This 5E lesson begins with an Engage activity that assesses prior knowledge of water cycle from elementary school.  It is followed by an Explore activity where students observe a teacher demonstrating the water cycle in a bowl and gather information based on their observations.  It continues with an Explain where students have the opportunity to explain what they understand on the water cycle with an emphasis of phase changes.  In the evaluate stage, students apply their knowledge of solids and liquids to classfiy various forms of precipitation.  .   

Lesson plan introducing and exploring via hands-on lab the idea that raising acidity in the world's oceans is reducing the availability of carbonate, which impacts calcifying organisms such as oysters and sea urchins.

This page recognizes the many individuals and organizations for their contributions to this grant effort awarded to the VCU School of Education Center for Innovation in STEM Education from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Bay Watershed Education and Training (BWET). We hope you take a moment to review this page and share our appreciation of these individuals, and the organizations they represent!

This page recognizes the many individuals and organizations for their contributions to this grant effort awarded to the VCU School of Education Center for Innovation in STEM Education from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Bay Watershed Education and Training (BWET). We hope you take a moment to review this page and share our appreciation of these individuals, and the organizations they represent!

This page recognizes the many individuals and organizations for their contributions to this grant effort awarded to the VCU School of Education Center for Innovation in STEM Education from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Bay Watershed Education and Training (BWET). We hope you take a moment to review this page and share our appreciation of these individuals, and the organizations they represent!

Students are asked to review a variety of resources to learn about renewable energy then create a Google Slides presentation on the six main renewable energy resources (solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy, hydropower, geothermal, and hydrogen).

Student will:analyze a map of the Chesapeake Baycalculate the mean, median, mode, range, and numbercreate an appropriate graphinvestigate data provided by the James River and apply learning

Join Chesapeake Bay Foundation educators Maya, Rick, and Norah as they lead you on a journey through the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Investigate how we are all part of a watershed as you twist and turn from the Appalachian Mountains, through the rivers and streams of Piedmont, all the way down to the Chesapeake Bay. Along your journey, you’ll meet the unique critters that call the watershed home. You’ll also explore what you can do in your own neighborhood to protect the environment and become a Backyard Bay Saver! 

This lesson is intended to review 6th-grade content on watersheds, estuaries, and wetlands.  It also introduces abiotic and biotic factors of ecosystems found in VA's Watershed.  Students investigate the Chesapeake Bay using several resources with a pre-assessment, video clips, current article links, post-assessment, final evaluation, and rubric. A student sheet, teacher key, and google slide were created to use for face-to-face teaching or virtual learning. Click on the attached to access the folder.

This video and accompanying essay examine ways to reduce the environmental impact of burning coal. Two technologies are discussed: turning solid coal into a clean-burning fuel gas (syngas), and capture and storage of CO2.

Science Instructional Plans (SIPs) help teachers align instruction with the Science Standards of Learning (SOL) by providing examples of how the content and the scientific and engineering practices found in the SOL and curriculum framework can be presented to students in the classroom.

This resource provides a 5E style lesson (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) over the rock cycle, including a single-period lab using crayons to model the cycle.  It’s often a difficult concept for students to imagine that over millions of years, one kind of rock will change into another kind of rock.  This lab allows students to see the changes taking place, and learn important qualities of each type of rock and how they are formed.Photo:  Rainbow of Crayon Shavings by Richie Girardin via Flickr

In this activity, you will design a device that will substantially impact our environment. You can write words around your device’s image to help explain your ideas. This device does not have to be realistic. See the example of how to draw a device prototype below. An example of an approach could be to create a sizable water Roomba-like device that cleans the top of a body of water and burns the trash collected. This process turns the trash into oxygen.

The Did You Feel It (DYFI) Annual Summary Webage and Viewer are resources that are ideal for Earth Science and Geography laboratiory activitiy.

Students may connect to a database of factual information collected by the USGS on Earthquakes and other seismic disturbances.

The data graphically shows the highest intensity felt at each location searched. The data is grouped into 10 km blocks, and the color of each block corresponds to the highest intensity calculated for that block (regardless of which event).

Students will create an informational poster, collage, slide show, cartoon, or video clip of a specific ecosystem in our watershed. Requirements are as follows:pick a specific tributary, estuary, or wetland. show at least 4 abiotic and 4 biotic factors plus the location that you choseinclude 4 or more pictures to help show the parts of the ecosystem.  cite the sources with the website, title of the site, author, and publishing dateA rubric is included

This 5E lesson helps students understand that energy can be transformed from solar energy into mechanical, electrical, and chemical.

