Scholastic
Lesson Four: The Earth, Layers of Earth
Get your hands dirty with a set of earth science activities! Class members delve into a hard-boiled egg to find the similarities to the earth's layers, create a papier-mâché model of the earth, craft a simulation of the earth's...
Scholastic
Lesson Two: The Earth, Introductory Activities
Determine what young pupils already know about earth science with a brainstorming activity. After class members work together to complete a KWL chart about the Earth, they craft an acrostic poem to demonstrate their understanding.
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...
National Wildlife Federation
Wherefore Art Thou, Albedo?
In the sixth lesson in a series of 21, scholars use NASA data to graph and interpret albedo seasonally and over the course of multiple years. This allows learners to compare albedo trends to changes in sea ice with connections to the...
Curated OER
Floods and Flash Floods
Junior geologists, hydrologists, or meteorologists simulate what happens during the flooding of a river and demonstrate factors that contribute to flash flooding. This outstanding resource provides a vocabulary list, online resources,...
Earth Day Network
Conserving Water Through Art!
Having fresh, clean drinking water is a privilege many people take for granted. Help raise awareness about the scarcity of water and the importance of conservation by discussing different ways water is used in everyday life. Brainstorm...
Curated OER
Sun and Shadows
Why do shadows look different in the summer than in the winter? What causes day and night? How can a sundial be used to tell time? Answer these questions and more through two engaging lessons about light and shadows. Fourth and fifth...
EduGAINs
Go Eco! Ecosystems
How is a movie theater like a desert biome? Compare systems to ecosystems with a set of activities that focuses on accessing multiple intelligences and building upon knowledge. As learners discuss the ways elements of an ecosystem depend...
Baylor College
Measuring and Protecting Skin
Several subjects are addressed within the context of a science instructional activity about the sun's ultraviolet rays. Elementary earth scientists consider protection of the skin with sunscreens (health), estimating and measuring...
Curated OER
Space and Science Fiction
Use the Franklin Institute's exhibition "An Inquirer's Guide to the Universe" to have students research ideas for a science fiction story. After completing their research, writers will compose science fiction stories that incorporate...
Curated OER
Earth's Heavenly Treasures: Hummingbirds
Young ornithologists watch an informative video and use the Internet to gather data about the life, size, habitat, and migration of hummingbirds. The interdisciplinary lesson includes activities that target art, science, math, and...
Curated OER
Earth Day: A Look into the World Around Us...
Eighth graders listen to an interactive lecture about Earth Day and related environmental problems and background. They observe a paper mache volcano made of recyclable material and using guidelines make their own art piece as well as...
Curated OER
Sun and Weather
How is the Earth's weather created? Middle schoolers will explain how the Sun's energy is transformed into different forms. They will perform mathematical calculations of volume, mass, and temperature. They they will explain the...
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Three: What's the Status of Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is essential for every habitat, but many species are at risk due to pollution and other factors. Explore several different species native to Illinois in a gallery walk with posters that learners have created after research...
NSW Department Mineral Resources
Aboriginal Use of Raw Materials
What's the difference between base metals and precious metals? Experimenting with natural metals is an interesting way for kids to learn about the world around them. Use a resource that contains over 30 pages of worksheets and...
University of Waikato
Māui and the Sun
Using a Maori legend, How Maui Tamed the Sun, youngsters are introduced to the importance of sunlight to civilization. Teach them about nuclear fusion that occurs to produce the solar energy we later receive on Earth as...
Curated OER
Save the Earth Day
First graders tellacollaborate with other students around the world sharing their ideas about what earth day means to them. They share ways in which they recycle, reduce and reuse.
Earth Day Network
Staying Green While Being Clean
Clean up the environment with a lesson that focuses on replacing hazardous cleaning supplies with green, environmentally-friendly products. Using a dirty patch of surface as a control area, kids clean other parts of various surfaces...
National Geographic
Expedition Clothing Then and Now
Introduce your class to the Everest expedition to reenact a 1924 climb by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. Discuss and show pictures of the types of clothing worn at that time and compare it to today's state-of-the-art climbing gear....
Curated OER
Ecosystems and Remote Sensing
Students obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...
Curated OER
Great Rivers 2: The Ups and Downs of River Flooding
Second in a three-part lesson on rivers, this lesson focuses on the flooding that occurs in riparian locations. First, learners take a look at facts about the Amazon River. They read online materials and fill in a worksheet as they...
Curated OER
The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change
Young scholars analyze the impact of climate variability and change utilizing a broad span of topics over a wide range of grade levels. This three lesson unit is easily adapted for the various instructional levels listed.
Curated OER
Day and Night
Good Night, Moon is a classic little ones absolutely love. It's a sweet book that can be used, as in this lesson, to start a conversation about the difference between night and day. After reading the story, the class brainstorms...