Lesson Plan
NASA

Earth's Global Energy Budget

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Earth Viewer Welcomes You- Web View of the Earth

For Students 6th - 10th
In this science and Internet technology worksheet, students access the given web site to look at a current view of the Earth's surface. They enter longitude and latitude co-ordinates before answering 8 questions. They change the...
PPT
Curated OER

The Earth and Beyond

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Photographs and graphics bring the solar system and Earth to life in this presentation. Viewers are taken on a virtual field trip, beginning with the sun and planet placement, and proceeding through both Earth and the moon's movements....
Activity
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NOAA

The Climate Team: Make a Solar Heat Engine

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Learners investigate how solar energy is converted into heat in part two of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build and test homemade solar cookers to boil water and cook rice. Pupils consider the impact of heat...
Worksheet
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K12 Reader

What Glaciers Leave Behind

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Glaciers may seem distant and stationary, but they are huge deposits of moving ice that have made changes to the earth's surface. Your pupils can learn about the different types of impressions left by glaciers by reading the short...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Which Way is North?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Who needs a compass to find cardinal directions? Just place a stick in the ground and record the movement of its shadow over the course of a day. Then, measure the shadow lengths in order to determine a north-south line. A simple...
Lesson Plan
Starry Night Education

The Year and Seasons

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Turn your classroom into a live demonstration of how the earth and sun interact to create the four seasons. Using a globe, a light source, and a series of constellation cards, super scientists discover how the...
PPT
Mr. E. Science

Erosion and Deposition

For Students 6th - 8th
Get an in-depth look into erosion and deposition with a 23-slide presentation that details how gravity, water, waves, wind, and glaciers cause changes to the Earth's surface. Each slide consists of detailed images equipped with labels,...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson One: The Earth, Background and Glossary

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
How much do you really know about our planet? Middle schoolers build up their prior knowledge about Earth, its placement in the solar system, its composition, and important geological vocabulary with an introductory earth science lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Variables Affecting Earth's Albedo

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the variables that affect the Earth's albedo.  In this environmental data analysis instructional activity students interpret and graph information and calculate changes. 
Activity
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NOAA

The Great, Glowing Orb What You Will Do: Make a Solar Heat Engine

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
How is solar energy able to move wind and water to control the climate? Scholars explore the concept of solar energy in the first of 10 activities in the Discover Your Changing World series. They follow instructions to build homemade...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Environmental Changes from Space

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners discuss Landsat Satellites and the use of the images they provide as well as the purpose of keeping records of the information from the satellites. The class works in groups to complete a worksheet on short term and long term...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Floating Plates on the Earth

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders construct a concept map about Plate Tectonics. They include types of movement, names and effects of boundaries. They research plate tectonics, describe and name 3 types. They analyze the effect on the earth's surface of...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Seasons Around the World

For Students 1st - 5th
Why does Earth experience summer, fall, winter, and spring? Using an informative demonstration, learners see how the angle of the sun on Earth and the rotation of Earth determine the seasons. Scholars work in pairs to learn that the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bringing Climate Change Into the Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the greenhouse effect and examine the potential effects of climate change in the Arctic. They construct a mini-greenhouse and test its effect on temperature, analyze historical climate statistics, and conduct an...
Activity
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Curated OER

My Planet Earth

For Teachers K - 4th
The earth is a delicate and fragile thing; Why not engage your class in a craft project that will make them aware of our environment? Earth Day is celebrated as recycled materials are used to create earth window hangings. Crayons are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Remote Sensing and Landsat Satellite Imagery

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students comprehend how satellites use remote sensing to produce images. They use supervised classification with Landsat images. Students recognize that the earth's surface has different basic land surfaces that reflect/emit different...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Quantifying Land Changes Over Time Using Landsat

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

What is Earth?

For Students 6th - 12th
Humans have only inhabited Earth for a short part of its existence. An online resource explains how scientists use clues from rocks and fossils to piece together information about Earth prior to humans. The online instruction includes...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

What's the Big Deal?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Who knew that a possible answer to Earth's energy resource problems was lurking deep beneath the ocean's surface? Part four of a six-part series introduces Earth Science pupils to methane hydrate, a waste product of methanogens. After...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Does the Earth's Energy Budget Relate to Polar Ice?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students use satellite data to see how radiation budget relates to the ice that is present in the North.  In this energy lesson plan students correlate data to see a relationship. 
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NOAA

Communicate!: Create a Unique Message About Climate Change

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Scholars use their communication skills to express their take on climate change in the ninth installment of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They create ways to deliver their messages on a specific aspect of climate by...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Edible Earth

For Students 6th - 12th
Create an edible model of the Earth using crispy rice cereal, marshmallows, and chocolate, yum! Model layers include the outer core, inner core, mantle, and crust.