Curated OER
Water Systems
In this water systems worksheet, high schoolers refer to their textbook to complete questions about the amount of water on earth and the portion of water in various forms. Students review porosity, permeability, and water table. This...
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A Thin Slice of Soil
Young scholars examine the importance of soil in the production of what we eat and wear, and analyze the percentages of the earth used for food production. They create their own Pyramids of Life, and construct Dirt Babies out of hosiery,...
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Water
Learners complete activities to examine the properties of water. In this water science activity, students read a book about water's forms and study a map or globe of the Earth to investigate water. Learners discuss living things that...
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Probes, Exploration and Application
Students examine the benefits of the space program to our life on earth. In this space exploration lesson students participate in a lab, answer questions and study radar mapping.
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What is a Karst
Learners investigate landforms by holding a class experiment. In this topography lesson plan, students define the word "karst" and discover why sinkholes are created on the surface of the Earth by completing worksheets. Learners create a...
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Soil Composition: Then and Now
Students identify the location of their school from a 1926 digitized Soil Sample map. Using remaining landforms, they determine the type of soil identified during that time, and compare it to the soil currently found near the school.
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What is Soil?
Third graders examine what makes soil by creating a Venn Diagram. In 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...
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Exploring Ultraviolet (UV) Light From the Sun
Middle schoolers identify the different energy given off by the sun. In this earth science lesson, students predict where the UV beads will turn the darkest color. They explain the importance of using UV protection.
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Mr. and Mrs. Cress Head
Students explore Earth science by completing a plant art project. In this botany lesson plan, students utilize tights and soil to create a furry, grassy puppet style animal from cress seeds. Students cut off the excess cress after...
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Social Studies: Cooking Methods - Past and Present
Fourth graders identify geographic regions (Texas' Edwards Plateau) and sequence steps in the hot rock cooking process. They compare and contrast prehistoric and contemporary cooking methods. Students conduct online research and record...
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Using Venn Diagrams to Compare Two Ecosystems
Young scholars explore the distribution of two ecosystems on a global scale; and map the distribution of tropical and temperate rain forests throughout the world. They use a Venn Diagram to describe these ecosystems and the differences...
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Earth Science
Students explore the planets and celestial bodies in our solar system. In this outer space lesson, students identify the planets and record journal information about them and other celestial bodies. Students define outer space words.
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Mission Planning: Earth/Mars Comparisons
Students compare and contrast conditions on Mars to those on our own planet, specifically, their local or regional environments. The physical characteristics, the atmosphere, and other astronomical data is considered.
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Earth's Surfaces
Students identify and define geology and earth surface vocaulary and their meanings to classify rocks and explore caves and their properties. Students find rocks and test them according to Moh's scale. They create a color coded earth...
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Powering a Green Earth
Students compare and contrast renewable and nonrenewable energy. In this environmental science lesson plan, students discuss the importance of going green. They identify the different components in a power grid system.
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Reading the Shapes of Volcanoes on Earth and Mars
Students compare and contrast the volcanoes of Earth and Mars, and examine specific volcanoes on Mars. They model the processes that create cone and shield volcanoes, and measure the slope angles of cone and shield volcanoes.
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Compare & Locate via the Internet
Seventh graders compare the location of their home city/town with a town in another country (non U.S.) that they have selected and researched utilizing the Internet. They create a binder of their reports for future research.
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Basin & Range Faulting
Students identify that the crust of the earth is constantly moving and that with the exception of faults accompanied by earthquakes, this rate of movement is far too slow to notice. Then they print a copy of cross-section map A and...
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Cold As Ice
Fourth graders investigate how glaciers cause the weathering of landforms. They observe a brick that has been placed on a frozen slab of ice, and discuss the results, comparing them to the movements of a glacier. In small groups, they...
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What is Soil?
Learners examine soil. For this earth science lesson, students define and describe weathering and erosion as it relates to soil. Learners compare and contrast potting soil with forest soil and complete a science observation worksheet.
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Forest Loss Slows as Asian Nations Plant
Learners survey the loss of forests around the world. In this environmental lesson plan, students read an article that outlines how forests are being lost and government interaction which encourages forests to be rebuilt. ...
California Academy of Science
California's Climate
The United States is a large country with many different climates. Graph and analyze temperature and rainfall data for Sacramento and Washington DC as you teach your class about the characteristics of Mediterranean climates. Discuss the...
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Bugs, Bugs, Everywhere!
Students collect and compare bugs using magnifying lenses and graph data based on their comparisons. In this bugs lesson plan, students also make an aspirator by using a jar, tubing, and screen.
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The Coriolis Effect
Students will determine the direction of Earth's rotation as viewed from the north and south if they were suspended out in space. They will model how the rotation of the Earth causes currents to be deflected in different directions for...