Curated OER
Paleoclimate of the Hudson Valley
Students recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation and be able to explain these changes. They reconstruct the paleoclimate of the Hudson Valley.
NOAA
The Dead Zone
The fifth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program defines dead zones and how they form. Pupils then examine data from the Gulf of Mexico to determine dead zone formation.
Curated OER
All Hats for Ecology: Solid Waste Presentation
Students investigate community issues with solid waste. For this mock trial lesson, students examine the issues of solid waste from an ecological and economical perspective. They will develop a mock trial which encourages preservation of...
Curated OER
There's a Watershed in my Backyard!
Students explain what the term watershed is by creating a model. In this science, geography instructional activity, students demonstrate how the water moves in a watershed. Additionally, students learn about point source and nonpoint...
Curated OER
Are You Thirsty: The Effects of Pollution on Drinking Water
Students discuss the different causes of water pollution. In this ecology lesson, students brainstorm ways to purify polluted water. They formulate their conclusion based on the results of the experiments.
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen Introduction
Students are shown how dissolved oxygen enters the water. They are taught the difference between a water sample that has been exposed to the air and one that has not. Students brainstorm what organisms need to survive. They use dissolved...
Curated OER
Salt Marsh in a Pan
Young scholars create a model of a salt marsh to discover the impact of pollution and human activities on water-based habitats including bays and the ocean. They recognize the relationship between natural and developed areas. Students...
Curated OER
Long Island Sound
Students use the Internet to research the history of Long Island Sound. In groups, they identify the sources of point and nonpoint pollution and how humans are impacting the area. After watching a video, they discuss the role of...
Curated OER
"Water, Water Everywhere and None to Drink"
Ninth graders research the importance of maintaining an unpolluted source of water in their community. They brainstorm ideas on what they can do to help the problem. They can also write letters to their local politicians for help.
Curated OER
Pollution Solution
Young scholars, after discussing oil pollution, generate solutions to an oil spill.
Curated OER
Contaminated Drinking Water
Students discover whether their senses can detect unsafe drinking water. In the water activity instructional activity, students follow procedures to determine whether their bodies can detect contaminated water.
Curated OER
Water Purification
Students develop an understanding and appreciation of water purification techniques and their implications for health maintenance.
Teach Engineering
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of several garbage patches around the world where garbage accumulates naturally. As part of a GIS unit that combines oceanography, environmental science, and life science, class members investigate...
Curated OER
The Chemistry of Refining Crude Oil
Consider our energy sources: wood, coal, oil, uranium. Learners compare the pollution to energy produced for each. They practice fractional distillation of an alcohol/water mixture to simulate the process of refining crude oil....
Curated OER
Clean Kansas Water
Students gain an understanding of ways we can be responsible custodians of our water supply. Students explore the governor's clean water initiative involving the Lower Kansas/Republican river basin and the pollutants present there.
Curated OER
Runoff: Intro to Watersheds
Students are taught that a watershed is, what types of basic land cover are impermeable and permeable to water. They trace the flow of water around their school and around their home. Students determine what watershed their school is a...
Curated OER
All Hands on Deck: A Harbor Education Program
Students build a model of an estuary. In this wetland lesson, students build a model estuary with a paint tray and modeling clay. They use the model to illustrate the impact of non-point pollution on the watershed.
Curated OER
Subsurface Contamination of Groundwater
Pupils watch a demonstration with a balloon filled with water being buried in a milk container that has been cut length wise and filled with sand. Students are told that there is an underground storage tank filled with a contaminate...
Curated OER
Water Issues on Puerto Rico and Oahu: A Comparison of Two Islands
Fifth graders explore how the tow islands receive and use fresh water. They also address some of the threats to the fresh water supply on each island. Students explore the instructional activity objectives through water cycle models...
Curated OER
Water Pollution Graphing Activity
Students describe and identify the link between land use activities within a watershed and water quality. They evaluate the quality of a "water sample" ( a bag of skittles), graph their results, and form a hypothesis about the land use...
Curated OER
Marine & Aquatic Habitats -- Journey of a Drop of Water Through a Watershed
Learners discuss pollution and the steps in the hydrologic cycle. They follow a drop of water through a watershed simulation. They discover the components of a water cleaning system as well.
Teach Engineering
You've Got to See it to Believe It!
Youngsters develop an understanding of how smog is produced, and how exhaust from automobiles is one of the major sources of smog. They explore the roles that engineers play in developing technologies that reduce smog, then work in teams...
Curated OER
To Protect Your Streams, Protect Your Mountains
Young scholars build and experiment with a watershed to understand the effects of pollution. In this movement of water lesson, students work in groups creating rock formations and change the viscosity of the liquids falling down the...
Curated OER
What Happened to the Water? Designing Ways to Get and Clean Water
Students design ways to clean a water source or find a new water source depending on various hypothetical family scenarios. They draw and write about how to provide water to a community facing a water crisis, and present their solutions...