Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dark Skies: Volcanic Contribution to Climate Change

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students examine how volcanic eruptions affect global climate. They listen to first-hand accounts of the effects of a large volcanic eruption and illustrate a landscape to show understanding. They experiment with the loss of light and...
Interactive
Curated OER

Are You an Energy Efficient Consumer?

For Students 7th - 10th
In this energy consumption learning exercise, students use on line resources to explore the energy use by different countries around the world. Students compare the amount of light emitted by different countries and their carbon...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Watch Me Grow

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students observe that plants need air, food, light, and water to survive.  In this plant biology lesson, students observe the growth and development of two plants, one is the control plant and the other is denied either air, water,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Causes the Seasons?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students conduct experiment to examine how tilt of globe influences warming caused by lighted bulb. They monitor simulated warming of their city by sun in winter and in summer by using light bulb, interpret results, and submit lab report.
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Sun

For Students 7th - 9th
In this sun learning exercise, students are given a diagram of 8 structures of the sun and they label each structure with a given term. They also fill in 8 blanks to complete sentences about the sun, its characteristics and the layers of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rain and Rainbows

For Teachers K - 5th
Students explore the weather system by analyzing water properties. In this precipitation lesson, students review weather related vocabulary terms and discuss how rainbows are created by light hitting droplets at the right time. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Hot and Cold Planets

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...
Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Can Carbon Dioxide Act Like a Greenhouse Gas?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Ninety-seven percent of scientists who study climate agree that human activity is warming the planet. Learners explore carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, a gas causing this warming, through a hands-on experiment. Once complete, they...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Unknown Powders

For Students 3rd - 6th
Create a little scientific magic within your classroom! Learners mix powders and liquids and identify chemical reactions. Based on the reactions, individuals determine the identity of various powders.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Radiation from Space

For Students 9th - 12th
In this radiation worksheet, students review the different types of radiation waves that come from space and the different telescopes used to detect this radiation. This worksheet has 17 true or false questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Atmospheres Affet Planetary Temperatures?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students perform a literature search and use reputable research resources in order to find the surface temperature of different planets in our solar system. They speculate about the observed and unobserved factors. Then brainstorming is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Light Up My Life: Developing a Scientific Theory for What Fuels a Candle's Flame!

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine how candles work and how scientific theories are developed and tested. Students propose hypotheses about what is burning in a candle then perform tests in order to develop their scientific theory. After a teacher...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Its Getting Thinner and Thinner

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students design posters on the ozone to be judged. They design a board game on the depletion of the ozone and list the layers of the atmosphere. They construct a collage of the atmosphere into layers according to the way temperature...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Latent Heat and Clouds

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Learners explore latent heat and how it relates to clouds in the atmosphere.  In this earth science lesson students investigate how clouds are formed. Learners examine clouds and the water cycle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystems and Climate

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learners examine climatic effects on ecosystems. They plant tomatoes and observe the differences in plant growth with differences in light. They create picture collages of plants, animals, and insects found in each climate of the U.S.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greenhouse Gas Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars compare the ability of a sample of carbon dioxide gas to absorb thermal energy compared to a sample of air. They build a visual representation of the greenhouse effect to illustrate the heat-absorption of atmospheric...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Asteroids

For Teachers K - 12th
Young scholars examine the different types of asteroids and how they enter the atmosphere.  In this space lesson students use mashed potatoes to create an asteroid they can eat.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Linkages Between Surface Temperature And Tropospheric Ozone

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students collect and interpret data to make predictions about the levels of ozone in the atmosphere. Using the internet to collect data students use their collected data to create a line graph for analysis. Students make mathematical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dive In

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study how buoyancy, pressure, and light can effect the work of underwater scientists.  In this marine science activity students complete a lab that allows them to better understand how pressure varies with altitude and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Walk into the Desert, A Line and Wash Landscape

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students discuss a landscape art print and its composition. They create a landscape underdrawing with foreground, middleground and background as well as repeated elements for rhythm. They add a watercolor wash and lights/darks for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classroom Rules and Procedures

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students participate in a brief introduction to the classroom rules and procedures. They role play the proper procedures for maintaining a productive classroom atmosphere. Rules and parent letters are distributed and discussed
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How do plant & animal cells make and use energy?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars show the relationship between the need for plants to undergo photosynthesis in order to generate oxygen. They see the flaws associated with this thinking because of the lack of CO2 and H2O and lack of sufficient gravity in...
Lesson Plan
Novelinks

The Cure: Guided Imagery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Prepare class members for a discussion of Sonia Levitin's dystopian novel The Cure, by leading them on a guided imagery exercise designed to encourage visualization of written descriptions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Musical Mysteries

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students explore the components of sound and how it can be represented visually. A trip to a circus and a walk through a magical forest are used to encourage visualizations and creative thinking.