Interactive
PBS

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

For Students 6th - 8th
Earth's surface constantly changes thanks to a variety of geological forces; in fact, Australia currently moves faster than GPS technology. Scholars connect the idea of continental drift to earthquakes and volcanoes with the help of an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Use Google Maps to Teach Math

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Capture the engagement of young mathematicians with this upper-elementary math lesson on measuring time and distance. Using Google Maps, students first measure and compare the distance and time it takes to travel between different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Circle of Life

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Here is a well-designed science instructional activity that shows learners that everything that organisms do in ecosystems, including running, breathing, burrowing, growing, requires energy. After a thorough discussion of their own...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dante's Peak Movie Review

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Middle or high school volcanologists watch the 1997 film, Dante's Peak. They make observations as they watch and then write a movie review, focusing on what was accurately represented. They also point out what facts were stretched by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Thermal Expansion and Sea Level Rise

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Placing a thermometer and a glass tube into a flask of cold water and sealing it, you can expose it to heat and very visually demonstrate thermal expansion to your earth science class. Follow it with a discussion about how the increasing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build a Model Watershed

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Collaborative earth science groups create a working model of a watershed. Once it has been developed, you come along and introduce a change in land use, impacting the quality of water throughout their watershed. Model making is an...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Calculating Iridium Fallout from an Asteroid Impact

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Should we be afraid of a large asteroid impact on Earth today? Young scientists estimate the size and composition of an asteroid similar to the one that caused the K-T mass extinction. They apply algebraic formulas to answer questions...
Unit Plan
Will Stegar Foundation

Citizen Climate

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Many of the leading scientists in the world are studying climate change, and your learners can join in the discussion with a unit from the Will Steger Foundation. High schoolers work on eight lessons that focus on different aspect...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Layered Earth

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students role play plate tectonics by creating a "plate statue" made up of students. In this earth science instructional activity, students describe how Earth's movement cause earthquakes and volcanoes. They draw and name the different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Round and Round-The Water Cycle

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students explore the water cycle. In this earth science activity, students work in small groups to read various books on the water cycle and take notes on chart paper. Students share their notes and teach a younger audience what they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Measuring the Earth

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use principles of geometry to measure the circumference of the Earth. In this applied geometry lesson, students use mathematics to determine scientific information. They make measurements, calculate the central angle, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth is Round?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders discuss how Aristotle concluded that the Earth was round. As a class, they review theories about the Earth's shape and describe how life on Earth would be different if it were flat. Individually, they make a moon book in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth, Sun, and Moon

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students participate in a demonstration and complete an online activity that illustrates the earth orbits the sun once a year, and that the moon takes approximately 28 days to orbit the earth.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

The Sun and the Earth

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders study and diagram the positions of the Earth and sun during the four seasons. They predict weather for cities in the northern and southern hemispheres.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sun and Earth

For Teachers 4th - 9th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Origins: Earth Is Born

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students develop a timeline of all the major events involved in the formation of the Earth and the emergence of humans. In groups, they focus on a specific topic by watching a PBS program and taking notes. After the video, they list...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life on Earth and Beyond, Our Search for Answers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students in a special education classroom are introduced to how the universe and solar system was formed. Using the internet, they research the characteristics of Earth that support human life. In groups, they compare and contrast...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Edible Four-Layer Earth

For Teachers 1st - 6th
This activity is designed to come after students have studied about the four main layers of the earth. They may relate the size of the sections to known objects such as the mantle to the size of a grapefruit and the outer core to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weathering and Erosion

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students perform experiments to simulate weathering and erosion. In this earth science lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation that includes weathering, erosion, and the Dust Bowl. Students conduct a series of experiments to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Your Spot Hot?

For Teachers 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

When Earth Fails: How Earth?s Physical Changes Cause Natural Disasters

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine natural disasters and some safety measures that should be followed.  In this natural disaster lesson students write a narrative, and research safety procedures.
Activity
Curated OER

The Earth Day Groceries Project

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students research Earth Day and make bags to hand out on Earth Day to help promote taking care of the environment.
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Earth's Layers

For Students 6th - 9th
In this earth's layers instructional activity, students learn about the 3 different layers of the earth: core, mantle and crust. They then use this information to answer the 16 questions in the packet. The answers are all on the last page.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Weather

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore earth science by reading articles in class. In this weather identification lesson, students analyze weather science articles on the Internet and view their own local weather patterns as well. Students define a list of...

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