Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth Forces

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use geological techniques such as plate tectonics, mountain building, earthquakes, and volcanoes, in order to explain the earth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mountain Building

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Teacher prepares four layers of Plasticine stacking layers on top of each other to create a model of how rocks within the earth can be folded creating anticlines and synclines below the surface and mountains and valleys on the surface.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mountains "Fold, Fault, Erupt, and Erode"

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders conduct an experiment to demonstrate the folding and rippling of rock to form a mountain. They identify mountain chains on a map, participate in the demonstrations, and define folding fault block, igneous eruptions, igneous...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

After 15 years, Air Force gets memorial over capital

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students examine the meaning of a new air force memorial.  For this reading comprehension lesson students read an article, students discuss and brainstorm abstract concepts such as sacrifice, past, present and future.  They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wheeling It In!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students use everyday materials (milk cartons, water bottles, pencils, straws, candy) to build a small-scale transportation device that incorporates the wheel and axle and the lever. They race their carts/trucks, measure distance, time...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Lesson: Tsunami Attack!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine how earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides can trigger tsunami waves. They determine how engineers use sensors to detect the dangerous wave, and how they help design building that will survive the wave force and water.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bhutan, the Last Shangri-La: Sandwich Squash: How the Himalayas Were Formed

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create and record a model of mountain formation. They identify major mountain building formations. Students understand how the Himalaya Mountains were formed, why they are located near Bhutan, and why they are becoming larger.
Unit Plan
Calvin Crest Outdoor School

Survival

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Equip young campers with important survival knowledge with a set of engaging lessons. Teammates work together to complete three outdoor activities, which include building a shelter, starting a campfire, and finding directions in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build a Rain Gauge

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students use a glass container, coat hanger, measuring spoons, and more to make their own rain gauge. In this rain gauge lesson plan students measure the rain.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Vocab-u-lous! Build a Fabulous Vocab

For Students 9th - 11th
In this vocabulary worksheet, students decipher the best word choice to complete the sentence. All words begin with the letter T.
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Watershed Works: Unit 1

For Teachers 5th - 8th
By constructing a watershed model and identifying watershed features in it, they discover how water erosion changes the landscape. As with most watershed modeling activities, this one is costly in terms of time and materials. It is,...
PPT
Curated OER

Elements of the Oral Tradition

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Various genres of oral tradition are outlined and defined in these slides. Give your class examples of folk tales, fairy tales, parables, fables, legends, and myths before reading an example of one of these stories. This overview acts as...
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. ...
Website
PBS

Latino Americans: Timeline of Important Dates

For Students 4th - 12th Standards
From 1500-2000, an interactive timeline details important events related to Latino Americans. Next, to each date are small, yet informative blurbs—some of which include videos. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wind

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners build an anemometer and measure wind speed. In this wind speed lesson, students build an anemometer using the student instruction sheet. Learners visit the Alaska windspeed website and look up the wind speed forecast. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Rocks Under Illinois

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The goal of this fine geology lesson is to have learners create a map that shows how the rock layers are arranged far underground where they can't be seen. The ambitious lesson plan requires high schoolers to learn the law of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock Cycle: The Story of a Rock

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the rock cycle by watching videos and then use creative storytelling techniques to tell the story of a rock as it undergoes geologic changes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geologic Age

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate radioactivity as a tool for measuring geologic time and how geologists use this information to determine the absolute age of rocks or minerals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CREATE A CAVE

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars investigate the concept of caves by conducting an experiment. The lesson plan contains background information for the teacher. They collect data while making observations and write a review of the concept once the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cruising the Mantle

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars explore the plate boundaries of the earth. Through the use of video, internet and hands-on activities, students examine the types of plate boundaries. They create a model to illustrate the movement and interaction of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mud Fossils

For Teachers K - 4th
Young scholars observe real fossils. In this science instructional activity, students make their own mud fossils by pressing material into the mud and letting it dry in the sun for 3-4 days. Young scholars then get the fossils...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Take a Rock Apart!

For Teachers K - 12th
Students examine a crushed rock and sort the minerals they find in that rock by color and other properties.
Activity
Worksheet Web

Learning about Volcanoes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
There's something about the classic volcano demonstration that can grab any learners' attention. Scholars begin with a reading and grand conversation about volcanoes, construct an erupting volcano using vinegar and baking soda, then...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

What is Marine Biology?

For Students 6th - 12th
A marine environment covers the majority of the earth but is arguably the least understood. Teach young scientists about the characteristics of oceans and ocean species using an interactive online lesson. The in-person or remote learning...