Investigating topography caused by Glacial Lake Agassiz and glacial river Warren in the Big Stone Lake area. part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Tracey Raguse
This activity is a field investigation where students will observe the topography of Big Stone Lake and generate questions about the history of this area.

Geology of the Grand Canyon: Interpreting its rock layers and formation part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Brad Snyder, Maple Grove, MN; partially based on a lesson from the National Geographic website Lesson Plans: "Layers of the Grand Canyon".
In this culminating activity, students will be assessed on what they have learned during the Geology unit of their Earth Science class. After conducting classroom and field studies on geology students will utilize this knowledge to interpret the rock layers and formation of the Grand Canyon. Outside of class students will read/review a website and complete a study guide to be reviewed by the teacher to assess students' learning. Following teacher review of study guides, the next class period(s) will be a discussion and questioning session(s) on the formation of the Grand Canyon.

Geology of the Credit River at Hidden Valley Park part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Debra Olson
Short Description: This is an inquiry based field investigation where students gather data on the Credit River from the rocks in the river bed, water speed, and maps. Students interpret their findings and develop new questions.

Effectiveness of MN dams in water retention/ Efectividad de represas en Minnesota con respecto a la retencion de agua part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Tania Ramos (unemployed), Home: 1018 Chestnut st. Taylors Falls, MN 55084
This activity is a field trip investigation where students gather stream flow, volume, depth & height (area) data on Ramsey County dams (Keller and Round lake), interpret their findings and make in-depth observations in order to assess the effectiveness of dams through the season and estimate the life-spam of the dams in years.

Investigating Stream Characteristics and Discharge: An Interdisciplinary Approach part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Eric Scheidel
This activity is a interdisciplinary field investigation where students will form observations and make calculations about stream characteristics and stream flow.

Investigating the Minnesota River's Glacial History Near Henderson, MN. part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Brian Allison Delano Middle School Delano, MN Based on a field investigation conducted from TIMES XIII
This activity is a field investigation where students make observations in the Minnesota River valley, discuss their findings amongst other student groups, and describe how those observations fit with the general geology of Minnesota.

Investigation erosion in our world part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Amy Anderson, Virginia Peninsula Community College
This activity is a field investigation where students go out to a water source and observe erosion that has taken place.

Geologic History Field Investigation - Minnehaha Falls part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Kevin Swanson and Justin Larson, Chippewa Middle School, North Oaks, MN
This activity is an inquiry-based field investigation of the geologic history of the Minnehaha Falls and St. Anthony Falls areas of Minneapolis. Students will be introduced to rocks and the stories rocks tell in a genuine geologic context, rather than as samples in the classroom.

Examining topography and stream discharge at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Todd Koenig Zimmerman High School ISD 728 Zimmerman, MN I will be using a modified concept of the contour mapping exercise we did at St. Thomas and the Hydrology flow lab we preformed at Coon Creek.
In this inquiry based geologic field lab students will be estimating and measuring stream flow. Students will also map out a full scale live topography map of a dry streambed to help them estimate flow discharge. Students will use their journals to record their hypothesis, lab report questions, graphed data and evidence to backs up their observations.

Mapping the Glaciers part of MnSTEP Teaching Activity Collection:MnSTEP Activity Mini-collection
Cathy Oates-Bockenstedt Central Middle School Eden Prairie, Minnesota Based on TIMES XIII experiences and sharing
This earth systems field lab begins with an in-class guided inquiry experience which uses Minnesota Geological Survey 3-D maps of the upper Midwest to determine where they believe glaciers may have had an influence. They will determine this by looking at landscapes and compiling their own evidence from the maps. They will also offer evidence for a hypothesis they generate which involves the direction that the glacier was traveling. The two-day lesson ends (after student presentations on their findings about glaciers) with a field investigation of one of our parking lot snow banks. Students will compare and contrast what they know about glaciers, with one of our parking lot snow banks, determining any similarities with how the landscape may have appeared during the Pleistocene.