Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Geological Puzzle

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students compare and contrast the various types of rocks on each continent. In groups, the calculate the rock ages and types to determine if the continents, in their opinion, were joined at one time. They develop two imaginary...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Effects Of Earthquakes

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the concept of how earthquakes occur and the after effects of how they effect landforms. They conduct research it using a variety of resources and measure the varying intensities of how earthquakes effect the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is a Watershed?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the concept of water pollution. In this environmental stewardship lesson plan, students discover what watersheds are and consider how to protect them.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Open Ocean, What is it and How Does it Change?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students investigate the ocean environment. In this ocean lesson, students discover the physical properties of the ocean. Over two days, students work in small groups investigating ocean maps and creating water currents.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Your Spot Hot?

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore global warming. In this Earth Science lesson plan, 8th graders will look for Harbingers and fingerprints for different areas. The students will identify an area at risk and they will then create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hi, Deer!

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students collect, organize by table, and examine census data in a simulation, estimate the size of the population in the simulation and make predictions based on the collection of census simulation data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blackout!

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students read news reports and first-person accounts of a blackout in a large city and keep weblogs or journals. They take on different roles of people who live in the city or commute there to work and then use their journal accounts to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

El Nino

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students recognize that El Nino is caused by changes in the atmospheric and ocean content. They conduct a simple experiment, visit websites and create a class poster using individual storyboards.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How would an oil spill affect a Marine Sanctuary?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the concept of environmental stewardship. For this science lesson, students discover how scientists assess damages to the environment following oil spills. Students conduct a simulation of a public meeting in order to...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

The Díne (Navajo) Native American Tribe

For Teachers K
Students participate in a variety of activities to become familiar with the Navajo Indians. In this Díne (Navajo) Native American tribe lesson, students understand where the Navajo tribe lived and find them on a map. Students discuss the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

GPS Treasure Hunt for Knowledge

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine themselves as being part of a global community. In this global community activity, students investigate GPS systems. Middle schoolers gain knowledge on how the device works. Students discover that satellites...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Factors Affecting Ocean Currents

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars design and conduct an experiment to determine the effect of salinity and temperature changes in the movement of ocean currents. In this earth science lesson, students record observations and collect data. They share their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is There Liquid Water on Mars?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students assess whether there is liquid water on Mars by analyzing images and data.  In this planetary lesson students analyze temperature and pressure graphs and hypothesize about how water could have flowed on Mars.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecology of The Sonoran Desert Soil Crusts: Biology, Geology

For Teachers 6th - 11th
This lesson is designed after research done on the ecology of soil lichen in the Tucson Basin area during the summers of 1997 and 1998. Its purpose is to guide learners into adopting the problem solving thinking of ecologists. The lesson...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rollin' on The River - the Hudson River!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine how the Hudson River was important to the development of the United States. They examine the role of steamboats played in the development of the Hudson River Valley.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

One Path

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discover that charge movement through a circuit depends on the resistance and arrangement of the circuit components. In a hands-on activity, students build and investigate the characteristics of series circuits. In another...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Texas is Planning To Manage Its Water

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research water management strategies in Texas. They analyze projected demand for water in the year 2050, interpret graphs and tables and then discuss the data as part of a written report. They research and map the locations of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Endangered Relationships

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students study the interrelationship between the horseshoe crab and red knot. In this ecology lesson plan, students explain why several species became extinct. They research about endangered species found in their region.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Island Biogeography and Evolution: Solving a Phylogenetic Puzzle With Molecular Genetics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students engage in solving a logic problem based on real organisms and real data. They develop phylogenies for seven related populations of lizards living on the Canary Islands.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How the Environment Affects Our Health

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore how the environment affects health. In this infectious disease instructional activity, 9th graders investigate what environmental situations cause infections diseases. Students study the symptoms, treatments,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beaver, or not?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars study the role of the beaver in Illinois during the 1800's and how overtrapping cause the near extinction of the beaver colonies in Illinois by 1900. Students role play various people in 1945 who have an opinion about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Floor Model

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students construct a simulated model of the ocean floor in a shoe box. They determine that the floor of the ocean is composed of hills, plains, ridges, trenches, and sea mounts. They draw out a plan for their ocean floor which includes...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Aerial Photographs

For Students 9th - 12th
In this geography worksheet, students read an excerpt about aerial photographs and how they are taken. Then they identify shape, size, tone, shadows, and other hints that might be seen. Finally, students respond to 5 short answer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Career & Technology Education Introduction to Farming: Seeds of Successful Marketing

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners play an agronomy game. In this agriculture lesson plan, students explore modern farming practices pertaining to the cultivation of grains as they play a game that requires them to act as agronomy specialist as they...