Young scientists create their very own aquifers in this science lesson on ground water. After learning about how some people get their drinking water from underground wells, young learners use sand, modeling clay, and aquarium rocks to...

School House Rock's "Preamble" launches a study of the Preamble of the US Constitution and the relevance of this 200 year-old document today.

Here's a workshop for teachers that rocks the academic world! Using earthquakes as a medium for instruction, educators learn about crosscutting engineering with science. Fun, hands-on, collaborative exercises encourage participants to...

Most species of animals include a variety of fur or hair color, but why? Scholars watch a video about a changing environment for mice. As the rocks around them change hues, different colors of mice begin to thrive. Discussion questions...

Future scientists are introduced to the chemical consequences of burning fossil fuels, learning that fossil fuel combustion leads to the formation of oxides of three nonmetals: carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, all of which end up in the...

Students practice analyzing images, maps and graphs from Internet-based educational resources. They explore the correlation between sea surface temperature and coral bleaching. Students comprehend that coral reefs are collections of tiny...

Use the Schoolhouse Rock episode, "Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla," to introduce a study of pronouns. Learners consider antecedents, cases (nominative, objective and possessive), as well as types of pronouns, and then craft sentences using...

Here is a very fun idea that introduces young learners to how geographical location affects cultural development. They are introduced to four areas where Native Americans have lived in the past by reading stories and examining images....

Some books are perfect for drawing connections between multiple subjects. The book Hill of Fire becomes the hub for three very different, yet related activity ideas. First the class hones their oral language skills by creating an...

Discover creative ways to use surface area formulas. In the assessment task, scholars apply estimation strategies to determine surface area in non-routine problems. They consider surface area of kitchen sponges, rock salt crystals, and...

Whether or not you think mice are nice, you'll love the colorful activity! Scholars examine evidence for evolution in the rock pocket mouse through video, discussion, and collaborative work. Learners watch a video regarding variation in...

Latin American culture is deeply embedded in American culture as a whole. From the Latin rock scene in San Francisco to the hip-hop world of New York, Latin American artists have influenced every genre of modern music. Learn about the...

Students explore that volcanoes produce rocks.

Learners examine sedimentary rocks to determine how they form. For this Earth science lesson plan, students will make a rock by cementing small particles together. The learners will then compare their observations of sedimentary rocks to...

Students review the steps of the rock cycle. In groups, they identify the natural forces that cause weathering and erosion. They describe how sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks might be formed in nature to end the lesson.

Students are introduced to a wide range of rock types when they examine pebbles and boulders exposed in a gravel pit. Students practice rock description and identification and categorize the rocks sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic.

Eighth graders use candy to show the effects of deformation forces on the earth's crust.  In this rock and fossil formation lesson students construct models and simulations to describe and explain natural phenomena.

Fifth graders examine photographs of the eastern and western Franklin Mountains. As a class, they discuss what is shown and the different colored rocks and the orientation of the layers. In groups, they are given clay of two different...

Students understand how mineral deposits are formed and why they are not evenly dispersed. They create and describe three different precipitates from four solutions simulating mineral ore deposit formation in sedimentary rock.

Students participate in an artificial dig investigating imitiation rock samples that contain "pollen" from ancient plants. Students determine which plants the pollen samples came from.

Students determine whether various rocks are porous or not. They conduct an experiment to determine if a brick is porous, calculate how much water the brick soaked up, and develop a conclusion.

Students develop a research presentation about rock formations and natural erosion. Using traditional and online resources, students gather and organize information about rock formations. Students use their information to create a brief...

Students examine examples of rock art and the reasons why they were made. They translate the images into a creative writing piece that be attached to their own rock art.

Students examine two images of rocks, make their own observations of individual rocks through drawing, and explain how the same observation skills can be used in the study of geology.