NASA
Geographical Influences
"If global warming is real, why is it so cold?" Distinguishing the difference between weather and climate is important when it comes to understanding our planet. In these activities, young scientists look at the climate patterns in a...
Curated OER
Landforms: Geomorphology of Arkansas
Second graders create large, salt dough maps of Arkansas and the natural regions in the state created by geographical and morphological features.
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Oh, the Regions
Focus on the geography of Oklahoma. In this activity, learners compare different geographic regions in Oklahoma, create a collage to share their results, and identify important landforms throughout the United States, such as the Rocky...
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Exploring Regions of Our World
Examine how climate and landforms affect plants and animals that live in particular areas. Discover that these same factors affect peoples' homes, jobs, and recreational activities. Pupils research ecosystems and biomes, and then write...
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Coastal Landforms
Students explore landforms. Using the internet, students research the main landforms. They define landforms and download images into a word document. Students create their own picture-dictionary.
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Create a Planet
Learners craft planets from clay. In this geography skills lesson, students create model planets that mimic the geographic features found on Earth as well as the other planets. Learners conduct research about characteristics of the...
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Geography Terms
Students identify different landforms and fill out a worksheet where they explain what each landform is. In this geography lesson plan, students fill in a landform map and then use landform words as they describe the landforms.
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Wet Water, Dry Land
Students observe and examine relationship between landforms and bodies of water, recognizing differences between them. Students then define island, peninsula, isthmus, archipelago, lake, bay, straight, system of lakes, and identify land...
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Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest: Science, 4th Grade
Fourth graders investigate weather patterns in their home state of Utah. After creating KWL charts, they research weather and geographical data to locate the state's extremes. As an extension, 4th graders write and illustrate books about...
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Pangaea Puzzle: Exploring the Tectonic Forces That Shape the Earth
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.
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Working With Electronic Topography Maps
Junior geologists examine topographic maps online and learn how to read them. they answer seven associated follow-up questions. This lesson plan is only a general outline and does not provide the details or the websites that you would...
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Soil Composition: Then and Now
Students identify the location of their school from a 1926 digitized Soil Sample map. Using remaining landforms, they determine the type of soil identified during that time, and compare it to the soil currently found near the school.
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Aqualung , the New Age Garden
High schoolers examine how underwater landscape could be used for food production in the future. They discuss underwater landforms, draw a picture of an underwater landscape and a type of technology to use underwater, and write a...
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Into the Wilderness: Habitat vs. Development
By studying the once-assumed extinction, then rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, learners look at the physical changes that have occured in habitats throughout Arkansas. This outstanding lesson is chock full of terrific...
National Geographic
Mapping the Shape of Everest
With Mount Everest as the motivator, your earth science class learns about topographic maps. Begin by showing a film clip from The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest, featuring fearsome virtual imagery of a path up world's tallest peak....
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The 1927 Flood
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the Great Flood of 1927 in the state of Arkansas. They each prepare an oral report about this flood and the huge impact it had on the economics of that time. Additionally, learners research...
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Topography of Africa
Young scholars study Africa's diverse landscape and investigate how these features impact the available water supply, food sources, and population distribution of the continent. They compare topographical features and
their affect on...
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SUBMARINE MOUNTAINS
Students create a two-dimensional contour map of a submerged area from a simulated survey using sounding techniques.
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The Great Continental Drift Mystery
Students stud the concept of Pangaea by using Wegener's clues to construct a map of the continents joined together. They determine how fossil distribution can be used to enhance the study of continental drift. They locate the...
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Science: Draining the Land - the Mississippi River
Students use topographic maps to identify parts of rivers. In addition, they discover gradient and predict changes in the channels caused by variations in water flow. Other activities include sketching a river model with a new channel...
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Volcanoes: Mount Vesuvius
Students explain how volcanoes form. In this earth science lesson plan, students identify the different types of volcanoes. They create brochures about Mt. Vesuvius before and after the eruption.
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Deforestation
Students identify the different tropical rainforests in the world using a map. In this ecology activity, students describe the different methods of deforestation. They create a memo and present it to class.
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Ocean Color
Pupils examine NASA's SeaWiFS Project Web site to explore how the SeaWiFS Project monitors environmental and climatic changes in the oceans and atmosphere. They answer questions and write a summary in support of continued funding for...
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Alaska's Physical Systems and History
Students read about Alaska's physical systems and determine how Alaska's physical makeup has impacted its history. They create timelines of their particular physical system.