Each of the 5 countries have topics, real life applications/consequences, and 3-4 artists from that country that can be used a "mentor artists" to lead the students to create an artistic response and presentation for students, staff, and environmental representatives In terms of the art - What do the colors, lines, shapes, and techniques of the artists make you feel? Why did the artist/author decide to use these techniques and colors? What if they had chosen a different color combination?What colors make you feel the same way? What techniques will you use to express the same feeling?

The main goal of this lesson is to get students familiar with the idea that geology is
something tangible and that it affects the world around them. They should be inspired to
ask questions about how geologic processes shaped the world around them and make
observations to answer those questions. All of this on their schoolyard.

During the introductory activity, students learn that geology is a lot like detective work.
Geologists infer the sequence and timing of events by collecting evidence and making
observations, just like a detective.

Students first make observations of a murder mystery.

Then, they try to use simple principles to develop a story that is consistent with these
observations. Many of the principles they use in the murder mystery are exactly the
same as a geologist uses in determining the history of a landscape. Photographs relate the murder mystery to real geology.

Teachers can then take their students outside to explore their new found geologic
interpretation skills. Because every schoolyard is slightly different, teachers will need to
adapt this excursion to their own unique setting. The rest of the web site is a collection
of example geologic features that might have analogs in the schoolyard.

Teachers should browse the images and walk around their schoolyard looking for similar features. There are also links to background information and classroom activities about those features that serve as a jumping off point for teaching a wide variety of topics in earth science.

A teacher could plan a single fifty minute field trip to the schoolyard to explore all the
features, or use images from this section throughout their entire earth science unit.

Content PDF url: https://prd-wret.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/atoms/files/lessonthreeGeoSleuth_3.pdf

The main goal of this lesson is to get students familiar with the idea that geology is
something tangible and that it affects the world around them. They should be inspired to
ask questions about how geologic processes shaped the world around them and make
observations to answer those questions. All of this on their schoolyard.

During the introductory activity, students learn that geology is a lot like detective work.
Geologists infer the sequence and timing of events by collecting evidence and making
observations, just like a detective.

Students first make observations of a murder mystery.

Then, they try to use simple principles to develop a story that is consistent with these
observations. Many of the principles they use in the murder mystery are exactly the
same as a geologist uses in determining the history of a landscape. Photographs relate the murder mystery to real geology.

Teachers can then take their students outside to explore their new found geologic
interpretation skills. Because every schoolyard is slightly different, teachers will need to
adapt this excursion to their own unique setting. The rest of the web site is a collection
of example geologic features that might have analogs in the schoolyard.

Teachers should browse the images and walk around their schoolyard looking for similar features. There are also links to background information and classroom activities about those features that serve as a jumping off point for teaching a wide variety of topics in earth science.

A teacher could plan a single fifty minute field trip to the schoolyard to explore all the
features, or use images from this section throughout their entire earth science unit.

Content PDF url: https://prd-wret.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/atoms/files/lessonthreeGeoSleuth_3.pdf

The main goal of this lesson is to get students familiar with the idea that geology is
something tangible and that it affects the world around them. They should be inspired to
ask questions about how geologic processes shaped the world around them and make
observations to answer those questions. All of this on their schoolyard.

During the introductory activity, students learn that geology is a lot like detective work.
Geologists infer the sequence and timing of events by collecting evidence and making
observations, just like a detective.

Students first make observations of a murder mystery.

Then, they try to use simple principles to develop a story that is consistent with these
observations. Many of the principles they use in the murder mystery are exactly the
same as a geologist uses in determining the history of a landscape. Photographs relate the murder mystery to real geology.

Teachers can then take their students outside to explore their new found geologic
interpretation skills. Because every schoolyard is slightly different, teachers will need to
adapt this excursion to their own unique setting. The rest of the web site is a collection
of example geologic features that might have analogs in the schoolyard.

Teachers should browse the images and walk around their schoolyard looking for similar features. There are also links to background information and classroom activities about those features that serve as a jumping off point for teaching a wide variety of topics in earth science.

A teacher could plan a single fifty minute field trip to the schoolyard to explore all the
features, or use images from this section throughout their entire earth science unit.

Content PDF url: https://prd-wret.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/atoms/files/lessonthreeGeoSleuth_3.pdf