Curated OER
Earth Day Grocery Bag Art
Pupils decorate grocery bags with messages aimed at increasing environmental responsibility. They deliver the bags to local grocery stores in time for Earth Day.
Curated OER
Pick Up a Litter Bit-Earth Day
Students investigate the effects of litter on the environment. In this environmental lesson plan, students read the statistics on pollution and identify the effects it has on the Earth. Students develop a plan to clean up their local...
Curated OER
Walking in the Footsteps of the Romans
Class members have an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Romans with a skills lesson that asks them to use Google Earth to conduct research on famous Romans. The culminating project is a multimedia tour through Rome that...
Curated OER
Model Volcanoes
Students represent volcanoes with models and sketches. They research volcanoes and plan how to build a model. They, in groups, build a model volcano and cause it to erupt making observations before and after the eruption.
It's About Time
What Drives the Plates?
It's getting hot in here! Lead your emerging geoscientists on a thrilling journey as they calculate liquid densities to determine forces that stimulate thermal plates from within the earth's crust. They explore effects of temperature on...
NASA
Heavy Lifting
Astronauts need a way to lift heavy objects. Pupils design and build a crane out of cardboard and determine ways to improve their cranes based upon the outcomes of testing.
NASA
Feel the Heat
Pupils examine how solar energy can supply power and heat on the lunar surface. As groups design and build a solar-powered water heating system, they test their system to determine the change in temperature of the water and redesign it...
Teach Engineering
Protecting Our City with Levees
Teams use the design process to design, build, and test a model levee to protect the town from a wall of water. A handout provides a price list for the materials learners can use to build their levee within a budget.
SF Environment
Sort and Color!
Sorting is a very important skill that can be used in math and even science. Learners get familiar with some environmentally friendly vocabulary terms as they practice separating objects that can be recycled from those that can't. They...
Curated OER
The Earth is a Changin'
Students view examples of different types of erosion. In this erosion lesson, students discuss the different types of erosion and how erosion changes Earth. Students explore erosion and the effect it has on engineering.
Curated OER
Greenhouse Effect ...Building Our Own
Students explore the greenhouse effect. They set up a simplified model of the earth and the greenhouse effect. Students compare temperatures inside a jar to temperatures outside the jar. Pupils collect information and create a line...
Curated OER
What Makes a Building Green?
Students examine the concepts of green building used in constructing or renovating a building. They conduct an interview with someone who sells green materials, or designs or implements green building plans. They work in teams to...
Curated OER
Build An Earthquake City
Middle schoolers work together to build an earthquake city. They simulate the shaking during an earthquake to discover if their structure is built well enough. They discover how engineers complete these types of tests to develop better...
Curated OER
Hubris Lesson Plan
Bring this lesson on hubris to your short story unit. After reading Jack London's "To Build a Fire," young readers discuss the role of hubris in the protagonist's death. The lesson has connections to other short stories, such as "The...
Curated OER
Weather and Climate
It's hot today, but is that the weather or the climate? This colorful presentation isolates both concepts to allow for better understanding by covering the positioning of the planet, making comparisons of land versus water, and looking...
American Forest Foundation
Who Speaks for the Trees?
Help young conservationists appreciate the important role that trees play in ecosystems around the world with this collection of six engaging activities. From a shared reading and class discussion of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, to in an depth...
Curated OER
Am I Taller than an Antelope
Students investigate biology by examining body sizes of different animals. In this antelope measurement lesson, students research the physicality of Antelopes and other large animals that inhabit Earth. Students create a model Antelope...
NOAA
What's the Big Deal?
Who knew that a possible answer to Earth's energy resource problems was lurking deep beneath the ocean's surface? Part four of a six-part series introduces Earth Science pupils to methane hydrate, a waste product of methanogens. After...
International Technology Education Association
Make a Pinhole Camera
With a little light and a lot of time, you can create some amazing images. This NASA-related task instructs pupils to build a pinhole camera. The lesson provides suggestions for different pictures to try with the pinhole camera and...
Curated OER
Build a Thermometer
Students build a thermometer. In this weather lesson, students use red food coloring, rubber stoppers, and hard plastic tubing to build a thermometer. Students use their homemade thermometer to measure the temperature.
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics
Students participate in a series of experiments to learn about plate tectonics and the different materials of the Earth. For this plate tectonics lesson plan, students use eggs, water, beakers, paper, and more materials to learn about...
Curated OER
Walking with the Emperors: Exploring Imperial Rome
High schoolers travel Rome. In this geography skills activity, students explore famous places in Rome with Google Earth tools. High schoolers research the city of Rome and create touring videos that feature their findings.
Curated OER
Magnets
Learners explore how the earth is a magnet and that magnets have two "poles". In this magnetic lesson students complete an activity by designing their own compass.
Curated OER
Investigation 6 - Soil Profile
Fourth graders study the components of soil. They observe the basic components of soil and relate the components to plant growth. They record color, texture, and kinds of materials on their profile log (light color, denser, grittier -...