NASA
Lava Layering: Making and Mapping a Volcano
Looking for an out-of-this-world volcanic activity? Geologists study Earth's volcanic history and the neighboring planet Mars by modeling volcanic eruptions, lava flows, and building a shield volcano. Participants use graph paper and...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities
This unit focuses primarily on plate tectonics and plate boundaries surrounding continents. It contains pre- and post-lab sections that walk young geologists through plate movements in order to visualize what's going on inside Earth.
Montana State University
Climb into Action!
Climate change affects even the largest and intimidating of landforms—even Mount Everest! A resource helps teach learners the connection between global climate change and its effects on Earth. Activities include videos, class discussion,...
Curated OER
How Much is Dirt Worth?
Fourth graders graph the percentages of the materials that make up the Earth and complete computations based on their results. For this topsoil lesson, 4th graders diagram the different layers of Earth's composition.
Curated OER
Weather
Students explore the earth's atmosphere, weather, and climate. They begin class with a discussion about weather patterns, atmosphere, and the layers of the earth. After the class discussion, students rotate through four stations to...
Curated OER
Geologic History PowerPoint Follow Sheet-The Rules of the Game
In this geologic history worksheet, students answer questions about the earth's history, about dating fossils, about layers of rocks and about unconformity.
Curated OER
Earth's Dramatic History
Students create a timeline. In this Earth's History lesson, students research the history of life on Earth and use the information collected to create a timeline. Students also answers the provided discussion questions.
Curated OER
Explosive Ideas!
Students explore the layers of the Earth and the dynamic changes that they cause on Earth's surface. Volcanoes and earthquakes become the focus of the lesson plan as the Oregon State quarter and its Crater Lake images are linked to the...
Curated OER
The Earth's Surface
Students identify the characteristics of places. In this communities lesson, students discuss what they observe when they travel and construct a list of places in their neighborhood. Students use a Landscape Picture Map to circle...
Curated OER
Investigating the Effect of Salinity on the Density and Stability of Water
Water with varying amounts of dissolved salt are dyed and then used to compare densities. The objective is to discover the effect of salinity, and therefore density, on ocean water on the stability of the ocean. Many branches of science...
Curated OER
So Much Water, So Little to Drink
Learners explore salt and fresh water. In this water lesson, students investigate the amount of Earth covered by water. Learners compare the amounts of salt water to fresh water. Students create a visual representation to aid comprehension.
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics Vocabulary
In this plate tectonics worksheet, students match 9 terms with their definitions. Topics include the types of boundaries, the layers of the Earth's crust, plate tectonics and continental drift.
Curated OER
The Gifts of the Nile
Get your class thinking about the geography that shaped the Egyptian landscape and culture. They compare ancient climate zones and geogrpahical fetures, locate evidence of plate tectonics, take and quiz, and write a short essay. The...
Curated OER
The Changing Earth
Learners observe and analyze weathering. For this earth science lesson, students demonstrate physical and chemical weathering in two experiments, then write questions for a class Jeopardy game.
Curated OER
Bellwork for Week 8-Continental Drift and Fossils
In this continental drift and fossils worksheet, students complete a puzzle of the continents and they answer questions about fossils, the layers of the earth's crust, Wegener's continental drift theory and the major plates.
American Museum of Natural History
Journey to Deep Sea Vents
Take a deep dive into oceanography. The online interactive allows for learners to board a submersible to dive to the bottom of the ocean to investigate sea vents. On the way down, individuals see different marine life at different...
Curated OER
Eight Basic Elements of the Earth
Students identify the concept of an element and work with an idea that all of the millions of substances on the earth are various combinations of only 8 elements. They work with the Periodic Table of the Elements and symbols of the...
Curated OER
Investigating Properties of Water: Temperature
Investigate how temperature affects the density of water and stratification that occurs in bodies of water when temperatures vary. Water of differing temperatures is given different colors to see the layers that form. The lesson is meant...
Curated OER
The Changing Earth
Students explore the Earth's crust. In this earth science lesson, students participate in 2 activities that demonstrate physical and chemical weathering. Students also play Jeopardy with topics including volcanoes, earthquakes,...
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
What causes earthquakes? Second graders learn about stresses from plate movement with a set of hands-on activities. After tracing fault lines on a map with yarn, class members create a paper plate model of Earth to show its layers...
Curated OER
Egg Carton Buggy Mobile
Craft paper, string, and clean egg cartons are used to create super cute bug mobiles. Included are instructions and images to assist you in guiding your class through the process of making these very cool mobiles. The project would be a...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Rock Types 2
All rocks include two or more minerals but greatly vary in appearance. The online interactive encourages scholars to match the rock types to the facts they know about each. They then complete three grid puzzles reviewing the same...
NOAA
Water Cycle
Be water wise! Science scholars learn the water cycle on a global scale in part seven of a 13-installment series. The hands-on interactive allows them to explore Earth's water storage, types of precipitation, and the cycling of water...
Teach Engineering
Flame Test: Red, Green, Blue, Violet?
Let the true colors shine through. Pupils conduct a flame test to identify an unknown element. Class members calculate and prepare specific molarity solutions of three chemicals. Using their observations of the colors emitted, they...