Lesson Plan
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Mass Spectrometer

For Teachers 9th - 12th
For this mass spectrometer worksheet, students read about how a mass spectrometer determines the elements in gases around Earth. Students answer 3 questions and identify the elements in a graph found by a mass spectrometer.
Worksheet
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How Hot is that Planet?

For Students 9th - 12th
In this planet worksheet, high schoolers read about finding the temperature of a planet using the distance to its star, its reflectivity and the luminosity of the star. Students use a given equation to determine the...
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Cities and Seasons

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore how satellite images show seasonal changes in seven cities in North and South America. Through a sequence of images, they study the green-up and brown-down of the seasons and how seasons change over time. Afterwards,...
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Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Mt. St. Helens - Lesson Plan 2

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compile information on volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens.  In this earth science lesson, students use the information they gathered on Mount St. Helens to answer questions and create charts in Excel.  Then students...
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Climate Change & Coral Activities

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students study how the ocean stabilizes our planet's climates and how global warming is becoming a threat to this fine balance.  In this climate change lesson, students identify that fossil fuel emissions are responsible for...
Worksheet
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Waste Not, Want Not – Recycling

For Students 5th
In this recycling worksheet, 5th graders read a selection about recycling, renewable, and non-renewable resources. They answer 6 questions based on the reading by defining words, separating trash into renewable and non-renewable...
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Fires and Fire Suppression

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners examine their assumptions about forest fires. They explore the conflicts involved with the forest service's new strategy. in addition, they will study one case where a prescribed natural burn had a significant impact on a later,...
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Roads & Plant Diversity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers, in groups, collect and analyze samples of native grassland plants near and around a road to show how roads have an impact on surrounding habitat.
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Floodplain Modeling

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students simulate the impact of fluctuating river volumes on structures and landforms. They experiment with table top-sized riverbed models and water. Students consider how human design can help mitigate the effects of a flood.
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Rockets Away with Newton's Laws of Motion

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders comprehend Newton's Laws of Motion and to use the scientific method in rocketry sub-unit. They work through the scientific method. Students illustrate how science and Newton's Laws can be used in everyday situations and...
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Non Native Species: English Ivy-Landscape Plant or Deadly Killer?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the impact that invasive species have on biodiversity and more natural areas.
Lesson Plan
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Newton Gets Me Moving

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discuss Newton's laws of motion. The conduct motion experiments by building "Newton Rocket Cars" from assorted materials. They propel the cars with rubber bands and wooden blocks and record the distance traveled on data sheets.
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Classroom Planetarium

For Teachers K - 4th
Students work in groups to create the planets of the solar system.  In this planets lesson, students create a hanging solar system taking into account the size, shape and position of the planets.  Students discuss the gravity...
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Galaxies

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders explore the structure and content of galaxies. Through discussion, lab, and hands-on activities, they discover the general structure of the three types of galaxies as well as the effect they have on the structure and...
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What's In Our Backyard?

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders investigate the importance of an ecosystem by studying their own backyards.  In this environmental lesson plan, 8th graders examine a schoolyard or backyard by marking quadrants and recording any animal or plant...
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Cosmic Wheels

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson.
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Scientists Use Web Site to Report Volcano Activity

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students react to statements about volcanoes, then read a news article about scientists monitoring eruptions at Augustine volcano in Alaska. For this earth science and current events lesson, the teacher introduces the lesson with a...
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Mountain Creation: A Drama Exploration

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing instructional activity, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language...
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Hot Air

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct an experiment to determine how hot air affect the path of laser. In this physics instructional activity, students explain why stars appear to twinkle at night. They discuss how light travels from space to Earth.
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Galaxies Galore, Games and More

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students practice skills used in scientific investigation while studying the three main types of galaxies. Students identify Earth as part of Milky Way galaxy, the parts of galaxies, and the types of galaxies, as well as classify...
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Density Challenge

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students calculate the densities of several liquids that appear similar.  In this physical science instructional activity, students go beyond understanding the way liquids of different densities behave to researching how this...
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Making a Cave

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars discuss caves. In this science lesson, students experiment with how dissolution, a chemical weathering process, leads to the formation of caves. Once the cave is finsihed young scholars draw a picture or describe in...
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Bat Ecology

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students, through hands on games and activities, discover how bats live and how bats benefit ecosystems. They play a game designed to show them how echolocation works and another to show how mother bats locate their young through their...
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Floods: Rising Waters and You

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students will examine how floods work and why they can cause so much damage and destruction. They use a stream table to observe the processes that lead to flooding and the effects of floods on human-made structures. Includes a guide to...