Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mekong River

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Junior geographers explore the region through which the Mekong flows, its pathway, the landscape, how people depend on the Mekong, and future uncertainties. They apply the five themes of geography to examine the region. They create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine Sanctuaries

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students delve into diverse marine ecosystems and the problems they face. They discover students the national marine sanctuaries found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and off the coast of American Samoa.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

True North, Magnetic North

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young scholars explain why compass angles need to be corrected for regional magnetic variation. They observe the difference between magnetic and true north. Each student measures the angle of variation for a town in a different state.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Contouring We Go

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the built environment and infrastructures of their community by constructing contour equipment, using the equipment, and comparing their results to current topographical maps of the same area
Lesson Plan
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Crude Conversation

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners analyze text and maps in determining the effect the world's energy resources have on human society, and make charts illustrating at least three ways each resource makes life easier for human society.
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics Day 3 Sea Floor Spreading: Evidence for Continental Drift

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are introduced to Sea Floor Spreading and how it provides evidence for Hess's and Deitz's theory of Continental Drift. They use paleomagnetic data to calculate the rate of Sea Floor Spreading.
Worksheet
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The Birth of the Ancient Games: The Olympics

For Students 8th - 10th
This exercise includes a lengthy article on the history of the Olympics as well as a map of Ancient Greece. The last page includes 15 reading comprehension questions about the passage. A fairly thorough look at this topic - geared toward...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Prairie Climate

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders research the average temperature and precipitation of a prairie region to determine the type of climate it is, and how it differs from other biomes. They examine the types of adaptions animals have made to live in the...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 1: On the Road with Marco Polo: A Boy in 13th Century Venice

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners investigate Marco Polo's life as a young boy in 13th century Venice. They analyze maps, explore various websites, complete a chart and answer discussion questions, and create a travel brochure about visiting 13th century Venice.
Lesson Plan
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How climate enters our world

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students recognize the different climatic zones. They describe what aspects differentiate the climatic zones. Students offer explanations as to what climate is and the role that it plays on creating regions. They rationalize why the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where is Shirley the Elephant?

For Teachers K - 3rd
Young animal lovers engage in a instructional activity that's all about elephants. They access an elephant sanctuary website and read a story about Shirley the elephant. They perform a series of activities based upon that story, and also...
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

Altitude: What's in the Air?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Introuduce your scientists to the differences in air at varying altitudes with a colorful explanatory graph. After some discussion, they view unbelievable footage of mountain-climbing Leo Houlding and a narrative about how he might do...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using MY NASA DATA to Determine Volcanic Activity

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young scholars explore how aerosols are used in science to indicate volcanic activity and how biomass burning affects global aerosol activity. Students access data and import into MS Excel using graphical data to make inferences and draw...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's the Water? Stream Side Science

For Teachers 6th - 9th
After a whole-class discussion of water reservoirs, ten liters of water are given to each lab group to represent Earth's total amount of water. They divide the water into smaller containers, each representing one of those reservoirs. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Comparison of Cloud Coverage over Africa

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners identify different climate regions and local weather patterns.  In this cloud coverage lesson students use NASA satellite data and import it into Excel. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Fading Corals

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Show the six-minute video, "Changing Planet: Fading Corals," and then demonstrate how calcium carbonate forms a precipitate in the presence of carbon dioxide. Separate your scientists into small groups to gather information about coral...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Globe

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars examine the mercator projection or nautical chart and observe how global maps do not have the same distance as flat maps. They design handmade globes using the meridians and equator as guides to draw in the land. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 2: Mapping With Words

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars demonstrate an understanding of the personal relationship that Wabanaki peoples had with the land by analyzing selected Wabanaki place names. They practice map-reading and map-making skills.
Lesson Plan
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Walking that Line

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students attempt to describe and use longitude and latitude. They will identify different countries, their neighbors, and borders around the world. Included in the lesson the students identify natural features that control the borders of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

New Perspectives

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine maps that are designed to give different perspectives. They create mental maps that illustrate their own perspectives and those of people from other parts of the world.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Home: the Story of Maine "A Love for the Land": Where Are You? Who Are You?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate their neighborhood both as it is now and as it was 100 years ago. They take a walk around their neighborhood and fill out a worksheet before completing a worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

On the Road Again": Moving People, Products, and Ideas

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this lesson students learn how to identify modes of transportation and communication for moving people, products, and ideas from place to place. Students also study the advantages and disadvantages of different modes of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Terrestrial Ecozones, Population Density and Species at Risk

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders navigate and use the online Atlas of Canada. They explain the cause and effect relationship between human settlement and the natural environment and wildlife species. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan.

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