This ChemMatters article provides a brief background on smog, then examines the causes of it, efforts to reduce it, and methods used to measure it. ChemMatters is an educational magazine for high school students.
This is an HTML version of a previous resource, originally in Word format and with supplemental materials: https://oertx.highered.texas.gov/courseware/lesson/871
Students will explore wetland hydrology and biology and decide whether or not to restore a wetland or retain dams and drainage systems.
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Geschichtsunterricht Modul 5
This article describes key aspects of the nature of science by comparing the reactions to a sensational story between scientists and non-scientists. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.
A national leader in civic education, Kids Voting USA?? (KVUSA) gets students involved and ready to be educated, engaged citizens. Students learn about democracy through a combination of classroom activities, an authentic voting experience and family dialogue.
In the first part of this lab, students learn about land ice and the processes and timescales involved in glaciation. In Part B, they use an online interactive to explore how glaciers provide scientists with evidence for climate change. Finally, students use image processing software to measure how much area a real glacier has lost over time due to rising temperatures.
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In this lab, students apply the concepts of earlier lessons to their own community. They begin by exploring economic, environmental, and social impacts of drought. Students then prepare for and stage a mock community meeting to draw up plans to face an upcoming drought.
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In this activity students explore how to reduce vulnerability to drought risk through mitigation strategies. Students investigate one or more of four technology-based mitigation strategies by reading articles or viewing short podcasts and completing hands-on activities. Students make a presentation or poster to communicate their findings to the class.
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"Earth's Energy Budget and the Greenhouse Effect" is a lab activity in which students use computers and scientific applications software to access, display, describe, analyze, and interpret global, climate-related data sets related to the earth's energy budget and the greenhouse effect.
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This is a lesson about geologic history. Learners will work together to create models of volcanic lava flows and analyze the layers that form on a planet's surface. They will sequence lava flows produced by multiple eruptions. Students will be asked to observe where the flows travel, make a model, and interpret the stratigraphy. Students will use their volcanic layering model to demonstrate the relative dating and geologic mapping principles to later be applied to satellite imagery. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes and vocabulary.
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientist Mike Garcia draws lava samples at the foot of the active Kilauea volcano to see if it is related to its neighboring volcano, Mauna Loa.
This article highlights children's literature about fossils, dinosaurs, archaeology, and paleontology for use in the elementary classroom.
Even experienced divers rarely get to see the Mandarinfish, a colorful reef fish that is so shy, it only comes out of hiding for a half-hour a day. In this video, Jonathan travels to the south Pacific to film spawning Mandarinfish and witnesses an incredible secret ritual. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
This is a lesson about using evidence to construct sequences of geologic events. Learners will interpret real NASA science data to identify features on the surface of Mars, determine the surface history of the area, calculate the size of features, and develope investigable questions. Students will study images taken by NASA's Mars Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera orbiting Mars. Students will use the THEMIS images to analyze the surface features and geological history of Mars. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes and vocabulary.
How big and how old is the universe? This culminating telescope investigation for high school students has them first taking images of galaxies near and far; then measuring and calculating their distances; then predicting how they might expect galaxies to be moving based on various models of gravity; and then comparing their results with the galaxy velocity measurements in a NASA database. From this data, students explore the concept of an expanding universe and can actually determine an estimate for the age of our universe. This activity is part of a DVD that is a professional development resource for educators. Many new astronomy learners, students and adults alike, are unfamiliar with the universe beyond the solar system. Instructions for obtaining the DVD and registering for the professional development workshop are contained on the website.
An engaging secondary reading (1400 Lexile) about Mexico's role in the American Revolution.
Learn about an important physics experiment that uses an invention that manipulates light in this interactive activity adapted from NASA.
In this activity, student teams design small-scale physical models of hot and cold planets, (Venus and Mars), and learn that small scale models allow researchers to determine how much larger systems function. There is both a team challenge and competition built into this activity. Experimental findings are then used to support a discussion of human outposts on Mars. The resource includes an experimental design guide for students as well as a handout outlining a method for the design of controlled experiments, and student data sheets. Student questions and an essay assignment are provided as classroom assessments. This is Activity A in the second module, titled "Modeling hot and cold planets," of the resource, "Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate?" The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.
In this activity, students explore the importance of adequate sampling strategies when conducting a scientific investigation. They are tasked with determining the average temperature of the Earth, using data sets easily found on the Internet, and determine the kind and size of sample necessary to calculate a representative average. The resource includes a student data sheet and an authentic assessment for the module, where students discuss the establishment of a habitation site on Mars. This is Activity C in module 2, titled "Modeling Hot and Cold Planets," of the resource, Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.