Curated OER
Changing Planet: Fading Corals
Show the six-minute video, "Changing Planet: Fading Corals," and then demonstrate how calcium carbonate forms a precipitate in the presence of carbon dioxide. Separate your scientists into small groups to gather information about coral...
Curated OER
Scientific Investigation of Sea Ice Thickness
Young scholars study the importance of global ocean currents, sea water chemistry, and cultural issues surrounding sea ice. In the field, students travel to the floe edge with their teacher and an elder to drill holes in the ice and...
NOAA
The Biogeochemical Cycle
The biogeochemical cycle ... no physics? The fourth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces the biogeochemical cycle by having pupils simulate movement between Earth's...
NOAA
Ocean Geologic Features
Sediment samples from the ocean bottoms tell scientists about climate change, pollution, and changes in erosion for the area. Groups of learners focus on sediments and their movement through water. During a hands-on activity, they...
Curated OER
Oceanic Heat Budget Activities
Students map and research imaginary islands located in different parts of the world. They describe the weather and climate of their island and show how local currents, water temperatures and waves may influence the weather patterns.
Curated OER
Is Climate Change Really Happening?
Students explore the impact of global warming. In this oceanography lesson, students investigate global climate change and write reaction papers about their research findings.
Curated OER
Climate and Change: Fitting the Facts Together and Acting on Them
Students examine climate change. For this current events lesson, students read the provided articles "Key Facts + Key Conclusions=0?" "Oil Companies Fund Climate Change Deniers," and "Acting on Climate Change Facts." Students respond to...
Curated OER
Weather and Climate Around the World
Students explain the difference between climate and weather. They gain concepts of currents and discuss how the currents have an affect on climate and weather. Students gain knowledge of the instruments that meteorologists use to predict...
Curated OER
Climatic Changes
In this weather worksheet, students read an excerpt describing the climate and extinction. Then they explain what the climate was like during the Age of Dinosaurs. Students also determine some factors that affected the climate during...
Curated OER
Weather & Climate; Knowledge Quiz
In this weather and climate quiz worksheet, students complete a set of 10 multiple choice questions covering a variety of concepts related to climate and weather.
Curated OER
What is Climate?
Students explore the differences between climate and weather. In this introductory lesson of a climate unit, students discuss the vocabulary and concepts associated with weather and climate. They build their information base for the...
Curated OER
Antarctica’s Melting and the Affect it has on the Ocean
Students calculate how much mass is lost and gained by Antarctica yearly. In this earth science instructional activity, students graph and analyze data from the given handout. They explain how this affects the world climate.
Curated OER
Extreme Climate
Middle schoolers discuss global warming, greenhouse effect, permafrost and other key words. In this climate lesson students create a web that connects global warming, the Arctic and world climate then write a paragraph explaining the...
Curated OER
Biomes: Extreme Climate
Students create a web connecting global warming, the Arctic, and wold climate. They write a paragraph explaining the role of the Arctic in world climate.
Curated OER
What is Climate?
In this weather worksheet, students identify and explain the factors that can affect the climate in each area of the illustrated map. Then they describe the various effects of these factors, such as air pressure systems and the land...
Science Geek
Earth's Atmosphere
Ozone gas absorbs the harmful UV-B rays and helps protect humans. An informative presentation begins with the layers of the earth's atmosphere, the pressure and temperature in each of the layers, the ozone layer, the ozone cycle, and the...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Utah Open Textbook: Earth and Space Science
From the vast universe to natural disasters, Earth and Space Science studies phenomena near and far. A complete textbook offers informational resources for a high school Earth and Space Science course. Chapters include topics such as the...
Curated OER
Climate Analysis Using Planktonic Foraminifera
Students manipulate scientific data, plot the data and then interpret their results. They should recognize that the climate likely continue to change in the future. This activity ties in well with a discussion on current climate change.
Curated OER
The Inside Current
Eighth graders explore ocean currents and wind patterns. They discover the concept of systems to show how change in one component of a body of water, causes change in other components in that system. Students describe positive and...
NOAA
Energy from the Oceans
Can Earth's oceans produce a steady supply of clean energy? Scholars explore the uses of tidal and thermal energy in the 11th installment of a 13-part series about ocean-based alternative energy sources. Learners examine the current...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 3
How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West of the...
Curated OER
Weather & Climate
Sixth graders differentiate weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, 6th graders complete a KWL chart about the two. They complete a worksheet by identifying whether a certain statement describes weather or climate.
Curated OER
Wind Circulation, Surface Currents and Climate
High schoolers describe connections between wind patterns, surface currents, and ocean climate zones. In small groups, they color the ocean climate zones in four different shades of blue. Students then answer questions like what four...
Curated OER
Climate Patterns across the United States
Students articulate differences between climate and weather using examples in a written statement. Using climate data from across the country, they describe climate patterns for various parts of the United States on a map. Students...