Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water: The Liquid of Life

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders complete a lesson on the properties, types and amounts of water on Earth. In groups, they travel between stations to identify water resources in Illinois and pollution sources. They complete the lesson with a field trip...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Changes and the Water Cycle- Three

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders take note of the changes in the water level in a cup of water that is left out. Using a model of the water that depicts a lake and landscape that is being heated by a heat lamp, the students observe precipitation, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life Is Like a Jar of Pickles

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine how a jar of pickles impacts the Earth. They make predictions on how it can effect their quality of life and suggest improvements in different fields. They share their suggestions with the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moon, Mars, and Beyond-Mission Briefing

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students complete this introductory lesson in which they find out about the scenario for a simulated online space mission. They review vocabulary and complete a review sheet to reinforce the details of the mission and its goals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Storms

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners investigate the cycles of solar activity. They plot the solar activity and use the graph to answer a number of questions and explain the relationship between the solar storms and sunspots and the impact on earth and space travel.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Cosmic Cafeteria

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students indentify and differentiate between transit and surface food systems. Students measure energy that is released by various foods. Students compare and contrast cooking with solar energy on earth and what they might have learned...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cloud Forecast

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students record weather observations and research online weather data. In this weather observations lesson, students study the cloud cover for several days and record their observations in a chart. Students identify the cloud types and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hickory Dickory Dock: The Biological Clock

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students investigate the effect of day length on animal migrations. They view a Powerpoint presentation, identify their own personal migrations and cues, answer discussion questions, and test a hypothesis about seasons.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Should I Wear Today?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine weather data for Columbus, Ohio using an Internet resource. They complete a two day and a weekly weather charts before discussing the information. After the discussion, they answer questions about the charts...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persistence Forecasting

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students study weather forecasting. In this weather lesson, students explore forecasting weather methods and do a forecast. Students study weather reports and discuss the elements of a forecast. Students study the method of persistence...
Lesson Plan
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Clouds and Your Imagination

For Teachers K - 5th
Students study and illustrate clouds. In this cloud study instructional activity, students study clouds and then illustrate what they see. Students use their imaginations to interpret images from the cloud picture they drew.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air Quality and Transportation

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study about air pollution and the effects it has on our Earth. Students tally cars on a sheet that has been categorized as follows: One person in car, two persons in car, or three or more persons in car. Students go to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Compost Bucket

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students recognize that plants and soils have a close relationship. They view a photo essay on the common practice and natural process of composting. Afterwards, they observe the process of plant decay over the course of several days.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shedding Light on the Weather with Relative Humidity

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Learners study weather using a graphing calculator in this lesson. They collect data for temperature and relative humidity for every hour over a day from the newspaper, then place the data in their handheld calculator and examine it for...
Lesson Plan
Michigan Sea Grant

Environmental Decision Making

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Pupils participate in a board game activity in which landing on a space called "Decision Card" presents them with a land-use situation to consider and decide how to act. In order to advance in Hydropoly, players must think critically and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Does the Loss of Ozone Affect Our Climate

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the greenhouse effect and what it does to the environment. They discuss if and how human behavior contributes to global warming and test natural materials for carbon content.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

soil, Water, and Plants

For Teachers K - 4th
Students examine the relationship between water retention and plant growth by conducting two experiments. They first compare the water retention qualities of clay, sand and loam soil types. Then they use the data from the first...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let the Sun Shine!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate how the sun can be used for energy. They read a handout, discuss the pros and cons of passive solar building design, develop flashcard questions, and identify jobs that can be helped by solar energy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aquifer Model

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students, after researching and brainstorming about aquifers and locating aquifer maps of Texas, participate in the building of a model of an aquifer complete with a pumping station. They also answer a variety of questions at the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Designing a Study

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students explore features to consider when designing a scientific study. In this science research activity, students examine different methods of data collection and consider which method would be appropriate for determining how many...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Trip To Outer Space: Planet Exchange

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students examine the different planets in outer space. Each class studies a different planet and creates a scavenger hunt for the other classes to explore that planet.
Lesson Plan
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Energy Divide

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders, after viewing a video on "The Future" Fossil Fuel grade, participate in an energy consumption simulation game in order to analyze how consumption, population, and choice of resource affect the availability of future...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Cycle

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders identify organisms and processes involved in three cycles: the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and the nitrogen cycle. They produce a pictorial or abstract water cycle, and appropriately place life forms onto an existing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Cycle

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. They observe a water cycle kit and record their observations, and examine how water condenses on the outside of a cup. Next, they observe an evaporation...