Lesson Plans & Activities
Animal Tracks Can Illuminate Many Things: A Detective Exercise
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
Having students follow animal tracks (even just people, dogs, or squirrels) and investigating how tracks are made is a fun and exciting way to develop critical thinking, measurement, and graphing skills.
Northwest Passage: Then and Now
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
In this lesson, students learn about some of the early explorations of the Northwest Passage, and how the changing sea ice extent has prompted new explorations of this region to transport goods from one region of the Northern Hemisphere to another.
Ice Core Demonstration: The Past is the Key to the Future
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
This lesson has students explore how the gases trapped in ice cores over the last quarter of a century can be used to understand how Earth's atmosphere has changed in the past.
Creating a Compass from a Magnet
Project EXTREMES lessons were intended to stand alone, but this lesson can be included in a unit on the Earth’s interior.
In this lesson, students create a compass and apply their reasoning about magnetism to how compasses work to help us navigate around the globe while utilizing the Earth’s magnetic field.
Photosynthesis, Respiration, and the Short-Term Carbon Cycle
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
This lesson is focused on the short-term cycling of carbon and is designed to put the processes of photosynthesis and respiration within a global perspective.
Habitat for Stream Insects
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
This activity encourages students to collect data to answer questions, explore the roles of individual macroinvertebrates in aquatic ecosystems, and think about the health of aquatic ecosystems relative to the macroinvertebrates found.
In Support of Basic Science
Project EXTREMES lessons were intended to stand alone, and this lesson can be implemented at any time when deemed appropriate, such as the onset of a scientific investigation.
This activity will challenge students thinking about the nature of science and highlight the importance of both basic and applied scientific research.
Energy Pyramids and Food Webs
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
In this lesson, students identify the sun as the source of energy and understand how energy flows through an ecosystem.
Data Analysis: Introduction to Measurement, Error, and Outliers
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit; this lesson can be used to support learners who are new to data collection and analysis.
In this lesson, students measure and compare the rate of a falling object (a penny) at different heights to learn about statistical error.
Precipitation Patterns Around the Globe
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
Students apply their knowledge of the water cycle to investigate how annual precipitation patterns are related to geography and biology.
Waste, Water, and Wastewater
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
In this lesson, students will apply what they know about how to separate a mixture by designing a wastewater treatment facility that effectively removes contaminants.
Population Estimates: Bringing Math and Science Together
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons, but this activity may be used prior to a field study to provide students with practice in estimating or used in a unit on ecosystems.
During this activity students will learn how to estimate population size using two techniques, density extrapolation and the mark-recapture method.
