Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Citizen Science to the Rescue!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
You don't have to be a scientist or even out of high school to contribute to scientific research. In the 12th lesson in the series of 21, scholars use this opportunity to add to the growing body of scientific knowledge and consider the...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Breaking it Down

For Teachers 4th - 12th
After challenging themselves to correctly choose the form of erosion and length of time required for a given landform to develop, earth science class members model mechanical and chemical weathering with various lab demonstrations over...
Lesson Plan
World Wildlife Fund

Land of the Midnight Sun

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
From days of 24 hour sunlight, to endless nights that last for days, the Arctic is a very unique place to live. Examine the seasonal changes that occur in the northern-most reaches of the globe and the impact they have on the plants and...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Weather Widget

For Teachers 3rd
What's so difficult about predicting the weather? Scholars work collaboratively to build a device that models how meteorologists use computers to forecast weather. Team members collect and interpret data while working together to...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Stifling, Oppressive, Sweltering, Oh My!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Looking for a hot date? Pick any day in August, statistically the hottest month in the United States. The 15th lesson in the series of 21 instructs pupils to investigate the August 2007 heat wave through NASA data, daily temperature...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Get Your Techno On

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

When It Rains It Pours More Drought and More Heavy Rainfall

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Which is worse — drought or flooding? Neither is helpful to the environment, and both are increasing due to climate change. The 16th lesson in a series of 21 covers the average precipitation trends for two different climates within the...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Conceptualizing Module III

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Many researchers focus on one impact of climate change in isolation, but researchers gain a global perspective when they come together. A timely instructional activity teaches scholars about the projected impacts of global temperature...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Ghost Town

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Around 93 percent of the reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been bleached, and almost one quarter of them are now dead. Scholars research the sea temperatures, especially around the areas with coral reefs, to make connections...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Why All The Wiggling on the Way Up?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Some of the CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuels is removed from the atmosphere by natural sinks, such as the ocean. The fifth engaging lesson in the series of 21 examines the CO2 data from three very different locations. It then makes a...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

What is DBH?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When measuring the circumference of a tree, does it matter how high you place the measuring tape? Most scholars have never considered this question, but scientists know that measurement techniques must be standardized. The 13th lesson in...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

I Speak for the Polar Bears!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson plan focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

The Tide is High, but I’m Holding On… Using ICESat Data to Investigate Sea Level Rise

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Based on the rate of melting observed from 2003-2007 in Greenland, it would take less than 10 minutes to fill the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium. The 17th lesson in a series of 21 has scholars use the ICESat data to understand the ice mass...
Activity
NASA

Water Works on a Blue Planet

For Students 6th - 12th
Keep within a water budget. Learners find out that less than 2.5% of Earth's water is available to drink—and that there is a fixed amount of water. Scholars read an interesting article comparing the available water to a game of Monopoly...
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...
Unit Plan
University of Kansas

Newspaper in the Classroom

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Cloud Sculpting

For Teachers 1st
Dance is a fantastic way to communicate thoughts, feelings, and even science concepts. Make this activity a part of your next unit on weather and clouds. Kids will discuss types of clouds, how they look, and what they do. Then, they will...
Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

Rocking the Cycle!

For Teachers 6th Standards
Time to rock out! Discover the "life" cycle of the average rock using an illustrative stations lab and stimulating pairs game. Roll the dice to determine your fate: will it be melting in magma or chilling out to form igneous rock? The...
Lesson Plan
NASA

The Case of the Wacky Water Cycle

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Join the tree house detectives in learning about the processes of the water cycle, water conservation, water treatment, and water as a limited resource.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Day After Tomorrow: How is the Density of Water Related to Climate Change and Global Warming?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Science learners simulate what happens when ice breaks up and floats on water and how increased pressure on ice causes it to melt faster. They view a clip from the movie, The Day After Tomorrow, and relate their lab activities to what...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

The Cycle of Water

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
Young water cycle enthusiasts discover the water they have been using has been cycling around the earth for billions of years. Through presentations, learners will understand that water has three states and how these forms...
Lesson Plan
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)

Bringing the Biodiversity of Ecuador to Spanish Immersion Classrooms

For Teachers 2nd Standards
Designed for the Spanish Immersion classroom, scholars take a look at biodiversity and Ecuador; all the while, practicing their Spanish with a focus on verbs. In small groups, learners examine photographs of the different climate regions...