US Environmental Protection Agency
Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate
Open with a discussion on weather and climate and then explain how tree rings can provide scientists with information about the earth's past climate. Pupils analyze graphics of simulated tree rings from various US locations for the...
NOAA
Please Pass the Salt
Salinity is the focus of two experimenters that work to answer the question, How does salt change the physical properties of water? Super scientists compare the freezing rate of salt and fresh water, combine the two waters to...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Geological History of Oxygen
Earth didn't always have oxygen, so what caused the change that allows humans to live here? Learn about the change in O2 levels throughout geological history through an interactive graph. Each section offers greater detail on the changes...
NASA
Connecting Models and Critical Questions
Scholars use data to analyze and determine which sets of information need to be counted. They create a model to explain differences among chemical elements using graphs to prove concept mastery.
American Chemical Society
The Legacy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
How do we protect crops and protect the environment at the same time? Using reading materials, learners explore the history of the use of pesticides and biocides. They create a timeline and then explore the current practices.
Rainforest Alliance
Who Takes Care of the Maya Forest Corridor?
Who keeps animals safe? Who keeps us safe? Discover the helpers that make learning and growing possible through a medley of activities that focus on habitats—ours and those in the rainforest. Scholars are asked to identify one...
Polar Trec
Touring the Poles
Would you want to vacation in the Arctic or Antarctic regions? Scholars research both regions and produce a travel brochure trying to convince tourists to visit. The project focuses on the geography, climate, flora, fauna, and indigenous...
Kenan Fellows
Terrarium in a Bottle: Modeling the Atmosphere, Greenhouse Effect, and Water Cycle
You've heard of farm to table ... but what about farm in classroom? Junior agriculturalists embark upon a two-week journey into the science of growing things. Based upon the classic terrarium in a two-liter experiment, the lesson goes...
NOAA
Deep-Sea Corals
Come take a peak at the corals in the deep. Science scholars discover the hidden world of deep-sea corals in the third installment of a 13-part series. Topics include the differences between shallow water and deep-sea corals, the...
Australian Government
The Great Artesian Basin
Covering 23% of the continent and holding 64,900 cubic kilometers of water, the Great Artesian Basin is the primary source of water for much of inland Australia. Using detailed student worksheets, experiments, and case studies,...
University of Southern California
What Is The Ocean?
Go on a tour of the ocean through the lens of a scientist. Learners read maps of the ocean floor, study tide behavior, examine wave motion, and analyze components of soil. Each lesson incorporates a hands-on component.
Colorado State University
How Can Clouds Keep the Air Warmer?
Condensing water warms the air around it. Young scholars consider this concept as they experiment with air temperature around evaporating and condensing water vapor. They simulate the formation of clouds to experience the associated...
National Wildlife Federation
The Amazing Adventures of Carbon: How Carbon Cycles through the Earth
Here's a stat for your pupils: 18 percent of the human body is carbon! Part 10 in the series of 12 takes pairs on an adventure through the carbon cycle. After a class reading about carbon, pairs read and choose their own adventure...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: Food Safety
Did youknow that chicken causes the greatest risk of food-borne illness. The fourth unit in a six-part series addresses food safety. Scholars research common scenarios of food causing illness through the National Institute for Health....
American Physiological Society
Sticky Adaptations A Lesson on Natural Selection
Now you see it, now you don't! The stick bug exhibits the ability to disappear into a wooded environment. Why does this adaptation manifest in some species, but not in others? Life science students explore animal adaptations in nature...
Curated OER
Big Dam Construction in India
This complete and full resource includes everything needed to conduct a lesson on the environmental impact of large dams in India. Background information, handouts, answer keys, and web links are all there to help you educate your class...
Rural Science Education Program
Cells, Genetics, and Biotechnology
For scholars tired of reading the textbook, this unit includes nine hands-on lessons. Through group work, lab activities, experiments, and even one inquiry-based lesson, scholars apply knowledge about cells, genetics, and...
Curated OER
Food Chains: Integrating Science and Reading
Using a high interest science topic, like the food chain, can get students excited about reading, math, and more! A multitue of wonderful ideas that have cross-curricular connections.
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: Water Quality
How important is water quality where you live? The first module in a six-unit series includes four lessons on water quality. By applying the concept directly to the lives of pupils, they engage in meaningful learning. They read about...
Berkshire Museum
Where’s the Water?: Acting Out Science Cycles
Young scientists transform themselves into rivers, oceans, clouds, and drops of water in order to explore the water cycle. After assigning and explaining to students their different roles in the activity, the teacher reads aloud a...
Curated OER
Life in a Hurricane Zone
Students research the effects of living in a hurricane zone. In this hurricane zone lesson, students research the impact of natural disasters on humans and the environment, and write a press release describing the devastation of...
Global Oneness Project
The Value of Ancient Traditions
Imagine having to give up cell phones, computers, and TV? What would be lost? What gained? An examination of the Drokpa, a nomadic people who live in the grasslands of Tibet, provides class members an opportunity to consider how access...
Science Matters
Island Fox Outreach
Off the coast of California lives a wild animal called the Island Fox. Experts discuss the importance of the Island Fox to the Channel Islands and the balance the fox creates within its ecosystem. The lesson concludes with a reading of...
Baylor College
Resources and the Environment: The Math Link
Take advantage of this interdisciplinary resource and bring together topics in science, language arts, and math. Use characters and events from the story Tillena Lou's Big Adventure as a context for practicing addition and...