Teach Engineering
Design Inspired by Nature
Let nature guide your engineering designs. By taking apart a flower, pupils learn about reverse engineering. They use the results to brainstorm designs for new products or ideas. This is the seventh installment of a nine-part Life...
National Wildlife Federation
Why All the Wiggling on the Way Up? CO2 in the Atmosphere
The climate change debate, in the political arena, is currently a hot topic! Learners explore carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere and what this means for the future in the 11th installment of 12. Through an analysis of carbon dioxide...
Curated OER
Common Themes
Tenth graders test usefulness of a model Earth by comparing its predictions to observations in the real world. In this landforms lesson students construct an island from a contour map using model clay then analyze the landscape...
Curated OER
A Comparison of Land and Water Temperature
Students examine NASA satellite observations of surface temperature and investigate the seasonal changes of land and water temperature.
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What's The Weather?
Students explore the role that remote sensing plays in predicting our weather. Students investigate weather websites, and read about the three kinds of clouds. Students record and draw their observations in science journals.
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Why Is It Hotter At the Equator?
Students investigate the different heating effects of sunlight. They conduct an experiment that demonstrates the way sunlight strikes the equator, the poles and other parts of the globe.
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Falling
Fourth graders explore the earth's gravitational force. They discuss objects in motion and the concepts of pulls and pushes. Students investigate the idea that falling and gravity can be useful in connection with various sports...
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Diurnal Temperature Changes and Water Vapor Content
Students examine the greenhouse effect, as they determine how moisture in the air affects the diurnal temperature range. Their investigation help them to explain different climatological regimes of both the Southern Great Plains and the...
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Weather Lesson 2
Students identify the elements that make up the earth's weather. Begin by having students pretend they are hiking along a mountain ridge. It's been sunny and warm all day, but you see a dark line of clouds moving from the west.
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Wet World in Danger
Students investigate the reasons why wetlands are threatened especially by people. They study the wise use of water to preserve wetlands.
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Making Models To Understand Our Home
Students investigate the concept of a model and how it is used to represent something that is real. They recognize how the model can be applied to other types of concepts like the solar system. Students create a scale drawing of a house...
Curated OER
Greenhouse in a Bottle
Young atmospheric scientists create models of an atmosphere with and without clouds to determine the effect of cloud cover on Earth's temperatures, as well as figuring out whether dark or light surfaces absorb more energy. You may wish...
Curated OER
Newtonian Mechanics
Pupils familiarize themselves, through teacher demonstration, with Gavendish's apparatus first used for experimentally determining the value of the Universal Gravitational Constant G, and calculate theoretical value of Earth's...
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Geologic Age
Young scholars investigate radioactivity as a tool for measuring geologic time and how geologists use this information to determine the absolute age of rocks or minerals.
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Blazing Gas
Fourth graders read and discuss the sun and the energy we use on Earth from the sun. In this sun lesson plan, 4th graders discuss the solar system, planets, and answer short answer questions.
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Water and Ice
Students investigate how water goes from a solid to a liquid then back again. In this experimental lesson students conduct their own experiment and see how water changes form.
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Super Gelatin
High schoolers investigate the refraction properties of gelatin to calculate its index of refraction. They discover that as the light travels through the gelatin, its speed and wavelength also change. Students find th indes of refraction...
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Theories
Learners view a series of videos that explore the development, formation and arguments for the geocentric model of the solar system. Studenst investigate the heliocentric model of the solar system and consider how scientific theories...
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Albedo and Irradiation of Surfaces
Here is a physical science activity where pupils place thermometers inside of a white and a black paper pocket and place them under a lamp. They record and compare the temperature increase over a ten-minute period. Have your class...
Curated OER
Soil Porosity, Moisture Content, pH, and Density
This lab activity does not have to be done with AP environmental scientists. It can also be done with middle to high school earth scientists. The procedures aren't complex. Learners determine the density of dry and wet sand in order to...
Curated OER
Planetary Surface Evolution and Resurfacing
Students are provided with drawings of planet surfaces in order to investigate different types of planetary terrain. They make observations for each planet and discuss the characteristics observed. The lesson includes background...
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Galaxies
The first thing to note is that this lesson plan was written for use in a parochial school. Even if you are in a non-religious setting, however, the website exploration of galaxies and the accompanying worksheet make for an engaging...
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Mystery of the Megaplume
Read through the extensive background information and then lead your geology or physical oceanography class through an investigation of actual temperature anomaly data from the Juan de Fuca ridge. They translate the data onto a plot,...
Curated OER
Water Cycle Bracelets
Students engage in a lesson that investigates the hydrological cycle. They create bracelets with different colored beads that represent parts of the cycle. Students can follow the cycle in the order of the beads. The lesson includes...