In the open ocean around the Bahamas, pods of wild Spotted Dolphins frolic in the sunshine. Sometimes, they get bored and approach boats. In this educational video, Jonathan joins dolphin expert Wayne Scott Smith to learn how dolphins interact with each other. Jonathan learns how to play the Bandana Game, a game of -keep away- that the dolphins invented and like to play with Scott. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.

In forested areas, students are often intrigued by mysterious sticks covered in carved tunnels–but students often think the patterns were made by human artists or termites. After students complete this activity, they’ll have the skills to identify bark beetle galleries, to make explanations about the patterns of beetle galleries, and to interpret what these tracks tell us about the life history of the organisms that made them.

In an optional discussion, students can consider outbreak levels of bark beetles that cause the death of many trees, make arguments based on evidence about possible effects on ecosystems, then brainstorm and critique possible management strategies. An optional extension for investigating student questions about bark beetles is also included.

Haz tu propio bálsamo labial. Actividad de Bolsa de STEM Semanal. Agentes de Colorado Americorp en los condados de Araphahoe, Denver, Garfield, Larimer y Weld. Trabajo apoyado por la Corporación para el Servicio Nacional y Comunitario bajo el número de subvención 18AFHCO0010008 de Americorps. Las opiniones o puntos de vista expresados en esta lección pertenecen a los autores y no representan necesariamente la posición oficial o una posición respaldada por la Corporación o el programa Americorps.

Students utilize the historical imagery function in Google Earth to determine the position of a barrier island on two different images collected in 1995 and 2013; they also compare to different topographic maps, one created in 1994 and the other in 2011. They use the measure tool in Google Earth to determine how far the island has migrated. They then calculate the migration rate, how far it would migrate in a give time period, and how long it would take to migrate a given distance. Finally, students navigate to a variety of locations to identify coastal landforms.

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This document includes two activities related to earthquake base isolation. Learners explore earthquake hazards and damage to buildings by constructing model buildings and subjecting the buildings to ground vibration (shaking similar to earthquake vibrations) on a small shake table. Base isolation a powerful tool for earthquake engineering. It is meant to enable a building to survive a potentially devastating seismic impact through a proper initial design or subsequent modifications. The buildings are constructed by two- or three-person learner teams.

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This baseflow recession exercise will help students build skills in analyzing time series data in a spreadsheet. It should also open their eyes to the variation in streamflow, both at a single location over a year, and between locations across the US. Data have been gathered from 6 locations across the US. Each student is tasked with characterizing streamflow decline (baseflow recession) after precipitation events.

Index terms: hydrology, streamflow, baseflow recession

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Students learn the basics of acid/base chemistry in a fun, interactive way by studying instances of acid/base chemistry found in popular films such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and National Treasure. Students learn what acids, bases and indicators are and how they can be used, including invisible ink. They also learn how engineers use acids and bases every day to better our quality of life. Students' interest is piqued by the use of popular culture in the classroom.

In this project, students interpret a high-resolution image of result from an experimental run of the Jurrasic Tank sedimentation simulator at the St. Anthony Falls Lab at the University of Minnesota. They are expected to interpret depositional environments, characterize simulated stratigraphic sections, and interpret the overall sedimentary architecture of the simulated basin. All of these observations are to put together onto a poster which is the final product of the project.

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This is an Excel spreadsheet and graph that illustrates standard "batch" and Rayleigh decarbonation models and how they can be used to detect fluid infiltration during metamorphism of carbonates. It makes a good lecture demonstration, but with a few modifications can be turned into a laboratory exercise. Key variables are "hotlinked" directly into the batch and Rayleigh models so students can adjust them to get a feel for the influence of different model parameters. The included carbon isotope data are from marbles in the Jervois region, central Australia (Cartwright et al., 1997). Oxygen isotope data are also included in the spreadsheet.

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Participants learn what to do before, during, and after a potentially damaging earthquake. They brainstorm valuable components for an emergency supplies backpack and then present on their ideas. The primary resource is the booklet Are you prepared for the next big EARTHQUAKE in Alaska?

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This activity provides students with an in-class practice of landscape interpretation using slides of beaches shown by the instructor. Students view a select number of slides and are asked to classify each beach shown using the Wright and Short Beach Classification: dissipative, reflexive, and intermediate by visually identifying landforms and processes of each beach type. The outcome of this activity is that students have practice identifying landforms and processes and applying their observations and interpretations of geomorphic features and processes for an applied purpose.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Has minimal/no quantitative component

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In this activity, kids will work on two fundamental early math skills – sorting/classifying, and graphing. There will also be some great fine motor skill practice! Includes place-based discussion questions, activity instructions, extension activities, songs, and student graph worksheets.

