Curated OER
As the World Turns: The Coriolis Effect: Global Wind Patterns, Earth's Rotation
Students use pencil and paper to explore the Coriolis effect and how the Earth's rotation causes global wind patterns.
California Academy of Science
Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
Ice is nice, and its condition on the planet has a significant effect. Junior geoscientists experiment with ice melting in both water and on land to discover how each affect the rising sea level. This detailed lesson outline even...
Curated OER
Global Winds
Students extend their understanding of convection to consider global winds and the effect of the earth's rotation on the creation of patterns of prevailing wind direction.
Curated OER
Environment: Wild Wind Direction
Students examine the different types of wind patterns. Using common materials, they construct weather vanes to measure and record wind direction over a two-week period. After analyzing the data, they draw conclusions about the...
Curated OER
Wind Circulation, Surface Currents and Climate
Students describe connections between wind patterns, surface currents, and ocean climate zones. In small groups, they color the ocean climate zones in four different shades of blue. Students then answer questions like what four...
Curated OER
Winds Go Spinning Around
High schoolers simulate the Coriolis Effect to comprehend why winds in the Westerlies are prone to cyclonic and anti-cyclonic motion. They arrive at an explanation of processes that drive world wind patterns
Curated OER
El Nino
Explore the properties of water and the affects of El Nino. Middle schoolers will learn about the devastation an El Nino can cause as well as the definition of El Nino. Additionally, they will discover the cause of El Nino along with the...
Curated OER
World Wide Winds
Learners recognize that global winds move in specific directions in specific latitudes and describe that in a written form. They relate the motion of the wind belts to historical navigation.
Curated OER
Formation of Wind
Students correctly sequence the steps leading to the formation of wind, and describe the cause and effect relationships involved in the formation of wind. This task assesses students' abilities to classify, generalize, infer, interpret...
Curated OER
Environment: How'd That Pollution Get There?
Students examine how global wind and water patterns aid in the spread of worldwide pollution. In groups, they read articles about the domino effect of pollution and create posters displaying its journey. On blank world maps, students...
NOAA
A Laboratory Simulation of Ocean Surface Currents
Stimulate interest in ocean currents with a simulation. The first installment of a five-part middle school series teaches future oceanographers about the forces that interact to cause ocean currents. A simulation shows how wind and...
NASA
Earth's Global Energy Budget
Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...
Curated OER
Going the Way the Wind Blows
Students examine the cause and effect relationship between geography and ancient civilizations. After reading an article, they determine how new findings can help scientists examine the migration patterns of these civilizations. Using...
Curated OER
Climate Patterns across the United States
Young scholars articulate differences between climate and weather using examples in a written statement. Using climate data from across the country, they describe climate patterns for various parts of the United States on a map. Students...
Curated OER
Global Climate Change
Second graders investigate the effect of melting glaciers to sea level. In this earth science lesson plan, 2nd graders simulate the process in the lab by conducting an experiment using ice cubes and clay. They explain the consequences of...
Curated OER
Ocean Impacts of an El Nino Event
Students study sea surface height and temperature and other characteristics of an El Nino. In this ocean impacts lesson students examine the factors that influence an El Nino or La Nina.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a activity that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and what they think...
Curated OER
A Comparison of Cloud Coverage over Africa
Students identify different climate regions and local weather patterns. In this cloud coverage lesson plan students use NASA satellite data and import it into Excel.
Curated OER
Japan: Farmers Face Global Competition
Students examine the history of Japanese farming and current international farming issues. They conduct Internet research, create a chart to illustrate the history of farm products in Japan, and simulate a WTO meeting.
Curated OER
Fallout!
High schoolers plot the locations of fallout from two disasters that polluted much of the world's air. They plot the ash fallout from the 1980 Mt. St. Helen's eruption to see what the wind patterns in the United States look like overall....
Curated OER
Earth's Winds, Crust, and Atmosphere
This site provides a variety of activities and worksheets about the problem-based learning activity about Earth and its atmosphere. The lessons can be used separately or together in a geology unit. The resources and charts are very...
Curated OER
Convection
Students experiment with the cyclic process of convection and apply the principal to everyday events.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
It is unknown if cloud cover increases in response to carbon dioxide levels changing, helping climate change slow down, or if cloud cover decreases, allowing Earth to warm faster. Part four in the series of five lessons has classes...
