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Endangered Ecosystems

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Reading comprehension and note-taking skills are practiced as young ecologists embark on this journey. Explorers visit a website where they will read about three ecosystems that are in danger. They use interactive programs to build a...
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Go To Sleep, Gecko!

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders examine the interdependence of organisms using the book "Go To Sleep, Gecko!" They examine a variety of food chains, listen to the book, and answer story comprehension questions. Students then conduct research on food...
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Displaying the Data

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students gather facts about their parent's families through the completion of parent interview forms. Using tally marks, the data gathered is counted, transferred to graphs and used to create family timelines.
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Mapping the Village

For Teachers K - 12th
Students measure, weigh, and document the amount of trash and garbage generated by the school for one day. They brainstorm solutions for trash in the area and assist with the school-wide recycle program.
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Time Zones

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders locate different time zones. For this time zones lesson, 5th graders label the different time zones. Students research the different ways man has kept time throughout history. Students also compute the differences in time...
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Spice Up Your Life

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders identify major spices found in the world. They link spices with countries they are grown in and the uses for these valuable items.
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Where is Everybody?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars collect data from different grade levels at their school and develop thematic maps which show population density, and determine how this might affect the school and themselves in the future.
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Honing in on Hummingbirds

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Young scholars explore ruby-throated hummingbirds.  In this cross-curricular hummingbirds lesson, students listen to the book The Mystery of the Missing Hummingbirds and choose related topics to research with a partner. Young...
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Time Zones

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the reason why time zones exist and how they are established. They predict time zones for different places on Earth.
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America Grows - Trailblazers Pave the Way

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students study the time period after the Revolutionary War when people were striving to move away from the coastal areas and look for pathways to the west. Westerward expansion is a central theme and students use a variety of resources...
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The Mysteries of El Nino: How Much do We Really Know?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders investigate the causes and effects of El Nino and explore its global impact on weather related occurrences through this series of activities.
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Location, Location, Location: Civilization's Ultimate Advantage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discover how geographical advantages, locational and regional, ultimately led to western Eurasian societies' disproportionate accounting of world power and innovation. They utilize a workbook which can be downloaded within this...
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Graphing Ordered Pairs On A Coordinate Plane

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Sinking ships, construction paper, coordinate planes, sounds like fun day in math class. Play the game Battleship with your class and reinforce the concept of graphing ordered pairs.
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Spanish Colonials Encounter Quechan Culture

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use primary sources from the de Anza expedition of the 1770's to research colonial encounters with the Quechan people from Yuma Crossing, Arizona.
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Civil War Naval Strategy

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners apply critical thinking skills to war strategy. In this Civil War map lesson, students use their knowledge of latitude and longitude as well as scale to respond to questions regarding Civil War battle strategies.
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The Solar System

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students describe the different bodies that make up our solar system, explain the place of our solar system within the Milky Way Galaxy and the universe, explain day and night and the Earth's movement, and describe the relationship...
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Community Cartography

For Teachers K - 4th
Students use an inflatable globe which they wrap in plastic wrap. They use a permanent marker and outline the continents, and label major oceans and trace the equator. Students bring heir globes and use their projection for a discussion...
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Congressional Travel

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students determine the distances traveled by the members of the legislative branch of the US Government. In this travel distance lesson, students locate Washington, DC on a globe using the longitude and latitude of the city. They...
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Water

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Young scholars complete activities to examine the properties of water. In this water science lesson, students read a book about water's forms and study a map or globe of the Earth to investigate water. Young scholars discuss living...
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Cities of the World

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students identify the symbol for cities on a political map. In this world map lesson, students identify specific cities on the World Political Map. Students should identify the country in which the city is located. Students discuss the...
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My Community

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students identify how their school has changed. In this local community lesson, students listen to a brief history of their town and school and interview someone that graduated from their school. Students then create a map of their...
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Rhythmic Travel Around the World

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students explore and play rhythm sticks while listening to songs from around the world. They locate the countries of origin on a map, and tap their rhythm sticks to the beat of the music.
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Expedition Diaries

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students select an expedition to research, form expedition teams, keep individual diaries and compare diaries at the end of the simulated expedition. A variety of source documents are utilized in this lesson.
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Making a Globe

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the mercator projection or nautical chart and observe how global maps do not have the same distance as flat maps. They design handmade globes using the meridians and equator as guides to draw in the land. They paint and...