NGSS: K-LS1-1, 1-LS1-1, partially meets K-ESS3-1 (book and discussion)

Common Core: MP.4

Time: 45 minutes

Matierals: bag of dried beans ("16 bean soup"), paper bowls, glue, chart paper, the book "One Bean" or similar book about growing food plants, especially beans.

Hunt for prey and discover the meaning of evolutionary “fitness” in this physically active group game. In this simulation game, teams of predators equipped with genetically different “mouths” (utensils) hunt for “prey” (assorted beans). Over several “generations” of play, the fittest among the predators and prey dominate the population, modeling the evolutionary process of natural selection.

During the course of the day, students examine the high-grade metasupracrustal rocks, related gneisses, and the late Archean granitoids and mafic dikes. We have prepared a number of exercises that might be done with classes at different levels. Depending on the background and preparation of your class you might want to emphasize different learning skills specific to the class level: observation, interpretation, integration (i.e. multiple lines of evidence focused on a given problem), and synthesis (i.e. relationship to the "big picture", drawing from the corpus of geologic knowledge). We have also prepared a compilation of our key scientific results, but these are under seal and we'd like you to do the exercises first as if you were students before taking a look at the supporting evidence.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

During the course of the day, students examine the high-grade metasupracrustal rocks, related gneisses, and the late Archean granitoids and mafic dikes. We have prepared a number of exercises that might be done with classes at different levels. Depending on the background and preparation of your class you might want to emphasize different learning skills specific to the class level: observation, interpretation, integration (i.e. multiple lines of evidence focused on a given problem), and synthesis (i.e. relationship to the "big picture", drawing from the corpus of geologic knowledge). We have also prepared a compilation of our key scientific results, but these are under seal and we'd like you to do the exercises first as if you were students before taking a look at the supporting evidence.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

A Beautiful Mind won the Academy Award for best picture in 2001 and it chronicles the life of John Nash who is noted for his pioneering work on general equilibrium theory. This scene is a great way to discuss self-interest and contrast it with the social optimum. Nash's work has augmented Adam Smith's "invisible hand" theory by extending how self-interest is modeled. This scene is must viewing even though the scene itself contains flawed economics (explaining why the scene is NOT a Nash equilibrium helps students learn the concept in greater depth).

During this lesson, students will reflect on the ways they have experienced or participated in bias based on physical size and appearance—and will discuss how society’s expectations about body image and appearance affect people. Students build on their media literacy skills as they examine media images for messages that consciously and unconsciously affect attitudes and behaviors toward others. Finally, the class will explore ways to get beyond appearance as a dominant force in their social lives.Note: This lesson has been adapted with permission from the original created by GLSEN for its program, No Name-Calling Week.

Clues from the Landscape Social Studies Lesson 1 Becoming a Homesteader is designed to be used with Clues from the Landscape Artifact Kit. Lessons 1, 2 and 4 can be completed without the artifacts from the kit. These kits are available through Musuems of Western Colorado to D51 Teachers. This lesson can be adapted to use without the kit. Students will be able to: • Describe the requirements for homesteaders under the Homestead Act of 1862 • Discuss the hardships faced by homesteaders • Defend their decision whether or not they would choose to become homesteaders.

Becoming an Agricultural Entrepreneur. This is the Lesson 1 Exposure Activity, from Unit 5 Agriculture and Business, from the DIGS (Developing Individuals, Growing Stewards) AmeriCorps Curriculum from CSU. The curriculum focuses on introducing students in grades 3-5 to Colorado agriculture, industry and environmental issues. The curriculum upon request. Visit: https://engagement.colostate.edu/programs-old/developing-individuals-growing-stewards/

To prepare for this activity, students receive background on bedforms and flow regimes in class and practice identifying and classifying bedforms from field photographs. Students are then given a map of a barrier beach/inlet/tidal delta complex in mid-coast Maine and asked to predict what bedforms they expect to find in specific sub-environments. During a subsequent field trip to the area, students observe, classify and map bedforms and relate them qualitatively to formative flows. Qualitative description and classification are supplemented by quantitative measurements of bedform morphology and orientation, and by GPS-located digital photographs. After the trip, students compare their predictions and observations of bedforms in the sub-environments, reflecting on the reasons for the differences and the evolution of their thinking. The exercise also serves to set the stage for subsequent quantitative studies of bedforms and bedload transport, as well as interpretation of sedimentary structures and clastic depositional environments in the geological record.

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