Curated OER
Natural Vegetation
In this earth science worksheet, students identify and locate various vocabulary terms related to natural vegetation. There are 21 earth science terms located in the word search.
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Earth's Atmosphere
In this atmosphere worksheet, students will fill in information about each of the earth's atmospheric layers, including the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere.
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Do Some Research: Science 1
In this science research activity, learners read the sentence and use a library or the Internet to find the answer and write it on the blue line. Students must then write a report about this topic: what is the layer of air that surrounds...
Science Matters
Earthquake Waves: Wave Notes
A multi-part lesson opens with a review of p waves and s waves. Then scholars use a simple s wave simulator to view the way the wave travels. Next, pupils use cups and various fluids to simulate p waves moving through different...
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Ozone Tag
Seventh graders explain the role of stratospheric ozone and predict at least three ways in which depleted ozone would change her/his lifestyle. They then describe the process by which chlorine or bromine compounds can break down ozone...
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Geologic Age
Students investigate rocks. In this geologic age lesson, students conduct an experiment to determine absolute age as one would for rock layers. Students graph data and problem solve using results.
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Convection in a Pan
Students explore convection. In this lesson on heat and energy, students investigate how heat moves in convection currents. They use their finding to better understand how convection currents effect the movement of tectonic plates.
Project SMART
Rocks and Minerals: Touch the Earth
Learners complete a unit of lessons on rocks and minerals. They conduct research, write e-mail questions to geologists, write daily journal entries, label maps demonstrating types of rocks/minerals found, and create a web page that...
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Mollusks
In this mollusks worksheet, students use an illustration of a snail to complete 4 short answer questions about the structure and function of the parts of gastropods.
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Candy Quakes
Eighth graders use candy to show the effects of deformation forces on the earth's crust. In this rock and fossil formation activity students construct models and simulations to describe and explain natural phenomena.
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Interior of the Earth
Sixth graders identify and describe the composition and physical properties of the layers of the Earth. They also explain how scientists used the scientific process to know about the center of the Earth. Finally, 6th graders read a...
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Oil Trap Model
Students investigate oil accumulation by creating a model in their classroom. In this petroleum geology lesson, students discuss where oil comes from and why it is vital to our society at this particular time. Students cut out a 3-D...
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Geology/Earth Structure
Third graders examine the rock-soil cycle. They identify the steps and describe what happens. They also discover the three layers of soil.
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Musical Plates
Sixth graders engage in a study of the plates and how they are part of the formation of the ever changing landscape of planet earth. They access web sites that have applications for observation and conducting different activities. The...
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Solid Earth Socratic Questions
Young scholars participate in a whole class discussion to relate what they know about earthquakes to the processes of plate tectonics. They respond to prompts that lead them to conclusions about the layers of the earth.
Teach Engineering
Skin and the Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation
Though UV radiation can damage skin, it isn't all bad. The third installment in a six-part series allows the class to study the structure and function of skin. They learn about the different types of skin cancer and the SPF rating...
American Museum of Natural History
Journey to the Stars
Fifteen detailed pictures and informative captions delve deep into the exploration of stars—their life cycle and importance in the universe.
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Weather
Students explore the earth's atmosphere, weather, and climate. They begin class with a discussion about weather patterns, atmosphere, and the layers of the earth. After the class discussion, students rotate through four stations to...
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Mud Fossils
Students observe real fossils. In this science lesson, students make their own mud fossils by pressing material into the mud and letting it dry in the sun for 3-4 days. Students then get the fossils out displaying their mud...
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Deep Thoughts
Students examine what lies within the Earth. They research and create scale models illustrating the layers of the Earth and write skits advocating a travel plan to send a probe into the Earth's mantle.
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How Pollution Disrupts Our Natural Environment
Students conduct experiments to illustrate global warming. For this air pollution lesson, students first examine how a layer of greenhouse gasses might impact the earth's atmospheric temperature, then evaluate how the layer of gasses...
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The Tropopause
For this tropopause worksheet, students read about the temperature of the air in the tropopause or the layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth. They answer four critical thinking questions about this layer and the energy changes...
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Plate Tectonics Vocabulary
For this plate tectonics worksheet, students match 9 terms with their definitions. Topics include the types of boundaries, the layers of the Earth's crust, plate tectonics and continental drift.
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SCRUMPTIOUS SOIL
Young scholars engage in investigations that lead to the discovery that earth materials consist of rocks, soils, water, and air. They build models of soil profiles, using breakfast cereal and other edible materials. They observe how...