Curated OER
Tracking Sunrise and Sunset
Middle schoolers collect, record, and graph the sunrise and sunset times. They explain how the relationship between the tilt of Earth's axis and its yearly orbit around the sun produces the seasons.
Curated OER
Historical Temperatures
Students research historical regional temperatures for their current season. In this historical weather instructional activity, students conduct weather station and Internet research to learn about historical regional temperatures....
National Wildlife Federation
I’ve Got the POWER! Solar Energy Potential at Your School
Should every school have solar panels? The 19th lesson in a series of 21 has scholars research the feasibility of using solar panels at their school. They begin by gathering data on the solar energy in the area before estimating the...
Curated OER
Water 1: Water and Ice
Students examine the changes as water goes from solid to liquid. In this states of matter lesson plan, students observe and record the changes to water as it changes from solid to liquid and back to solid.
National Geographic
The Monsoon
Few things are as fascinating as the challenge of climbing Mount Everest. This lesson investigates how monsoon weather impacts climbers. To begin, you are instructed to show various video clips. The only one directly provided, however,...
Curated OER
Using MY NASA DATA to Determine Volcanic Activity
Students explore how aerosols are used in science to indicate volcanic activity and how biomass burning affects global aerosol activity. Students access data and import into MS Excel using graphical data to make inferences and draw...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Recent Weather Patterns
Decide whether weather is changing! A two-part activity first challenges classes to review the differences between weather and climate. Once finished, individuals then analyze historical data to determine if climate change is happening...
Curated OER
Volcanoes!: The Dangers of Snow and Ice
Students observe a demonstration of how melting snow and ice can contribute to mudflows. They then observea list of continents with the number of snow and ice covered mountains on each continent and discuss. They then label a group of...
Polar Trec
Temperature Profile above the South Pole
Collecting and understanding data is a big part of understanding the world and how it changes. To better grasp what temperatures are changing and how they affect global populations, learners create a graph based on the date provided....
Curated OER
My Angle on Cooling: Effects of Distance and Inclination
Learners discuss what heat is and how it travels. They discover that one way to cool an object in the presence of a heat source is to increase the distance from it or change the angle at which it is faced.
Curated OER
Hurricane Happenings
Fourth and fifth graders engage in this impressive instructional activity which focuses on the causes of hurricanes and tropical storms. The use of video clips and Internet sites helps facilitate discussion amongst pupils which should...
National Wildlife Federation
It's All in the Name: Weather Versus Climate
What goes up when rain comes down? An umbrella! Activity eight in the series of 12 explores weather and climate. In pairs, participants analyze maps, watch a short video, create a weather forecast, and complete a reading to determine the...
Curated OER
Dating a Volcanic Eruption
Learners discover how to "read" tree rings to determine the date of a volcanic eruption and the effects an eruption has on plant growth. After a lecture/demo, students utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to date an eruption.
Curated OER
Cloudy vs. Clear
Students analyze line plots. In this weather lesson plan using real NASA data, students discuss how weather affects the way the Earth is heated by comparing different line plots.
Virginia Department of Education
Hurricanes: An Environmental Concern
Hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones are the same type of storm, but their names change based on where they happen. Scholars use a computer simulation to learn about hurricanes. Then they hypothesize ideas to prevent hurricanes...
Curated OER
The Big Wet
Students complete a research project. In this climate lesson, students learn about the climate "tropical wet and dry" found in Australia. Students work in groups to research aspects of this climate and then create a class presentation.
Curated OER
Graphing Sea Ice Extent in the Arctic and Antarctic
Students graph sea ice data and predict long term trends in the data. In this climate change lesson, students use sea ice data from the Arctic and Antarctic to construct line graphs. They use their graphs to predict the effects of global...
Curated OER
Climatographs
In this climatographs worksheet, students are given 3 sets of data of the rainfall and temperature for 3 different biomes. Students identify the types of biome for each and answer questions about each. They make 2 graphs to compare the...
Curated OER
The Climate Change Skeptic's Argument: Natural Solar Cycles or Human Activity?
Teachers explore patterns in sunspots and total solar irradiance to understand the counterpoint to the human effect of global warming. For this professional development tool, teachers work through a lesson on the sun's natural patterns...
Curated OER
Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change Course
Students explain the impact of glacial melting to global climate change. In this environmental science lesson, students design an experiment to investigate the effect of salinity change to melting glaciers. They share their results to...
Curated OER
Climate Change
Students focus on the production of maple syrup in Northern New England as they study the effects of climate change. They investigate other environmental factors on the forests of Northern New England.
Curated OER
The Sun: Earth's External Heat Engine Part 1 of the Astronomy Model
Students become familiar with the variables that control Earth's solar energy supply. They explore the source and nature of solar energy, the genesis of radiation, and the structrue of the Sun, gas spectra are observed and sample...
Curated OER
For The Birds
Learners observe birds building their nests. In this habitat lesson plan, students develop a Best Building Supply Bag and record how the birds build their nests. Learners keep a Field Journal.
Curated OER
Rain and Rainbows
Students explore the weather system by analyzing water properties. In this precipitation lesson, students review weather related vocabulary terms and discuss how rainbows are created by light hitting droplets at the right time. Students...