Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water, Water Everywhere

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students recognize that all of the water on earth cannot be used for drinking and that the percentage of ground and surface water is a small percentage.  In this water lesson students identify ways to conserve water. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics: Surface and Subsurface Processes

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the geological process of plate tectonics. In this plate tectonic lesson, 8th graders design, construct and present a working model of a plate tectonics concept. This lesson includes a rubric, worksheets, and 2...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Geography Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are told that Geography is the science that deals with the differentiation of the surface of the earth due to the influence of things like population, vegetation, geology, and land use. They explore the Geography Basics page. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Structure of the Earth

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders define atmosphere and hydrosphere, explore through experimentation how the atmosphere was formed, and describe the layers of the Earth's atmosphere and their distances.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moon Glow

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students identify the Earth-Moon relationship and the phases of the Moon. They participate in an activity that illustrates why the Moon has so many different looks within a lunar cycle. They discuss solar and lunar eclipses.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Make Your Own Trashasaurus Rex Sculpture

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students explore environmental awareness through reusing materials. In this environmental awareness lesson, students use trash to create a "trashasaurus," a large dinosaur sculpture made from waste. Detailed structure and papier-mâché...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Circle the Earth - Explore Surface Types on a Journey around Earth

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students use CERES percent coverage surface data with a world map in locating landmasses and bodies of water at Earth's Equator.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sea Surface Temperature Trends of the Gulf Stream

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars use authentic satellite data to produce plots and graphs of sea surface temperature as they explore the seasonal changes of the Gulf Stream.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Black Carbon - a Dusty Situation

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Introduce your young meteorologists to black carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels by showing the video, "Changing Planet: Black Carbon." Viewers discover that deposition of this carbon on polar ice impacts the absorption of...
Lesson Plan
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Science 4 Inquiry

Edible Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Many people think they can't observe plate tectonics, but thanks to GPS, we know that Australia moves at a rate of 2.7 inches per year, North America at 1 inches per year, and the Pacific plate at more than 3 inches per year! Scholars...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Is It Getting Hot in Here, or Is It Just Me?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Currently, only 2.1% of global warming is felt on continents, while over 93% is felt in the oceans. The fourth lesson in the series of 21 on global warming is composed of three activities that build off one another. In the first...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Make a Difference!

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
We are very dependent upon other life forms around us to survive. Here, scholars explore relationships in the ecosystem with the help of Auntie Litter and the pollution patrol. They imagine a world without grass, making connections to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Hawaiian Mountain Zones

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders watch a video that describes the climate and vegetation zones of Hawaii. They describe the different physical conditions that create vegetation zones from the sea to the mountains. In groups, they create an illustrated...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eclipse: Using a Classroom Model to Explore the Moon's Shadow

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students manipulate and observe a 3-D model which simulates the activity of the Sun, Earth and Moon during a solar eclipse.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Motion of the Sun and Earth: Using a Playground Model to Explore Rotation and Revolution

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students experience the rotation of the Earth and the Sun and the Earth's revolution around the Sun, using a playground mode.
Worksheet
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Curated OER

Exploring Plate Tectonics

For Students 6th - 10th
In this plate tectonics worksheet, students complete 8 fill in the blank questions on plate boundaries, 9 short answer questions on the Earth's crust and 5 fill in the blank on continental drift. There are 3 follow questions at the end.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students apply concepts of magnetism to help them understand the production of solar flares. For this solar flare lesson, students complete activities and graphic organizers to help them learn about magnetic fields on the surface of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Can We Locate Specific Places On Earth?

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders discover how to use longitude and latitude to locate specific sites on Earth. They compare old and new ways of locating specific places, and discover how latitude and longitude coordinates are used to locate places on Earth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Atmosphere and Temperature

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the layers of earth's atmosphere and conduct an experiment to identify carbon dioxide. They construct models using styrofoam to represent molecules in the atmosphere's layers. To discover how sunlight efffects...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Flat Earth

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students differentiate between different planes. In this geometry lesson, students differentiate between a plane and a sphere. They discuss the Great Circle, Geodesic and Lune as it relates to the earth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

As the World Turns: The Coriolis Effect: Global Wind Patterns, Earth's Rotation

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use pencil and paper to explore the Coriolis effect and how the Earth's rotation causes global wind patterns.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Erosion: Changing the Face of Earth

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore how the landscape of the planet can be changed by different elements of wind, water, ice and chemicals through hands-on activities. They examine pictures of areas around town and discuss anything they think is out...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Probes, Exploration & Application

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners explore how a surface can be described without seeing it.
Lesson Plan
University of New Orleans

Rock Cycle and Rocks Lab

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Science rocks! Explore three types of rocks and the rock cycle with an igneous rocks experiment. Pupils discuss textures, composition, and learn how melts are formed from the Earth's crust. They weigh materials using a scientific scale...