Students examine how natural processes change the earth by identifying their local water cycle. Individual students complete a cloud journal over a specific period of time. They observe clouds daily and take photographs of the clouds...

Students compare the weathering of different-sized materials. Comparisons are made and data analyzed to reach conclusions about the process of weathering. Applications can be made for the higher grades.

Pupils interview Native Indians to learn their ways for predicting and measuring snowfall. In this weather measurement instructional activity, students invite a Native Elder to their classroom to tell them about how they predicted...

Students examine soil erosion and what causes it.  In this soil instructional activity students complete several experiments on soil erosion and the weathering process. 

Students investigate the potential environmental consequences of climate change. They conduct Internet research to discover how climate change may impact certain species of animals and present their findings in a poster or skit. Students...

Students complete a unit of lessons on rocks and minerals. They conduct research, write e-mail questions to geologists, write daily journal entries, label maps demonstrating types of rocks/minerals found, and create a web page that...

Third graders experiment with three erosive change agents. They do an observation log, which they present to the class through a song, poem or skit.

Young scholars read an internet article about hurricanes. In this hurricane activity, students explain how they form and the damage they bring. They analyze the article and answer questions about it.

Third graders investigate how scientists collect weather data in order to forecast the weather. They work in small groups in order to research one type of weather technology such as, satellite images, radar, surface observations, or...

Students identify and define geology and earth surface vocaulary and their meanings to classify rocks and explore caves and their properties. Students find rocks and test them according to Moh's scale. They create a color coded earth...

Students discover the relationship between the sun and Earth.  In this weather lesson, students examine the effect of the sun on the Earth's seasons.  Students complete a weather activity using props to simulate the sun and...

Students examine the different ways heat can be felt.  For this radiation and conduction lesson, students recognize that the sun radiates heat. Students conduct three experiments to find how the sun warms the Earth and how that heat...

Third graders identify the different parts of the sun. In this astronomy lesson, 3rd graders examine how the sun's energy drive life processes on Earth. They construct a model of a solar system using large rolls of toilet paper.

Learners investigate how rocks are modified into construction materials. In this building up and breaking down lesson plan, students explore what happens to building materials over time and how people modify natural materials. Learners...

Learners watch a classroom demonstration, and experiment to discover the five ways that Earth's crust shifts along a fault.

Students complete a webquest to find Earth's relationship to the sun.  In this webquest lesson, students complete tasks to understand the effect of the sun on weather and time. Students create a multimedia presentation as an...

Students engage in investigations that lead to the discovery that earth materials consist of rocks, soils, water, and air. They build models of soil profiles, using breakfast cereal and other edible materials. They observe how water...

Learners measure humidity in the classroom. For this weather lesson, students use a psychrometer to measure the humidity in the classroom. Learners complete a lab packet.

Young scholars explore geography by completing a navigation activity in class. In this satellite positioning lesson, students define terms such as orbit, satellite, GPS and triangulation. Young scholars view diagrams of the Earth's orbit...

Students explore cycles in nature. In this cross curriculum agriculture lesson, students define "cycle" and research weather and planting folklore. Students make a bracelet in which individual colored beads represent the many "cycles" of...

Students practice techniques of field observation and data-gathering while studying local bird population, describe ecosystem as complex combination of elements, which can affect or be affected by each other, and determine effects of...

Pupils become plants in an interpretive play that depicts what happens throughout the seasons in a rain garden. As you narrate, students bloom, flower, and go to seed accordingly. The lesson is first in a series of lessons written for...

In this comprehension activity, students read a selection on the weather, then complete 3 short answer questions related to the selection.

Students look at how clouds form. For this cloud lesson, students make a cloud using water,  2 liter bottles and a match. They watch how the pressure and temperature changes the atmosphere in the bottle to create a cloud.