Curated OER
Electromagnetic Energy and Its Spectrum
Your older elementary students investigate electromagnetic energy and the electromagnetic spectrum. They will observe 7 items represented in the electromagnetic spectrum and make a poster of all the things the items have in common. After...
PBS
Climate Change as a Scientific Theory
Get your class thinking about climate change as a scientific theory. Guided by a handout, emerging earth scientists read articles and take notes about glaciers and sea ice. To conclude, they write an evaluation of the evidence for...
NOAA
To Explore Strange New Worlds
It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory lesson in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The lesson includes a comparison of...
Virginia Department of Education
Heat and Thermal Energy Transfer
How does radiation affect our daily lives? Answer that question and others with a lesson that discusses radiation and its use in thermal energy transfer through electromagnetic waves. Pupils investigate vaporization and...
Space Awareness
The Sun Compass of the Vikings
Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...
Curated OER
Pollution
Young ecologists investigate some of the many ways that human activities adversely affect the environment. After identifying the main types of pollution (air, water, soil), 3rd graders fill in a Venn Diagram by pasting cut-out pictures...
NASA
The Invisible Sun: How Hot Is It?
It's getting hot in here! The first in a series of six lessons has learners model nuclear fusion with a simple lab investigation. Groups collect data and analyze results, comparing their models to the actual process along the way.
Space Awareness
Britannia Rule the Waves
Could you determine longitude based on measuring time? Early explorers used a longitude clock to do just that. Scholars learn about early exploration and the importance of the invention of the clock. Then pupils build their own longitude...
Virginia Department of Education
Mineral Identification
What's the difference between a rock and a mineral? And what properties are used to identify minerals? The first installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes prompts young scientists to identify a set of...
Virginia Department of Education
Three Types of Rocks
Rock out with the second installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes. Your budding geologists make observations of given rock samples and posit classification systems for rocks. They then learn about the...
Curated OER
Global Climate Change
Second graders investigate the effect of melting glaciers to sea level. In this earth science lesson, 2nd graders simulate the process in the lab by conducting an experiment using ice cubes and clay. They explain the consequences of...
Curated OER
Pick Up a Litter Bit-Earth Day
Students investigate the effects of litter on the environment. In this environmental lesson, students read the statistics on pollution and identify the effects it has on the Earth. Students develop a plan to clean up their local community.
Curated OER
Sun and Earth
Students explore the sun, its structure, how big it is and how far away it is. In this solar system instructional activity students complete a lab activity on dew point and weather.
Curated OER
Is Your Spot Hot?
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...
Curated OER
Ocean Observations
Students examine a coastal ocean. In this physical science/earth science lesson, students generate a list of questions about how researchers study the ocean. In addition, students investigate, through research on the computer, to answer...
Curated OER
Finding Magnetic Fields of Earth
Fifth graders, in groups, create paper bag "globes", complete with magnetic poles. They use compasses to determine and label various locations (N. and S. Poles, Prime Meridian, Equator, etc.) and finish it by drawing in the continents...
Curated OER
Weather: Like It or Not!
Second graders investigate daily weather changes. In this earth science lesson, 2nd graders identify the different terms used to describe weather. They use the outdoor thermometer to record data.
Curated OER
Floods
Young scholars explore Earth science by answering study questions on-line. In this natural disasters lesson, students research Australia flood statistics over the past 40 years and identify patterns. Young scholars utilize the web to...
Curated OER
Currently Warm
Seventh graders investigate how ocean currents affect climate. In this earth science lesson plan, 7th graders draw and label the current in their assigned ocean. They discuss how currents from the poles differ from the equator.
Curated OER
Introducing The Gulf Stream
Sixth graders research the average temperatures of different places on Earth. In this earth science lesson plan, 6th graders explain how the sun's heat cause ocean movement. They discuss how temperature change affects the weather we...
Curated OER
Water
Learners complete activities to examine the properties of water. In this water science lesson, 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 need...
Curated OER
Using Newsprint as a UV Detector
Students investigate the effects of UV radiation. In this earth science lesson plan, students explain how the time of day relate to UV abundance on Earth. They determine if weather affects the amount of UV that Earth receives.
Curated OER
Glacier Presentations
Young scholars research news articles relating to global climate change. In this earth science instructional activity, students create a news broadcast using the information they gathered. They present this in class and each student...
Curated OER
Water Happenings
Fifth graders observe how water changes phase through a teacher-led demo. In this earth science lesson, 5th graders relate the demo to the water cycle. They draw and label each stage of the cycle.