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Watershed Protection
Students explore environmental care by participating in an Earth science activity. In this clean water lesson, students discuss what a watershed is, how they become polluted, and how it affects the overall quality of drinking water....
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Watershed Landscape
Students demonstrate how water flows by building a human watershed using themselves. For this ecology lesson, students compare and contrast point-source and non-point source pollution. They write what they have learned from this activity...
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Pollution Prevention
Students examine pollution and what causes it. They discover ways to reduce pollution and how to prevent it in the future.
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Pollution Research
Fourth graders explore pollution. They conduct preliminary research on pollution using the internet. Students share their findings with the group. They work with a group and create lists of facts on pollution.
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TE Lesson: How Clean is that Water?
Students examine the factors the affect water quality, and allow for animals and plants to live. They look at how engineers apply water quality information when making stream modifications in order to ensure drinking water quality. They...
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Water: Read All About It!
Students discuss newspapers and water and work in groups to develop their own paper focusing on water issues. In this journalism lesson plan, students discuss the value of newspapers and water as an issue. They work as a group to develop...
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Midnight Dumpers
Students explain how pollution affects ground water. They participate in a simulation to discover the location of an illegal dump. Students explore the monetary benefits, risk and environmental concerns are factors in business decisions.
California Academy of Science
Pollution in Our Watershed
The concept of a how pesticides and other chemicals pass through a watershed can be difficult for younger learners to grasp without a concrete example. In the activity here, some blank paper, markers, and a spray bottle are all you need...
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Water Pollution Lesson Plan: Don't Trust Your Eyes
Students develop a list of actions they could perform that would protect our water resources from pollution. They formulate hypotheses, conduct experiments and draw conclusions about actual pollutants found in our water supply.
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Erosion
Young scientists identify erosion, explain the causes of erosion, and name some techniques that can slow the process of erosion. Learners are divided up into groups of four and perform a simulation of soil erosion in class. The...
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Surface Water Model
Students examine, through demonstration and experimentation, how water moves through watershed, identify pollutants that can enter water system from different land use activities, and discuss ways people can help prevent water pollution.
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Saving the Bay
Students investigate water pollution prevention. In this ecology wastewater lesson, students activate prior knowledge about sewage, then view a video explaining the waste water sewage system used in the San Francisco Bay area. Students...
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CONTAMINANT SCAVENGER HUNT
Students identify substances and activities within a household that contribute to water pollution and identify safe cleaning alternatives for commercial cleaning products.
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LitterFlotsam and Jetsam: A Little Litter Goes a Long Way
Students explore the concept of environmental stewardship. In this science lesson plan, students investigate data from the International Coastal Cleanup, identify sources of marine debris, and discover the impacts of this debris on...
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Water Quality Tests Explained
Students identify the eight tests done to check for water quality. In this ecology lesson, students explain why it's important to test water in rivers. They explore sources of river water pollution.
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Tracking Pollution - A Hazardous Whodunit
Students read a story problem about the issue of hazardous waste and pollution in a fictional town. In groups, they create a topographical map and predict how the water might flow and determine the place of contamination. To end the...
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What's Down the Well?
Middle schoolers examine how environmental engineers determine possible sites for drinking water wells. They listen to a teacher led-lecture, and create their own groundwater well model using a coffee can and wire screening, observing...
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Water Quality Testing
Student explore factors affecting ecosystems. They test local water samples for pH level. After creating a methodology for data collection, they collect data, compare results, and draw conclusions based upon results.
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Harmful Effects of Acid Rain
Seventh graders are able to demonstrate the harmful effects of an acidic solution. They become aware of the harmful effects of acid rain. Students make predictions before they began the experiment. If vingegar contains acid, then how...
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Water Cycle
Ninth graders explore ways water moves through various reservoirs on Earth, examine how human activities change water cycle, investigate substances present in water that indicate human activity, and discuss how understanding water cycle...
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Testing Your Water
Young scholars perform several water quality tests on groundwater from their area. They use test strips to determine the pH, hardness, alkalinity, nitrates, iron and chloride levels.
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Primary Energy Sources Pros and Cons
Students explore the different types of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. In this earth science instructional activity, students discuss the pros and cons of each type. They conduct a variety of experiments on renewable energy.
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Preventing Water Pollution
Fourth graders write at least two ways to clean the water and two ways to prevent pollution with appropriate guesses, striving not to create any more pollution in the water. They understand how pollution affects water as well as the rest...
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WATER QUALITY FOR FRESHWATER ORGANISMS
Learners use determination of dissolved oxygen and water temperature changes to determine the environmental impact from thermal pollution.