National Geographic
Types of Volcanic Eruptions
Blow the roof off your classroom with this multimedia science instructional activity on volcanic eruptions. A short online video teaches young geologists about shield and composite volcanoes and explores the examples of Kilauea and...
Curated OER
Sediment Sleuths
Are you looking for a good, solid lesson on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a lesson. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing sediments from local water sources....
Curated OER
Geology with Peanut Butter and Jelly
Young scholars will enjoy smashing the two tectonic sandwich plates together in faulting and compression fashions! They may even desire to capture their instructional destruction in a slideshow.
Curated OER
Schoolyard Geology
Students learn that a rock's properties tell stories about where it came from and where it has been. The lesson illustrates how to make geologic observations and gives background about the important properties of rocks to observe....
Science 4 Inquiry
Layers and Laws: The Law of Superposition and Index Fossils
What can layers of rock teach us about the climate? Young scientists solve a mystery about who stole a cookie by applying the law of superposition. Then, they apply the same concept to solve a more difficult mystery, trying to determine...
Curated OER
Map that Habitat
Learners participate in an activity that replicates the creation of sea floor bathymetry by taking a simplified form of soundings in the classroom. They discuss sea floor mapping technologies, sonar, soundings, and remote sensing,...
Curated OER
Hudson Valley Rocks
Students identify each of the rocks provided and locate where in the valley they are found. They explain why the rocks came to be as they are in each location. In addition, they relate the exercise to how the Hudson Valley's geologic...
Curated OER
The Topography and Geology of Deerfield
Eleventh graders explain the topographical and geographical makeup of Deerfield. They explain the Massachusetts section of the Connecticut River Valley is located in the bed of glacial Lake Hitchcock, which contributes to its being a...
Curated OER
GeoHunt
Students describe the difference between geological resources and othe natural resources. They list the rocks, minerals, and fossil fuels that are found in Illinois and their uses. They identify ways to conserve natural resources.
Curated OER
Evaluating an Illinois Earthquake
Students develop awareness of occurrences of earthquakes in Illinois and their past and potential future damage, and examine distribution of earthquakes in central U.S. regions.
Curated OER
Build Illinois
Learners examine the history of the formation of Illinois. Traveling virtually between time periods, they describe each period and compare them with how Illinois is now. They work together to complete an activity and worksheet.
Berkeley Lab
Virtual Frog Dissection Kit
Fluffy is one of the most common names for a pet frog. Fluffy, the digitized frog in this dissection kit, opens up quite literally to allow scholars to see what's inside. The basic kit encourages pupils to click on various organs to see...
Curated OER
Rocks, Rocks & More Rocks
Second graders work together to examine different types of rocks. They sort rocks according to their characteristics and properties.
Curated OER
Sediment Sleuths
Students classify sediments based on their physical characteristics, such as size, shape and color. They identify and describe rocks and minerals that are common to their region of the state.
Curated OER
Evaluating an Illinois Earthquake
Students examine the frequency of earthquakes in Illinois. They discover the distribution of earthquakes in the Midwest. They also practice reading measurements from the Richter scale and Mercalli Intensity scale.
Curated OER
Where's My Dot?
Students explore the five basic elements of Monart, dot, curved line, straightline, and angle line to create a book about their home address. The concept of "big" is explored in this instructional activity.
Curated OER
Denali Park Topographic Maps
Students construct a topographic map of the Denali National Park. They identify different elevations and record historic landmarks in student science journals.
Curated OER
Mini-Landslide
Students explore how different materials (sand, gravel, lava rock) with different water contents on different slopes result in landslides of different severity. They measure the severity by how far the landslide debris extends into model...
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: Locating Earthquakes
There are patterns in nearly everything — even earthquakes. Pairs research current earthquakes to see if there are any patterns. They determine the mean, median, and mode of the earthquake data, along with the maximum and...
Curated OER
Acid Mine Drainage
Students use cabbage, backing soda, cobblestones, and more to test the acid in the water. In this acid mine damage lesson plan, students complete 13 experiments to test and treat acid.
Curated OER
Let the River Run
Pupils examine deposits found in a river in this science instructional activity. They collect data of sediment deposit found in the Mississippi river, then graph and analyze their data using the TI.
Curated OER
Hunting Invertebrate Fossils in the Classroom
Students acquire a general knowledge of fossils and paleontology, the study of evidence of life in the past and identify the major invertebrate groups (phyla) commonly found in the fossil record.
Curated OER
What is an Aquifer?
Students examine how an aquifer operates. They discuss the implications of the groundwater becoming contaminated. They work together to create an aquifer model to observe the connection between surface water and groundwater.
Curated OER
Comparing the Impact of Multiple Uses
Students study multiple land uses and their effects on one another. They assess multiple land uses in National Forests and Grasslands and evaluate the effects of each use on all other uses. They develop a comprehensive list of human...