Curated OER
Erosion
Fifth graders engage in some activities that will help them to identify erosion and explain the causes of erosion. They also look into ways that humans can slow the process of erosion in some cases. After a teacher-led demonstration,...
Curated OER
The Shape of Things
Fourth graders develop their writing skills. In this paragraph structure instructional activity, 4th graders research natural disasters, compile their findings, create mobiles and write stories based on the mobiles.
Curated OER
Severe Weather
Fifth graders identify the causes and effects of several different kinds of
severe weather phenomenon. They read an excerpt from John Muir's book The Mountains of California and research one of the following severe
weather phenomena...
Curated OER
Myths and Legends on Natural Disasters: Making Sense of Our World
Students explore different natural and manmade disasters through a webquest. In this earth science lesson, students explain their causes. They also discuss how disasters affect society.
Curated OER
Changes in Nature
The goal of this science lesson is to have youngsters be able to identify the physical and chemical changes in the carbon cycle, and water cycle due to weathering. The in-class inquiry/experiment is quite interesting and easy to...
Curated OER
Weather Dance
Students study weather and focus on specific dance concepts. They are introduced to different ty es of clouds and how they are formed. Next, they study wind and why it occurs.
Curated OER
Agents of Erosion
Fourth graders observe and identify the effects of geological activities and weathering on Earth's surface. They also take a look at reports of events such as storms, earthquakes, floods, and volcanoes. There is a hefty hands-on activity...
Mr. E. Science
Erosion and Deposition
Get an in-depth look into erosion and deposition with a 23-slide presentation that details how gravity, water, waves, wind, and glaciers cause changes to the Earth's surface. Each slide consists of detailed images equipped with labels,...
Curated OER
Natural Selection
Kids act as scientists and preditors in this short natural selection activity; they collect and analyze data, then apply their new knowledge to real-world examples of natural selection. The layout of the worksheet is easy enough to use...
Illustrative Mathematics
How Many Leaves on a Tree?
This is great go-to activity for those spring or fall days when the weather beckons your geometry class outside. Learners start with a small tree, devising strategies to accurately estimate the leaf count. They must then tackle the...
Curated OER
Properties of Fresh and Sea Water
Middle schoolers work with three stations to demonstrate the properties of water. They explore water's boiling point, freezing point, and its ability to store heat.
Rainforest Alliance
Forests of Guatemala
With 90 percent of its land area covered in forests, Suriname, a country in South America, contains the largest percentage of forests throughout the world. Here is an activity that brings classmates together to learn about the...
Curated OER
Hurricanes 1: The Science Of Hurricanes
Students are introduced to the science of hurricanes in an effort to highlight how forces change the speed and direction of motion. They list facts about hurricanes; including insights about the formation, movement, and impact hurricanes...
Curated OER
Weather Watch
Students research severe weather conditions that occur in their region of the country and develop guidelines to deal with natural disaster-related emergencies.
Core Knowledge Foundation
A Time for All Seasons - Spring
Celebrate the arrival of spring with this fun primary grade science unit. Engaging young scientists with a variety of hands-on activities and inquiry-based investigations, these lessons are a great way to teach children about...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Accessing Prior Knowledge: Global Climate Change Survey
Begin a unit on weather and climate change by assessing prior knowledge of the topic. Learners respond to a survey with questions that ask what they think causes climate change, the effects of climate change, and if it is important...
Colorado State University
Why Does it Get Colder on a Clear Night than a Cloudy Night?
Clouds are nature's insulator! A lab investigation asks learners to use an infrared thermometer to measure differences in infrared temperatures. They find that pointing the thermometer at a cloud has a much different result than pointing...
NASA
Water Works on a Blue Planet
Keep within a water budget. Learners find out that less than 2.5% of Earth's water is available to drink—and that there is a fixed amount of water. Scholars read an interesting article comparing the available water to a game of Monopoly...
American Museum of Natural History
Tornadoes Spinning Thunderstorms
Tornado winds can reach more than 200 miles per hour. Learners explore wind speeds and more characteristics of tornadoes with an online lesson. They learn how tornadoes form and how scientists attempt to predict them. Can be used as an...
Curated OER
Floods and Flash Floods
Junior geologists, hydrologists, or meteorologists simulate what happens during the flooding of a river and demonstrate factors that contribute to flash flooding. This outstanding resource provides a vocabulary list, online resources,...
PHET
Measuring the Interplanetary Magnetic Field
Scientists need to figure out how to measure interplanetary magnetic fields, but the magnetic field of the spacecraft is interfering with their readings. Scholars attempt to solve the problem that has perplexed NASA scientists for years.
Center Science Education
Feeling the Heat
What is an urban heat island? Middle school meteorologists find out by comparing temperatures at different locations on campus. They relate their findings to what might be happening in a concrete jungle and how it impacts local weather....
Curated OER
Weathering Rocks
Fourth graders investigate what natural events cause rocks to break apart and differentiate between erosion and weathering. They conduct an experiment with plaster of paris to observe why some rocks are hard and others break, and...
Curated OER
Global Weather and the Greenhouse Effect
Students discuss how local weather patterns effect or relate to global weather and environmental changes, explore connected nature of our planet, and examine global weather patterns, their changes, and their possible connection to global...