Curated OER
Plate Tectonics: Fourth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
The pre-lab portion of the lesson introduces emerging geologists to the various layers that make up Earth. After completing a sheet on the identification of the layers, class members simulate plate boundaries and their...
Curated OER
Volcanoes: Fifth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
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 books on volcanoes in...
Curated OER
The Marvels of Mud
Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine the role that...
Space Awareness
Know Your Planets
Does your class know their planets? Implement an activity that has them describing the solar system, identifying properties of the planets, and placing them in order from their distance from the sun.
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,...
National Science Teacher Association
Middle School Sampler: Science
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis and...
NOAA
An Ocean of Energy
Young biologists trace the path of the sun's energy through marine ecosystems in the second part of this four-lesson series. Building on prior knowledge about producers, consumers, and decomposers students are introduced to the concept...
American Museum of Natural History
Volcanoes Magma Rising
Get ready for an explosive lesson! Learners read and interact with an online lesson describing the characteristics of volcanoes. They study specific historical volcanoes as well as the science of volcanic eruptions using animations and...
Curated OER
Reflections on Earth: Exploring Planet Earth from Space
Students examine satellite images of Earth and contrast images at different scales. In this exploring Earth from space lesson plan, students use satellite images to contrast images at different scales, calculate distances from the scale...
Curated OER
What on Earth is a Biome?
Young scholars explore organisms and their environments. They examine change over time
demonstrate an understanding of physical positions on Earth. They survey earth's diversity, write a report, fill in a data table created on the...
Curated OER
Earth Forces
Learners use geological techniques such as plate tectonics, mountain building, earthquakes, and volcanoes, in order to explain the earth.
Curated OER
Earth's Biomes
Tenth graders examine characteristics and animals of terrestrial biomes. In this Earth's biomes lesson, 10th graders view a PowerPoint, take noes, sort pictures, research biomes, and create a diorama of a biome for presentation.
Curated OER
Minerals of the Earth
Students learn and practice identifying Earth's minerals and their properties. Working in small groups, they evaluate minerals. This is a well-described lesson plan, which students enjoy.
Curated OER
Earth Structure and Materials
Students explain what is meant by term nuclear radiation, describe in detail electromagnetic spectrum, differentiate between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, understand half-life of isotopes, differentiate between processes of...
Curated OER
Earth's Ecology
Students investigate the three states of water. In this physical science instructional activity, students watch the video "Earth's Ecology" and observe water in its' three states. Students record observations.
Curated OER
the biggest Plates on Earth
Students understand the movement of tectonic plates. For this tectonic plates lesson, students access prior knowledge of convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries. Students discuss energy transfer involved in plate motion. ...
Curated OER
Space Age Technology Comes to Earth
Learners explore eight career and technical areas and make connections with business, family and consumers, and technology. They examine and describe how agriculture and natural resources impact our quality of life. They explore and...
Curated OER
Energy for Earth: The Sun
Super science learners examine the sun's production of energy by the process of nuclear fusion. Hands-on activities make this lesson engaging for middle schoolers. The lesson is made up of four parts. Part I is an introduction to the sun...
Curated OER
The Earth's Surface
Young scholars 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. Young scholars use a Landscape Picture Map to...
Curated OER
Day and Night
Fifth graders investigate the Earth's rotation and revolution and the moon's orbit around the Earth. They participate in a class discussion about how night and day occur, and take notes. Next, they watch a video about the solar system...
Curated OER
The Dynamic Earth
Young scholars use the Internet to investigate earthquakes and plate tectonics. In this plate tectonics instructional activity, students complete a web quest with multiple links and activity types relating to earthquakes and volcanoes....
Curated OER
Description of Materials for Parts of a Fossil Lesson Plan
Students study fossils. In this fossils lesson, students discuss and study real fossils. Students color in pictures of fossils and their sections. Students then identify fossil picture parts and names. Students write definitions for...
Curated OER
Spaceship Earth
Students consider the earth and its problems as a system. They examine the fragility of that system when population, pollution, 1st world verse 3rd world, terrorism, etc., are considered as interactive parts of a spaceship earth.
PBS
Breaking it Down
After challenging themselves to correctly choose the form of erosion and length of time required for a given landform to develop, earth science class members model mechanical and chemical weathering with various lab demonstrations over...