Lesson Plan
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Sea and Ice Salinity

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Learners conduct an experiment.  In this salinity lesson, students learn about sea ice, why it is important and how changing amounts can affect the sea.  Learners conduct an experiment to find out the effects of salinity on the...
Lesson Plan
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Phytoplankton and Ocean Color

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders identify function of phytoplankton in the biospere by conducting experiments and simulations and reading for information. They detect the presence of phytoplankton in bodies of water by examining ocean in satellite images...
Lesson Plan
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Crazy Chemistry Lesson Plan

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students study water molecules, cohesion and surface tension.  For this molecule cohesion lesson students create chemical reactions that cause a balloon to inflate and another one that results in soap suds.
Lesson Plan
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Chemistry Is a Gas

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the gas laws and how they apply to changes in gases. In this gas laws lesson plan, students use Boyle's Law and Charles' law to show the relationships between pressure and volume and volume and temperature of gases.
Lesson Plan
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Climate And the Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students demonstrate the greenhouse effect. They recognize that relatively small changes to our environment can stimulate significant climate changes. They determine that the "scientific method" is a process of testing hypotheses and...
Lesson Plan
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Drought

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students gain knowledge about the impact of drought in agriculture. They investigate soil types, water flow, and various erosion conditions which occur during a drought and see how farming practices changed after the 1930's.
Lesson Plan
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Weathering Rocks

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate what natural events cause rocks to break apart and differentiate between erosion and weathering. They conduct an experiment with plaster of paris to observe why some rocks are hard and others break, and...
Lesson Plan
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Weathering

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In this weathering worksheet, students investigate the effects of water and acid on limestone. They form a hypothesis for both and experiment to find the results.
Lesson Plan
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Dynamic Wetlands

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students construct and observe a model of two different types of wetlands. In this wetlands lesson, students create a model of a wetland with constant drainage and a wetland that maintains a well-saturated soil. Students observe and...
Lesson Plan
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Combating Corrosion

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Study corrosion on bronze statues with a hands-on lesson. As pupils place a penny in water with salt, they observe the changes in the penny throughout a period of a week. They then analyze the pre-conservation and the...
Lesson Plan
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El Nino

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students recognize that El Nino is caused by changes in the atmospheric and ocean content. They conduct a simple experiment, visit websites and create a class poster using individual storyboards.
Lesson Plan
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Diffusion

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Young scholars investigate diffusion using different solutions of chemicals placed in agar dishes. In this diffusion lesson plan, students observe 3 demonstrations of diffusion using perfume, food coloring in water and sugar cubes in...
Lesson Plan
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Can Cruncher

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students experiment with boiling water and cans to study changes in pressure. For this pressure lesson plan, students use pop cans filled with varying amounts of water heated to boiling. Students drop the cans in cold water and observe...
Lesson Plan
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The Hudson's Ups and Downs

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders practice interpreting line graphs of the Hudson River water levels to assess the tides and tidal cycles in the estuary. They explore how weather can affect water levels and tides and observe that high tides and low tides...
Lesson Plan
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Acid Rain

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students understand the dynamics of acid rain and its impact on the living and non-living environment. They hypothesize how acid rain affects water pH levels in two lake systems with differing watershed features.
Lesson Plan
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Somethin' Sweet

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students make their own candy. In this science lesson plan, students observe how molecules interact with each other in physical changes and observe how the addition of heat can cause molecules to interact and form new molecules in...
Lesson Plan
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Cake Batter Lava

For Teachers 3rd - 11th
Students examine how lava flows change the landscape.  In this lava lesson students complete a lab activity where they create a lava flow using cake batter. 
Lesson Plan
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Air Pressure & Barometers

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders observe, measure, and record data on the basic elements of weather over a period of time (i.e., precipitation, air temperature, wind speed and direction, and air pressure). Then, they make a barometer and keep record of...
Worksheet
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Early Earth History

For Students 7th - 9th
In this earth history worksheet, students answer 12 questions about geological time, the eras of Earth, the changes taking place in early Earth and the life present during the eras. They also answer 2 questions about the Paleozoic Era.
Lesson Plan
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Create a Cloud in a Bottle

For Teachers K - 5th
Students look at how clouds form. In this cloud lesson plan, students make a cloud using water,  2 liter bottles and a match. They watch how the pressure and temperature changes the atmosphere in the bottle to create a cloud. 
Lesson Plan
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Glaciers and Icebergs

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students conduct an experiment on glacial scraping. In this glacial scraping lesson, students create a small glacier in a plastic cup. Students remove the cup and scrape the glacier across wood and note the markings. Students then make...
Lesson Plan
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Stronger Hurricanes

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students explore hurricanes, the factors that contribute to them, and the role warmer sea surface temperatures may have on them. They perform experiments to observe energy transfer. Students explore the possible causes and effects of...
Lesson Plan
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Coral Bleaching in the Caribbean

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars use authentic satellite data on the NASA website to determine when the sea surface temperature meets the criteria to induce coral bleaching.
Lesson Plan
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Katrina Case Study: Watershed

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the importance of the coastal wetlands. In this environmental lesson, students observe a model of wetland transformation over time. They discuss what changes occur in the wetlands and how hurricanes can affect the...