Fourth graders improvise music and dance to express their analysis of types of rocks. They discuss the three classes of rocks, list describing words, and create a short musical piece and dance to symbolize the rock they are dancing.

High schoolers use fossils found in rocks to determine the age of the strata between Rock Island and Chicago. Pupils pretend they are geologists. They must determine the age of all rock layers between the Mississippi River and Lake...

Fourth graders take a look at the effects of weathering and other geologic activities found in the environments in which they live. Along with a guided geologic walk outside of campus, there is also an effective in-class demonstration of...

Students pretend the area they live in is subject to wind, waves and rain. In groups, they pretend they are a groups of meteorologists or geologists and are to report on the weather and damage that could occur there. Each group develops...

Fourth graders explore different types of land. In this land lesson, 4th graders investigate how water, climate, and soil type determine what types of crops may be grown. Students discover these elements while playing an interactive game.

You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...

Third graders examine what makes soil by creating a Venn Diagram.  For this Earth environment lesson, 3rd graders identify the different components that soil is made from. Students bring soil from their homes to examine and create a...

Your geology class practices taking core samples of a potato to examine the stratigraphy. This is a terrific modeling lesson that helps youngsters visualize strata that cannot be seen from the surface of the ground. The directions...

Class members explore the carbon cycle in the final installment of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They play a simulation game where they walk through the steps carbon takes as it cycles through the different layers...

Get your hands dirty with a set of earth science activities! Class members delve into a hard-boiled egg to find the similarities to the earth's layers, create a papier-mâché model of the earth, craft a simulation of the earth's...

Students simulate the search for water in Mars using simple apparatus. In this space science lesson, students explain how soil temperature affects the cooling of probes. They graph the data collected from the simulation.

Learners 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. Learners view a flashlight and...

Young scientists identify erosion, explain the causes of erosion, and name some techniques that can slow the process of erosion. Learners are divided up into groups of four and perform a simulation of soil erosion in class. The...

Pupils devise the solutions to the radon problem. They consider how radon enters homes and the air flow patterns within them while focusing on the fact that the ultimate source of radon is the rocks and soils under the house. They...

Find an answer to the age-old debate of whether life exists on Mars. Groups determine criteria to help look for signs of life on Mars. The activity has the class simulate testing Martian soil samples for signs of life before drawing...

Young scholars discover how palaeontologists conduct a dig for fossils and how they interpret the age of the fossils. In small groups, they prepare a "dig site" consisting of bones, rocks and soil layered in a cardboard box. They switch...

Students role-play how organisms adapt to their environment. They play 20 questions with plant and animal habitats. They create a web of life to demonstrate how each plant and animal relies on the other for survival.

Students explore natural resources by conducting a geology experiment in class. In this mineral mining lesson plan, students discuss the types of geological material that can be found when mining and the uses for these resources such as...

Students explore Earth science by participating in a pollution activity. In this water infiltration instructional activity, students utilize a water sprayer, food coloring and slices of bread to simulate how pollution can spread into our...

Young scholars consider how archaeologists discovered and pieced together artifacts that indicate a Celtic presence in ancient Turkey. They research ancient civilizations and create archaeological digs containing items representative of...

Scholars imagine themselves as citizens of Pompeii in 79 AD. First they are assigned a job (or place in society like a child or slave). Then they record their daily activities for the weeks leading up to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in...

Learners demonstrate how water flows by building a human watershed using themselves. In this ecology lesson plan, students compare and contrast point-source and non-point source pollution. They write what they have learned from this...

Students build a model aquifer to study groundwater zones and water table formation. Students use the models to measure the movement of polluted groundwater.

Students study the location of Earth's water and study the water cycle using a terrarium. In this water study lesson, students study a model globe for the Earth and find Alaska. Students locate the bodies of water and study an overhead...