Space Awareness
Oceans as a Heat Reservoir
Oceans absorb half of the carbon dioxide and 80 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Scholars learn how and why the oceans store heat more effectively than land and how they help mitigate global warming. Pupils...
NOAA
Ocean Primary Production
A cold seep is an area on the ocean floor where hydrocarbons leak from the earth, creating entire unique biomes. Learners explore cold seeps, photosynthesis in the ocean, and its limitations due to loss of sunlight. They further explore...
Science Friday
Make a Model Eardrum to Detect Sound Waves
Make sound waves visible with an experiment that asks middle schoolers to build a model ear drum using plastic bottles, rubber bands, plastic wrap, and sand-like substances.
NOAA
Journey to the Unknown
What's it like to be a deep-sea explorer? Tap into the imaginations of your fifth and sixth graders with a vivid lesson, the second part of a six-part adventure. Learners close their eyes and submerge themselves in an expedition aboard...
NOAA
Make Your Own Volcano!
Make a volcano erupt in your own classroom! Young scientists use household and craft materials to model and simulate the eruption of a volcano.
Curated OER
How Much Water Will The Desert Hold?
Students examine the characteristics of the desert environment. They experiment with a container which they fill with sand and measure the amount of water that can be absorbed in the container. They compare this with the conditions in...
Curated OER
The Physical Environment
Fourth graders use damp sand, a baking pan, and water to simulate erosion. In this erosion lesson plan, 4th graders participate in a simulation to show what moving water does to land.
Curated OER
Sand Painting
Students design and create Navajo Sand Paintings using sand, powdered tempera paints, and basic art supplies in this Art lesson for elementary classrooms. The history behind sand paintings can be included with this lesson for a complete...
Curated OER
Water Paintings
Students use water to paint pictures outdoors. In this water painting activity, students paint pavement and observe how water evaporates. They compare painting in sunny versus shady locations. They also use sponges to observe the...
Curated OER
The Ocean Floor and Shore Zones
Make textbook reading more engaging using this reading activities worksheet, through which scholars review major features found on the ocean floor and the processes that formed these features. They complete 11 terms in a crossword...
Curated OER
Identifying Matter by Sound and Feel
In this identifying matter by sound and feel worksheet, students participate in an experiment to identify a wide variety of different types of matter in film containers supplied by each student.
Curated OER
Be Kind to Mother Nature!
A clever worksheet on identifying things that harm the environment is here for you. Elementary schoolers read a short paragraph describing the harm that can come to the environment due to human activities. Then, they must circle five...
Curated OER
Water Filtration
Young scholars design a filtration system using three filtration materials. In this water filtration lesson plan, students conduct an experiment with their filtration systems. Young scholars present their systems to the...
Curated OER
Porosity and Permeability
Students examine the concepts of porosity and permeability. They conduct experiments to determine the porosity and permeability of gravel, sand, and clay. After performing the experiments they collect and graph data, comparing the...
Curated OER
Water Bottle Flowers
Students create recycled art. In this visual arts lesson, students follow the provided steps to create their flowers made from recycled water bottles.
Curated OER
Reflection and Absorption of Light
Students use a microcomputer connected to a light sensor and temperature probe to explore the reflection and absorption of radiation for different surfaces. Students follow instructions in this guided inquiry based lab and are then asked...
Curated OER
Outdoor Activities/Problem Solving: Home Design
Students create with sticks and stones. In this early childhood lesson plan, students use their problem-solving skills to make houses out of items they find outdoors.
Curated OER
Summer Water & Sand Activity: Mud Pies and More
In this lesson, Summer Water & Sand Activity: Mud Pies and More, students investigate mud while playing and creating with it. Students understand mud, what it is, and how it is formed. Students develop their creativeness by making...
Curated OER
Beach Zonation
Young scholars investigate the characteristics of the beach environment and explore beach zonation. After gathering samples from different areas of the beach, students discuss how the beaches work and the characteristic of each zone....
Curated OER
How Does My River Flow?
Students create a river. In this water flow lesson plan, students predict how they think their river will flow and then construct a river box. Students create a landscape for the river to flow through, let the river flow and record...
Curated OER
Biomes: Coastlines and Seas
Middle schoolers study the different types of coastlines and their territories. In this marine coasts lesson students identify life forms that are in the coastal regions.
Curated OER
Grade 1: More Land or Water?
First graders listen as the teacher reads a story involving cross-continent traveling. Students collect a random sample by tossing an inflatable globe and recording whether they touch land or water each time they catch the globe in order...
Curated OER
Cloze Activity: Gold Panning
In this gold panning cloze procedure instructional activity, students review a brief selection that is missing 12 words and then attempt to fill in each blank with a word they think the author might have used. A word bank is provided.
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Fifth graders observe and record what happens when household products are added to a tank of water to depict water pollution. They brainstorm ideas of how to clean the contaminate out of the water before watching demonstrations of...