Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CUPCAKE CORE SAMPLING

For Teachers K - 12th
Students explore what is beneath the surface of the earth is one of the jobs of a geologist. Rather than digging up vast tracts of land to expose an oil field, or to find coalbearing strata, core samples can be taken.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paleoclimates and Pollen

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students analyze soil for types of pollen to determine the probably climate conditions. In this earth science lesson, students make conclusions on what a climate is like based on soils samples. Students use a model soil...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders participate in an activity which introduces them to common types of precipitation. They examine "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" through a teacher read aloud and make a weather pamphlet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Volcano Factory

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the process of tectonic plates and why the Mariana Arc is active with volcanoes. They create a model of the Mariana Arc out of clay.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stressed to a Fault!

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders describe how stress builds up in the Earth's crust by the movement of tectonic plates. In groups, they relate the three types of stresses to the types of plate movements and explain how the stress causes faults to form. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

'Round and 'Round it Goes!

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students discuss and interpret background knowledge on poster copy given on the water cycle. Students complete the included activity sheets using the poster as a reference in small groups. Students identify and name where water can be...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Friendly Volcanoes

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students discuss the benefits of volcanic activity on marine life. They explain the process of tectonic plates.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Exploring Plate Tectonics

For Students 7th - 9th
In this plate tectonics worksheet, learners answer questions about plate movement, the types of boundaries, the history of Earth's crusts and plate tectonics. They use an on line source to get their answers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greenhouse in a Bottle

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students create models of the greenhouse effect using recycled 2-liter bottles. They discuss how their models compares to the real greenhouse effect the earth experiences.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cosmic Wheels

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson plan.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pet Rocks

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars complete a variety of activities related to the physical characteristics of minerals. They classify and group candy, classify rocks and complete a Pet River Rock worksheet. Students try to guess which rock goes with each...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plant an Ozone Monitoring Garden

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students create a garden.  In this ozone lesson, students discuss ozone injury, identify plants sensitive to ozone, and then plant their own ozone garden.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Impact Craters: Holes in the Ground!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars simulate crater formation through a lab activity. In this space science instructional activity, students calculate how much energy is transferred during meteorite impact. They identify different factors affecting the size...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Tallest Plants ... are Trees!

For Students 3rd - 5th
A fabulous worksheet about trees awaits your students. They read a lengthy selection on the various parts of trees, then complete 13 fill-in-the-blank and matching questions about what they have read. An excellent reading comprehension...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather History

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students study how weather is measured. In this climate lesson plan, students research how samples of the ocean floor reveal facts about the climate thousands of years ago. Students use clay samples to create layers that simulate real...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How High Does the Atmosphere Go?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students explain how relatively thin the atmosphere is, compared to the size of the planet, and determine the relative extent of the four major atmospheric layers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building a Better Sentence

For Teachers 1st
Sentence construction is both a science and an art. This bare bones lesson ties an analysis of earth's geology to sentence formation. Although referenced as a major part of the activity, there are no links to the technology or resources...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The 50 States and its Holidays

For Teachers Pre-K - Higher Ed
Though the format of this ELL lesson is confusing (the standards listed are for plate tectonics, yet the objectives are for American geography and holidays), a teacher could glean some ideas from the main idea. Here, pupils complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Oil and Gas Reservoirs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate energy by researching how oil reservoirs work. In this fossil fuels lesson plan, students conduct an experiment using a half full bottle of water, corn oil and oxygen, recording their data as the elements are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Potato Mountain": Reading/Understanding Topographic Maps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate how to read topographic maps.  In this map reading lesson students complete a topographic map activity. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Effects Of Weathering

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders simulate weathering and erosion using sand and soil. They define weathering and the ways in which surfaces become weathered. Working as a class, 3rd graders complete various activities that demonstrate physical and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Determining the Percolation Rate of Soil

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discover how water moves through different types of soils. In groups, they use the same sample from a previous activity and empty it into a milk carton in which they have layered with cheesecloth to determine the percolation...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Rain Maker

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders work in small groups with a cup each of several materials. Students layer the gravel, sand, and water into a resealable bag. They draw a picture of this bag in their water journal. Students place their sealed bags in a...