Explore Earth and her amazing layers with this lesson plan on planetary change. Learners will research the ways in which Earth's layers cause change. They will complete a "Tectonic Puzzle" and use a worksheet to answer questions about...

Middle schoolers identify the characteristics of topographical maps. Using examples, they practice reading them and describing the information they gather from them. They also discover how to use the website from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Learners study global change and how these changes impact wildlife.  In this polar bears  lesson students analyze maps and data to understand climate change. 

Students explain and interpret topographic maps.

Students use the Internet to research current and past snowpack levels and river gauging station readings. They determine the relationship between snowpack and river flow. They predict future river flow.

Students compare recent and historic maps to explore landscape changes. Using photos provided, students identify prominent features on the maps. They discuss differences in landscape, human impact on watershed, and changes in natural...

Students investigate how to draw topographic contours and read topographic maps.They examine the topography of San Francisco and contrast the elevation of different points within San Francisco.

First graders are going to learn how to tell time using The Grouchy Ladybug written by Eric Carle, and clocks that they will make to bring fun to learning how to tell time throughout the school day.

Middle school environmentalists record the pH of four different liquids, including two aerosol cleaning products. They liken the products to acid rain and speculate in writing which might affect the human respiratory system. Although...

What is advertising? What role does it plan in an election? Middle and high schoolers discuss advertising and its purpose by sifting through different magazines and discussing the products they find. Then they relate advertisements to...

Students explore agroforestry. In this Peace Corps lesson, students examine the role the trees play in deforestation efforts. Students then participate in an agroforestry game.

Students identify butterfly habitats. In this butterfly habitats lesson, students read and discuss Where Butterflies Grow. Students study pictures and guess which are butterfly habitats. Students list the life needs of butterflies and...

Students map watersheds to find their boundaries.  In this watershed activity students map and then give their "watershed address."  Students show the trail from stream, larger stream to oceans.  Students describe the...

Analyzing historical legends is a fun way to develop critical-thinking skills. Pupils will use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast two historical legends relating to volcanoes. While this lesson focuses on the image of Crater...

An explanation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Geographic Information System (GIS) is given in this presentation. Uses and applications are considered. How it works and sources of error are also touched upon. A large...

Students discuss major causes of earthquakes and identify famous fault lines, access and map information about ten largest earthquakes in world from 1989 to 1998, and theorize about location of these earthquakes as they relate to Earth's...

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.

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...

Students read and think about the relationship between maps and nature. They examine the origins of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the large-scale topographical surveys that were commissioned a century later. They also read and analyze...

Students discover new ways to preserve the ecosystem by completing graphic organizers.  In this environmental lesson, students read an article from the Natural Inquirer in small groups and fill out a graphic organizer based on the...

Young scholars discuss "The Enemy Within: The Struggle to Clean up Cape Cod's Military Superfund Site" by Seth Rolbein by figuring out how there should be safe groundwater. In this science lesson, students pretend to be an interested...

Sixth graders follow in the footsteps of early scientists as they put the pieces of Pangaea back together and discovered the forces that create the variety of landforms and sea-floor features of our Earth.

Eighth graders are introduced to the Earth's hydrologic system including the cycling of water in the atmosphere and the movement of water on the surface of the planet using the Great Lakes watershed as an example.

Pupils examine deposits found in a river in this science activity. They collect data of sediment deposit found in the Mississippi river, then graph and analyze their data using the TI.