Lesson Plan
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Illnois River and Lake Mussel Habitat Diorama Activity

For Teachers 2nd - 7th
Students identify the environmental elements of river and lake mussels. They compare the elements to the time before settlement and during industrialization. They also participate in a field trip to a mussel exhibit.
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Are You Balanced With Your Environment?

For Teachers K - 4th
Students discuss the impact of not keeping the environment in balance for future generations. As a class, they are introduced to the concept of "Balance of Nature" and what it means. In groups, they research the role of trees and how to...
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Activity #8 Simulation of Oil Spills

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students conduct an experiment to simulate an oil spill and identify the characteristics of oil in water. They evaluate the effectiveness of various cleanup methods. They discuss the how to clean up an oil spill, and what causes oil...
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Genetics

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students explain the difference between dominant and recessive genes, identify what causes differences in the traits of parents and their offspring, and explain how sex is determined. They will also improve their reading and...
Lesson Plan
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Let's Catch Some Dirt From the Air

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Learners investigate the dirt in the air. In this air quality lesson, students use aluminum foil and petroleum jelly to discover if there is dirt in the air. Learners discuss results.
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Acrostic Animal

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders listen as the teacher describes how an acrostic poem is written. They research an endangered animal of Puerto Rico. Students write an acrostic poem as a class, and then individually about the animal they research. Students...
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Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Learners investigate the greenhouse effect. In this environmental lesson, students investigate why the greenhouse effect changes the climate through an experiment. Learners use vinegar to simulate how acid damages the environment.
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Water and Ice

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students observe what happens to water as it goes from a solid to a liquid.  In this exploratory lesson plan students gain an understanding for the water cycle while working in groups observing what happens to water as it changes...
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Energize Your Future

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students consider the positive and negative aspects of alternative energy.  In this physical science instructional activity, students consider the sources of energy they use everyday.  Students compare alternative sources of...
Lesson Plan
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The Moon

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners design and build an ideal lunar settlement. In this astronomy lesson, students identify the key features of the moon. They compare its environmental condition with the Earth's.
Lesson Plan
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Energy Efficiency Ambassadors

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students consider how to cut their energy use. In this physical science lesson plan, students investigate the connections between energy use and climate changes. Students compute the actual electrical energy consumption of 2 bulbs and...
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Don't Use it All Up

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students observe the way that a sponge absorbs liquids and discuss how we our use of natural resources affects the environment around us. They discuss the need to conserve resources so we don't run out of what we need.
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Let's Bag It

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners observe and discuss a vacuum cleaner model of a baghouse to better understand how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution. They give examples of when the use of a baghouse is appropriate,...
Lesson Plan
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Maintaining Strong Fisheries

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students play a game about the life cycle of a blue crab in order to witness the causes of changes in the crab population and discuss what a resource manager could do to keep a stable crab population. Students then create a game titled...
Lesson Plan
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Dirt Babies

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
What exactly is a dirt baby, you might ask. Look over the plan to find out! All of the materials and procedures necessary for creating a dirt baby, such as grass seeds, dirt, and nylon stockings, are listed, along with ideas for...
Lesson Plan
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Population Dynamics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the causes and consequences of population growth and the envrionmental factors that contribute to it. They discuss what they think the world's population will be in 2050.
Lesson Plan
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Simple Machines

For Teachers 1st
First graders discuss work, force, and energy. They study how work is done. Students discuss various types of work that are done. They act out how work is done. Student draw pictures of types of work they have done.
Lesson Plan
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John Muir in California

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders listen to key events in John Muir's life and plot locations on a California map. They discover that John Muir was an immigrant to California who encountered environmental problems and found solutions.
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Our Friends the Trees

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore trees and learn about their importance to the environment. In this tree study lesson, students work in groups to complete a tree survey, a map for the survey, and several worksheets about the tree topics. students make a...
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Sustainable Choices

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine energy use and the different construction materials used in their home.  In this sustainable choices lesson students study different materials and what a sound environmental choice would be. 
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Forest Activity: Forest Layers

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the forest layers and types of forests. They explore a website, read content on forest layers and the effects of environmental conditions, sumarize the characteristics of a forest type and present the information to the...
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Water, Water Everywhere

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students recognize that all of the water on earth cannot be used for drinking and that the percentage of ground and surface water is a small percentage.  In this water instructional activity students identify ways to conserve...
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Issues About Rivers

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners explore the environmental issues of rivers. In this river lesson, students collaborate to create a concept mat pertaining to environmental issues regarding the Tangipahoa River.
Worksheet
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Natural Resources

For Students 6th - 8th
In this environment worksheet, students are given information and write an environmental story. The information includes the making and reading of a map.