US Environmental Protection Agency
Mapping Greenhouse Gas Emissions Where You Live
After investigating the US Environmental Protection Agency's climate change website, your environmental studies students discuss greenhouse gas emissions. They use an online interactive tool to look at data from power production...
University of Texas
Heat Transfer and Energy Balance
Learn about conduction, convection, and radiation with an illustrative presentation. It includes slides about atmospheric movement and how it affects the climate, solar radiation, and how latent heat can form storms.
Space Awareness
Navigation in the Ancient Mediterranean and Beyond
Ancient texts, like Homer's Odyssey, mentions navigating ships by observing constellations. Pupils learn about the link between history and astronomy as they relate to navigation in the Bronze Age. Scholars complete two hands-on...
Beyond Benign
Ecological Footprint
How does your lifestyle measure up in terms of your ecological footprint? Young ecologists examine their impact on the planet using an insightful online calculator. A short quiz asks users to rank the size of their homes, their energy...
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Fourth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Examine earthquake intensities and ways to measure an earthquake through the comparison of the Mercalli and Richter scales. After completing the pre-lab worksheet, fourth graders compare high and low intensity quakes by testing...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Rock Types 1
If pupils think the three types of rock are classic, punk, and hard, these puzzles offer gentle correction. Scholars match the type of rock to how it formed and an example in four grid puzzles. Each requires problem-solving and...
NASA
Taking Apart the Light
Break down light into spectra. Scholars learn how atoms emit and absorb photons and come to understand how this process allows scientists to identify different atoms based on either absorption lines or emission lines. Learners then...
Intel
Biomes in Action
A STEM project-based learning lesson, number four in a series of 10, focuses on human impacts to biomes around the world. Groups work together as environmentalists to research a specific biome, investigating human impacts on it. From...
Space Awareness
Star in a Box
What happens to stars as they get older? A simulation takes pupils through the life cycle of stars based on their masses. The resource introduces the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and the common relationships and life cycle patterns observed.
NASA
Moon Power - Energy and Power
Be over the moon about finding a resource on lunar power stations. An interesting unit composed of 10 lessons has pupils first learn about the energy and power needs of a futuristic lunar colony. They design and build a lunar power...
Curated OER
What's down there?
young scholars analyze how oil is formed and where in the Earth we find it. Students take a core sample to look for oil in a model of the Earth. They analyze their sample and make an informed decision as to whether or not they should...
Curated OER
Effects of the Sun on Our Planet
Students examine the effect of different types of light on the Earth. They discover the role of evaporation and the effects of the sun on the magnetosphere. They also observe different solar phenomena.
Curated OER
How Can We Locate Specific Places On Earth?
Second graders discover how to use longitude and latitude to locate specific sites on Earth. They compare old and new ways of locating specific places, and discover how latitude and longitude coordinates are used to locate places on Earth.
Curated OER
The Periodic Table of the Elements
Students examine different elements and explore how their properties play a role in technology. In this periodic table lesson students view a few short videos, answer questions then research the Internet to find products made from...
Curated OER
Expanding the Mission: Historical Parks
Students explore U.S. geography by viewing a documentary in class. In this national parks lesson, students view video clips of individual national parks and locate them using Google Earth software. Students create a persuasive...
Curated OER
Money Makes the World Go Around
Students convert currency from around the world. For this math lesson, students solve exchange rate problems using Google Earth. They complete a worksheet during the simulation.
Curated OER
Science: Arsenic and Old Lace
Students read about specific instances of arsenic in history and share these stories with each other. They identify, after reading the articles and sharing, what role arsenic played, how arsenic enters the system and what its effects...
Curated OER
Local Weather And Location
Students explain how uneven heating of Earth affects wind and water currents. They describe the limits on current technology in predicting weather and how the Water Cycle is related to local weather.
Curated OER
The Sun and Moon
Students understand basic concepts about Earth, the Sun and the Moon,
such as relative movement and the phases of the moon. Through discussion, looking at pictures, listening to Native American stories, observing, and building models,...
Curated OER
Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion
Students identify and describe rocks that contain records of the earth's history and explain how they were formed. They formulate questions about and identify needs and problems related to objects and events in the environment, and...
Curated OER
Birds on the Move
Students observe the migrational path of the Swainson's Hawk from northern Minnesota to the southern portion of South America. They study the migratory path of the hawk and observe how the vegetation in a particular region of the earth...
Curated OER
Estuary and Watershed
Young scholars investigate the San Francisco Bay Estuarine Research Reserve and watershed. In this estuary and watershed lesson plan, students complete 4 activities to better understand estuarine systems. They include studying the San...
Curated OER
Do We Control Nature, or Does Nature Control Us?
Student examine the theme of man versus nature in art. In this man versus nature instructional activity, students examine various pieces of art and discuss the theme as it is depicted. They discuss whether the themes shown in the artwork...
Curated OER
Exploring Energy with GIS
Students examine GIS technology as it is used to locate energy sources. In this GIS lesson, student access an assigned website to locate a series of lessons using the GIS software. They use the maps that are located on the primary lesson...