Curated OER
The Mekong River
Junior geographers explore the region through which the Mekong flows, its pathway, the landscape, how people depend on the Mekong, and future uncertainties. They apply the five themes of geography to examine the region. They create a...
Curated OER
Amelia the Pigeon: As a Pigeon Flies
Students follow Amelia's adventure on a satellite image. They use measuring and math skills to determine the distance she traveled.
Curated OER
Living in the Desert
Conduct an investigation on the plants used by the Hohokam tribe. To survive in the harsh desert environment the Hohokam used many natural resources. Learners read, research, map, and graph multiple aspects of Hohokam plant use as a...
Curated OER
A Contouring We Go
Students examine the built environment and infrastructures of their community by constructing contour equipment, using the equipment, and comparing their results to current topographical maps of the same area
Shakespeare in American Life
Tom Hanks and Caliban: Survivor Superstars
Here’s a clever way to combine language arts and social studies. Shakespeare’s The Tempest is believed to have been inspired by the wreck of the Sea Venture on Bermuda in 1609. The class views a brief scene from Castaway in which Tom...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Measuring Biodiversity in Gorongosa
Take your biology class' understanding of biodiversity to a whole new level! Ecology scholars use data to calculate three different diversity indices based on the organisms in the Gorongosa National Park. The four-part activity uses an...
It's About Time
Volcanic Hazards: Airborne Debris
Pupils interpret maps and graph data related to volcanic ash. Then they analyze the importance of wind speed and the dangers of the ash to both life, air temperature, and technology.
Curated OER
Trash Talkin
Middle schoolers investigate recycling at several scales, including local, state, national and global. They become aware of recycling, re-use, reduce efforts and policies. Students read the article Where Does Your Garbage Go. They look...
Curated OER
Build a Model Watershed
Collaborative earth science groups create a working model of a watershed. Once it has been developed, you come along and introduce a change in land use, impacting the quality of water throughout their watershed. Model making is an...
EngageNY
Getting a Handle on New Transformations 2
Use 2x2 matrices to move along a line. The second day of a two-day lesson plan is the 28th installment in a 32-part unit. Pupils work together to create and solve systems of equations that will map a transformation to a given...
Curated OER
Climate Change in My City
Students investigate the climate changes occurring locally, regionally and globally over the last one hundred years. They brainstorm and predict whether the current year's weather was warmer or colder than last year then check the...
University of Wisconsin
Follow the Drop
Young surveyors look for patterns in water flow around campus. Using a map of the school (that you will need to create), they mark the direction of the path of water. They also perform calculations for the volume that becomes runoff. The...
NOAA
Sediments
Calcareous ooze ... what an interesting name! The 15th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on sediments found on the ocean floor. After viewing the slideshow lecture,...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Second graders explore convection currents and how they relate to the movement of tectonic plates. Then, young geologists reconstruct Pangaea with a worksheet and pinpoint plate boundaries on a map...
Curated OER
India and Pakistan: Rivals from Birth
Seventh graders, after being divided into two groups, are assigned either Pakistan or India. They conduct research using the Internet, reference books, and magazines. The class compares and contrasts the two countries to find sources of...
Curated OER
Real World Investigation- Math and Geography- Elevation Changes
In this math and geography real world investigation, 6th graders plan a driving trip to a city that is located several states away from their home while recording the elevations of three cities that are included in the trip. They use...
Curated OER
A Comparison Study of Water Vapor Data to Precipitation over North America
Learners use NASA satellite data to compare water vapor over the United States. In this data analysis activity students use an Excel spreadsheet to map their data.
NOAA
To Explore Strange New Worlds
It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory instructional activity in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The instructional...
Curated OER
Greeks Around the World: A Case Study on Greek Diaspora
Middle schoolers gain an understanding of the concept of Diaspora relating to Greeks. They use guided discovery to apply the geographic inquiry model to an examination of the reasons for Greek Diaspora.
Curated OER
Trends of Snow Cover and Temperature in Alaska
Students gather historical snow cover and temperature data from the MY NASA DATA Web site. They compare this data to data gathered using ground measurements from the ALISON Web site for Shageluk Lake. They graph both sets of data and...
Curated OER
Scale Basketball
Students discuss scale diagrams and maps as well as the use of spreadsheets to find the best scale to use in a model before practicing scale and ratio problems on their own.
Curated OER
New Perspectives
Students examine maps that are designed to give different perspectives. They create mental maps that illustrate their own perspectives and those of people from other parts of the world.
Curated OER
The Mathematics of Space and Place
Students investigate the measurements and geometry of the school grounds. They conduct inquiry while measuring the campus and some of the city blocks. Then students draw a map to scale and categorize property types using a pie graph.
Curated OER
Measurement and the Illampi Mound Colony
Students comprehend the basic units of measurement, scale, plotting, and basic grids. Students practice their estimation
and measuring skills and will demonstrate their ability to work well in groups.