Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.

Each of the Earth's spheres interacts with the other spheres in predictable ways. Young scientists explore these interactions through a hands-on activity, graphing, and watching a video. They summarize their knowledge in a video or...

We can't dig a hole through the Earth, so how do we know about the layers beneath our feet? Scholars learn about layering through hands-on exploration of common materials. They study the characteristics of each layer and apply their...

In 150 BC, Seleucus of Seleucia theorized that the moon causes the tides. Scholars learn about what causes tides by studying the interactions of gravity between the sun, moon, and Earth. They use technology to formalize otherwise...

You've heard of farm to table ... but what about farm in classroom? Junior agriculturalists embark upon a two-week journey into the science of growing things. Based upon the classic terrarium in a two-liter experiment, the lesson goes...

Young geologists piece together the puzzle of plate tectonics in an earth science lesson. Given a physical map of the world, they search for land formations that indicate the location of different types of plate boundaries.

Ever wonder why Pluto isn't considered a planet? Or how large the Earth is compared to the other inner planets? Explore the universe with a series of projects that simulate different aspects of our solar system. The activities require...

How are films made? As part of their study of film, middle schoolers investigate the pre-production, production, and post-production process and consider the role of the director, the screenwriter, production designer, cinematographer,...

In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...

Is qualitative or quantitative research more convincing when it comes to climate change? In the eighth lesson during this 21-part series, scholars begin by performing a quantitative analysis of deforestation and urbanization. Then, they...

Be over the moon about finding a resource on lunar power stations. An interesting unit composed of 10 lessons has pupils first learn about the energy and power needs of a futuristic lunar colony. They design and build a lunar power...

Toys are great for learning about physics. Scholars use Slinky® toys to study Newton's laws of motion and types of energy. After a little play, they then model longitudinal and transverse waves with the Slinky® toys.

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...

Using the NASA website, class members try to determine if changes could be detected in cloud cover, temperature, and/or radiation measurements due to the lack of contrails that resulted from the halt in air traffic after the attacks...

Fifth graders continue their investigation of the plate tectonics cycle with an exploration of the movement of Earth's crust. During the lab, young geologists conduct an experiment to discover the result of different types of...

Which is worse — drought or flooding? Neither is helpful to the environment, and both are increasing due to climate change. The 16th lesson plan in a series of 21 covers the average precipitation trends for two different climates within...

Biodiversity is essential for every habitat, but many species are at risk due to pollution and other factors. Explore several different species native to Illinois in a gallery walk with posters that learners have created after research...

Science can be quite tasty. A delectable unit from NASA shows learners why it's important to consider food, nutrition, and health in space. Four lessons explore the idea in great depth, including testing cookie recipes. Along the way,...

Almost every ancient culture observed the stars and saw pictures in the patterns. Studying stars allowed them to guide travelers, determine when to plant crops, when to harvest food, and the stories surrounding the images include some of...

Feel the pull of science! The final installment of this 18-part series is an application of everything learned in the previous high school lessons. Scholars are given a magnetic field map and must propose an arrangement of magnets that...

Shake things up in your STEM or earth science classroom when you have small groups construct their own seismographs. A reading assignment on the history of seismographs, the Richter scale, and current technology sets the stage for the...

Bring the ocean floor to life! Earth science scholars discover the process of deep sea mapping in the third installment in a series of five lessons about ocean exploration. The teacher's guide includes helpful resources, worksheets, and...

Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth lesson in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the same...

Accurate weather forecasting is something we take for granted today, making it easy to forget how complex it can be to predict the weather. Learn more about the terms and symbols used to forecast the weather with an earth science lesson...