Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Pupils investigate the greenhouse effect. In this environmental lesson, students investigate why the greenhouse effect changes the climate through an experiment. Pupils use vinegar to simulate how acid damages the environment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mountain Blows its Top

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students replicate a volcanic eruption. In this volcanoes lesson, students follow the provided procedures to show and describe how the inflation of a bulge led to the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Worksheet
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Curated OER

Quartz

For Students 9th - 12th
In this quartz activity, students read about the chemical structure and properties of quartz and its commercial applications. Then, students complete 7 short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
Project SMART

Rocks and Minerals: Touch the Earth

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students complete a unit of lessons on rocks and minerals. They conduct research, write e-mail questions to geologists, write daily journal entries, label maps demonstrating types of rocks/minerals found, and create a web page that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Community Building

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Young scholars build different shapes using sketches. In this geometry activity, students explore measurements and units as they build and create models of buildings. They use SketchUp to create and manipulate shapes.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Watch This Space!

For Students 7th - 9th
In this space activity, students, with a partner, answer five questions about the universe and read and discuss ten questions regarding astronomy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

King of the Mound

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate water as an agent of change. They conduct an experiment involving a mound of soil, observe and record any changes that occur when ice melts on the mound of dirt, and create a drawing of the changes that take place...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Digging Into the Past

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study fossils and how they are charted. In this fossil lesson plan, 5th graders research the excavation process of discovering fossils, and view fossils. They then do a hands on activity that involves plastic fossils that...
Worksheet
Curated OER

General Description of Site

For Students 6th - 8th
In this earth science instructional activity, students identify what a site matrix is and that is composed of a sandstone mixture. They excavate each quadrant and write detailed journal entries. Students also complete a site map that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock Sorting Activity

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students organize rock samples according to their properties. In this earth science lesson, students predict whether they are igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary. They compare their prediction with the actual type.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Study of Fossils

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders dig for fossils. In this fossil lesson, 5th graders read about the oldest found fossils and discuss the process of fossilization. They dig for their own fossils in a fossil box made of several dirt layers. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How High Does the Atmosphere Go?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students explain how relatively thin the atmosphere is, compared to the size of the planet, and determine the relative extent of the four major atmospheric layers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Take Me to the River! Using the Black River for Earth Science Review

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders use maps to identify landscape regions and drainage patterns producing the Black River. They create PowerPoint presentations pertaining to the Black River watershed, its geologic history and highlighting safe rafting...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Volcanoes

For Teachers 1st - 9th
Students participate in groups to complete a volcano project. In this volcano lesson, students work in groups to follow directions and create a working, model volcano. Students then answer discussion questions about their project.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Convection in a Pan

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students explore convection. In this lesson on heat and energy, students investigate how heat moves in convection currents. They use their finding to better understand how convection currents effect the movement of tectonic plates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mighty Earth Movers

For Teachers K - 5th Standards
Note that although the publisher lists almost all of the Common Core standards for both math and language arts, you will most likely want to take the general topic and choose which area to focus on. Regarding math, pupils measure worms...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tropical Rainforests

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students create their own rainforest environment. This tropical rainforest lesson, introduces where rainforests are located, their real world connections, and their structural make up. It includes further resources online.
Handout
National Institute of Open Schooling

Air Pollution

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Seventy percent of the air pollution in China is due to car exhaust. Under the umbrella of environmental chemistry, learners extensively explore air pollution. From the makeup of our atmosphere to sources of major air pollutants, classes...
Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

What Can We Learn from Sediments?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Varve: a deposit of cyclical sediments that help scientists determine historical climates. Individuals analyze the topography of a region and then study varve datasets from the same area. Using this information, they determine the...
Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Volcanoes: Fifth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers 5th Standards
Fifth graders explore volcanoes and the rocks they produce using the Internet. The lab portion of the lesson prompts young scientists to compare and describe igneous rocks. Next, they critique a pair or more of...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

Journey to the Stars

For Students 6th - 12th
Fifteen detailed pictures and informative captions delve deep into the exploration of stars—their life cycle and importance in the universe. 
Lesson Plan
Wilderness Classroom

Pollution

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Educate scholars on pollution—air, water, and land—with a series of lessons that begin with a thorough explanation of each type. Learners then take part in three activities to reinforce the importance of reducing pollution. They...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Earthquake Preparedness

For Teachers 6th
Forty-five states and territories in the USA are at moderate to very high risk of earthquakes. The discussion-based lesson covers what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. The 14th lesson in the series includes how to...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Why All the Wiggling on the Way Up? CO2 in the Atmosphere

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
The climate change debate, in the political arena, is currently a hot topic! Learners explore carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere and what this means for the future in the 11th installment of 12. Through an analysis of carbon dioxide...

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