Balance of Nature" and what it means. In groups, they research the role of trees and how to...
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Earth Day - Bursting Beans
Students fill jars with dried beans and water, cover the jars, and wait to see what happens in this excellent Science experiment ideal for Earth Day (April 22nd). Emphasis is placed on discovering the reactions of seeds to water.
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What Does It Eat?
Pupils use crickets, mealworms, and pill bugs and observe what they choose to eat. In this science lesson plan, students record data, create graphs, and do a write up on what they see happening.
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Decomposition
Students create a compost pile and chart changes as the materials decompose. Students draw pictures of items placed into their "landfill" and predict how and whether the item will change or not. After two weeks, students write...
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Decomposition
Students create a compost pile and chart changes as the materials decompose. Students draw pictures of items placed into their "landfill" and predict how and whether the item will change or not. After two weeks, students write...
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Soil In The Amazon
Students grow plants in soil representing that found in the Amazon basin. They compare results to plants growing in fertile soil and soil fertilized with leaf compost. Students chart, average and graph plant growth by height.
Students...
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Rotten Truth
Pupils complete activities to study decomposition. In this decomposition instructional activity, students work in pairs to observe a decay buffet experiment. Pupils keep compost bag journals. Students define and discuss the process of...
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Building Soil Nature's Way: Exploring decomposition and soil health
Students explore decomposition and soil health by creating their own garden. In this agriculture lesson, students build a "lasagna garden" with organic matter found in the area and plant perennials native to their region. Students are...
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Genetics and DNA
Young scholars describe the structure of DNA and its components and can comprehend that real DNA and its cartoon representation are very different. They are able to link DNA to genetic make-up.
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Growing Vegetable Soup
Students use children's literature in order to think about the concept of creating a garden. This is done through conducting simple research about types of plants that could be grown in the area and how to care for them. Then the garden...
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Dissolved Oxygen and Respiration
Young scholars are presented with the question, "Do plants that grow underwater use oxygen?" They create an experiment to test the presence of dissolved oxygen in the water using provided materials. Student experiments include a control...
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Tides in the Hudson
Students view an illustration of the Hudson River watershed and identify the bodies of water shown. They discuss what happens when fresh and salt water mix. Students view a teacher demonstration of the stratification of fresh and salt...
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Change Since 1609
Learners recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation. They explain these changes using a reconstruction of the land use changes in the Hudson Valley composed of confetti, Ziploc bags and other...