A lamp, four globes, and some signs taped around the room are all you need to set up a solar system simulation for teaching how Earth's tilted axis creates the seasons. (Sticky dots are also needed, but not mentioned in the materials...

How did scientists discover what lies beneath the earth's surface? Dig a hole? X-ray vision? Guide your class through the types of seismic waves and how these waves helped shed light on Earth's many layers. The included resources provide...

Students list ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, and produce an acrostic poem reflecting their understanding about Earth Day. They also use the Internet to integrate technology into learning.

Math and M&Ms® go great together when introducing a modeling activity. Allow your learners to simulate population growth and decay of fish in a pond and share their reasoning for the change in fish. With such an impact we have on our...

Students consider caring for their environment. For this environmental stewardship lesson, students read Miss Rumphius and discuss how sharing their time, talent, and treasure through volunteering makes the world better.

Build up from the previous activity where your learners charted the population growth and decay of a fish pond with M&Ms®. Have them look at the data from that activity and create a Now-Next, or recursive equations, to predict the...

Take it all the way back! Young scientists discover the changes that took place from the time Earth became solid to present day through an interesting interactive. The resource guides users through key events that have shaped our world...

Students explore Earth Day by creating an arts and crafts project. For this nature appreciation lesson, students utilize nature related vocabulary terms on magnets and put them in different orders to create interesting poetry. Students...

Fourth graders investigate the Earth's rotation. In this Earth's rotation lesson plan, 4th graders realize that the rotation of Earth causes the days and nights on Earth. Students break into groups and use a flashlight and a sphere...

How many times have you traveled around the sun? Aspiring astronomers grasp what a year is and they differentiate between orbit and rotation by walking around the sun right within your classroom. Place a lamp in the center of the room to...

Students explore the earth's rotation and phases of the moon. In this planets lesson, students rotate and revolve around a light representing the sun. Students use movement and props to simulate what causes the phases of the moon as well...

Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...

Junior geologists become the force that makes the world go around! With a lamp on the floor in the middle of the room to represent the sun, volunteers hold a globe, revolve, and rotate. Observers notice how the light hitting the globe...

Every living creature can leave a fossil record, yet most fossils belong to extinct organisms rather than ones currently living. Scholars learn about dating rock layers, fossils, and the environment of the past. Pupils understand that...

Learners simulate the movement of the Earth using their body motion. In this earth science lesson, students explain how this causes seasonal changes on Earth.

Students discover that the Earth rotates on its axis in a cyclical fashion. They examine how this rotation results in day and night.

Third graders view a classroom simulation that demonstrates how the Earth's rotation creates day and night.

First graders examine how the earth experiences day and night by using a flashlight and a globe as a model.

Students investigate that the sun is at the center of the solar system through role play. One student is the sun and one student is the Earth. The students then show how the Earth orbits around the sun. Students view a flashlight and...

Didn't catch the last solar eclipse? Now every day can be eclipse day, thanks to an interactive instructional activity from PBS' Space series for middle schoolers! The well-rounded multi-media experience includes video clips, an...

Ever found it difficult to observe the night sky with pupils because school takes place during the day? Host a stellar lesson using a detailed night sky interactive! Scholars view the apparent rotation of the sky from the comfort of the...

Given a variety of rocks, junior geologists calculate densities and correlate them to Earth's layers. As a simulation of continental crust, they experiment with how materials of differing density float in water. Finally, they...

Young scholars differentiate weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, students compare weather and climate in different regions of the world. They interpret weather graphs and compare isotherm lines of northern and southern...

Students observe earth science by examining results from an experiment. In this buoyancy lesson, students practice floating different items in two different liquids and identify why certain objects will float and others sink. Students...