NOAA
Into the Deep
Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, students...
Science Matters
Energy and Winds
In the study of wind energy, scholars build a small windmill and observe how it transfers wind into mechanical energy. Learners will make connections to the previous lesson plan with concepts such as the creation of wind...
Science Matters
Energy Transfer and Transformation
When you take a simple task and create an exceptionally difficult way to complete it, it is known as a Rube Goldberg machine. These machines are filled with many types of energy transfers and energy transformations. Here, pupils...
Science Matters
Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
Did you know there are at least 12 different energy sources? Scholars apply their knowledge about the different types of energy as they sort energy sources by renewable and nonrenewable. Then they pick one from each section to...
NOAA
A Matter of Density
Larvae transportation on the New England seamounts is based on the density of the water. Scholars calculate density and graph salinity versus temperature to better understand the distribution of organisms in a water column....
Virginia Department of Education
Heat and Thermal Energy Transfer
How does radiation affect our daily lives? Answer that question and others with a lesson that discusses radiation and its use in thermal energy transfer through electromagnetic waves. Pupils investigate vaporization and...
Carnegie Mellon University
Renewables Workshop
Youngsters examine resource maps to find out which states are using solar and wind power and discuss as a class various other renewable energy sources. They use a provided data table to record pros and cons to each technology, build and...
Cornell University
Spectral Analysis with DVDs and CDs
Build a spectrometer to analyze properties of light. Scholars examine the spectrum from CDs and DVDs from two different light sources. Using the spectrum, they work to identify different elements.
Curated OER
Energy for Earth: The Sun
Super science learners examine the sun's production of energy by the process of nuclear fusion. Hands-on activities make this lesson engaging for middle schoolers. The lesson is made up of four parts. Part I is an introduction to the sun...
Curated OER
Water in the Geosphere
Through a PowerPoint presentation and the embedded animation and video, earth science enthusiasts find out about the moisture in the soil beneath our feet. In the animation, follow a water molecule on its path through the water cycle. As...
Earth Day Network
Staying Green While Being Clean
Clean up the environment with a lesson that focuses on replacing hazardous cleaning supplies with green, environmentally-friendly products. Using a dirty patch of surface as a control area, kids clean other parts of various surfaces...
Center Science Education
Paleoclimates and Pollen
Demonstrate for your earth scientists how plant pollen of the past has become part of sedimentary deposits, providing clues about ancient climates. Then give them simulated sediment layer samples to analyze for different types of paper...
Curated OER
Water in Earth's Hydrosphere
Environmentalists test stream water for temperature, pH, and turbidity. Each group shares their information and then the class makes an overall evaluation of the water quality. A slide show sets the backdrop for the teaching portion and...
Wild BC
Carbon Sinks and Sources
Earth or environmental science pupils are assigned to be carbon sources or sinks. They ask yes-or-no questions to try to figure out which one they are. Then they discuss ways people can have positive effects on the changing climate by...
Curated OER
A Closer look at Oil and Energy Consumption
Upper graders analyze basic concepts about the consumption, importation and exportation of the worlds oil production. They create several graphs to organize the data and draw conclusions about the overall use of oil in the world.
PHET
Science and Engineering Conference
Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth lesson in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the same...
NASA
Determining the Nature, Size, and Age of the Universe
Prompt scholars to discover the expansion of the universe themselves. Using photographs of other galaxies, they measure and then graph the size and distance of each. Finally, they draw conclusions and prove the universe is...
American Chemical Society
Evaporation
This is one in several lessons that explore the relationship between temperature and phase changes of water. After some discussion, elementary physical scientists place wet paper toweling on a hot and a room-temperature water bag...
Curated OER
Ecosystems and Remote Sensing
Learners obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.
Curated OER
Great Rivers 2: The Ups and Downs of River Flooding
Second in a three-part lesson on rivers, this lesson focuses on the flooding that occurs in riparian locations. First, learners take a look at facts about the Amazon River. They read online materials and fill in a worksheet as they...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Jupiter’s Relative Size
How do you properly illustrate the extreme size difference between two planets—Earth and Jupiter? With the help of jellybeans, of course! Create a scale model of Jupiter's mass compared to Earth using a fishbowl, 1,400 beans, and a...
PHET
Learning about Space Weather
Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an...
Curated OER
Hubris Lesson Plan
Bring this lesson on hubris to your short story unit. After reading Jack London's "To Build a Fire," young readers discuss the role of hubris in the protagonist's death. The lesson has connections to other short stories, such as "The...
NOAA
Plate Tectonics II
Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, island arcs, mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanoes ... there are so many features associated with plate tectonics. The 14th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography...