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After reading aloud a text on life in extreme environments, students will discuss what life is and the requirements of life. Groups of students will conduct an experiment of their choosing on chia seeds to explore how extreme environments affect the... (View More) growth of the plant. After conducting their experiments, they will write and illustrate a fictional story about an imaginary life form on Mars. This lesson is from "Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!" which uses literacy, art, and creative expression as a vehicle for learning about Mars science and exploration. Includes alignment to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts. (View Less)
In this activity, students are introduced to the importance of maintaining biodiversity and to citizen science. The resource includes three student worksheets, a data sheet, answer keys, and Web links. This is Lesson 2 in Biodiversity, part of... (View More) IMAGERS, Interactive Media Adventures for Grade School Education using Remote Sensing. The website provides hands-on activities in the classroom supporting the science content in two interactive media books, The Adventures of Echo the Bat and Amelia the Pigeon. (View Less)
This is a lesson about the definition of life. Learners will compare real and fake or live and dead objects and brainstorm ideas about what life is; refine the definition by playing 20 Questions to identify an object or organism; and test the... (View More) definition by comparing "mystery" samples. Includes background reading for teachers, student pages, reflection questions, and blackline masters. This is activity 1 of 5 and sets the stage for subsequent activities in this educator resource guide - Astrobiology in your Classroom: Life on Earth..and Elsewhere? (View Less)
This is a lesson about organisms living under extreme conditions on Earth serving as analogs for extraterrestrial life. Learners will play a card game to create a set by matching an extremophile, an extreme habitat on Earth, and an extraterrestrial... (View More) habitat that may be similar to an Earth habitat. They will assemble a crew of extremophiles and target them to specific locations on a planet or moon. The activity concludes with a debate on the ethics of sending Earth life to other worlds. Includes background reading for teachers, student pages, reflection questions, and blackline masters. This is activity 4 in the educators guide, Astrobiology in your Classroom: Life on Earth..and Elsewhere? (View Less)
Working in pairs, students will create experimental conditions in terrariums in order to study what plants need to live. Variables to study include the presence or absence of soil, water, and sunlight. Students will record the growth of radish... (View More) plants as well as observations of "the water cycle" in their terrariums. At the conclusion of their experiments, students will share their results with the class and discuss how water, Earth materials, and air are all necessary to support living things. The activities use commonly-available or inexpensive materials (e.g., chart paper, clear soda bottles, potting soil, radish seeds, paper towels, water, tape, foil, and index cards). This is the first of three sets of learning activities that are companion activities to the Elementary GLOBE children's book, All About Earth: Our World on Stage. Includes a teacher implementation guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)
Students will be introduced to different species of macroinvertebrates. They will hypothesize why each insect looks the way it does. Then students will make observations of macroinvertebrates in an aquarium in their classroom. For an optional... (View More) extension, teachers can take students to a local stream or pond to conduct field observations. Materials needed include sand, water, aquatics plants and insects; estimated materials cost does not include aquarium. This is the 3rd of 3 sets of learning activities that are companion activities to the Elementary GLOBE children's book, Discoveries at Willow Creek. Includes a teacher implementation guide. (View Less)
This activity guides students through sampling, identification and counting of macroinvertebrates sampled in a GLOBE hydrology study site, and understand how the taxa composition found in the sample can be an indicator of water quality and ecosystem... (View More) health. The resource includes 8 field and laboratory protocols. This resource is a protocol within the Hydrology chapter of the GLOBE Teacher's Guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)
This is the concluding lesson in the Astro-Venture Biology Unit. Learners will draw and explain concept maps that show how the members of the food web interact with many different systems to support human habitability and write a report of their... (View More) findings explaining how astronomical, atmospheric, geological, and biological features work together as a system to support human habitability and how this balance can be maintained. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes, prerequisite concepts, common misconceptions, student journal and reading. This is lesson 7 in the Astro-Venture Biology Training Unit that was developed to increase students' awareness of and interest in astrobiology and related STEM career opportunities. The lessons are designed to be used with the Astro-Venture multimedia modules. (View Less)
in this concluding lesson, learners review astronomy and atmosphere systems and draw connections to geological processes and structures. They then summarize their learning from this unit in a final project. The lesson models scientific inquiry using... (View More) the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes, prerequisite concepts, common misconceptions, student journal and reading. This is lesson eight in the Astro-Venture Geology Training Unit that were developed to increase students' awareness of and interest in astrobiology and the many career opportunities that utilize science, math and technology skills. The lessons are designed for educators to use with the Astro-Venture multimedia modules. (View Less)
This is a lesson about the basic requirements for human survival. Learners will use an online, multimedia module, in which they make changes to the ecosystem and draw conclusions about the biologic conditions that are necessary for human survival.... (View More) The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes, prerequisite concepts, common misconceptions, student journal and reading. This is lesson 1 in the Astro-Venture Biology Training Unit that was developed to increase students' awareness of and interest in astrobiology and related STEM careers. The lessons are designed to be used with the Astro-Venture multimedia modules. (View Less)