Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wildlife Around the World

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine how plants are able to adapt to their ecosystem and the role that fire plays in changes through the years.  In this ecosystem lesson plan students complete several exercises focussing on plants and their adaptations...
Lesson Plan
PHET

Learning about Space Weather

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an...
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Energy Resources

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Is one type of energy inherently good or bad? Young scientists explore energy resources in a week-long unit. After extensive research, groups create powerful position statements and presentations supporting their energy resource of choice.
Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

An Inflated Impression of Mars

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Help your class understand the magnitude of the distance between Earth and Mars with an activity that asks small groups to use balloons to create scale models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Class members figure out the distances...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Exploring Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Investigate the properties of rocks and minerals through a rockin' hands-on activity. Learners test rocks for various properties and, using a guide, attempt to identify different samples. They use various properties including hardness,...
Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Design Inspired by Nature

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Let nature guide your engineering designs. By taking apart a flower, pupils learn about reverse engineering. They use the results to brainstorm designs for new products or ideas. This is the seventh installment of a nine-part Life...
Lesson Plan
1
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NOAA

Ocean Geologic Features

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Interactive
Annenberg Foundation

Geometry 3D Shapes: 3D Shapes

For Students 6th - 10th Standards
Explore vocabulary related to three-dimensional shapes. An instructional website describes the characteristics of different geometric solids. Learners can use an interactive component to view nets, faces, vertices, and edges of common...
Lesson Plan
Wild BC

The Greenhouse Effect: The Role of CO2

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Though this is meant to be second in a two-part lesson, the two are not dependent on each other. Pupils play the roles of visible light rays, light or dark surfaces, and carbon dioxide molecules. They interact and react according to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Satellites and the Radiation Budget

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students engage in a prelab discussion about the earth's radiation budget and global warming. They use "trading cards" to find specific websites to research radiation budget questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Map as a Tool

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students study the concept of using a map as a tool with the usage of a balloon designed to mimic the features of the Earth with the major features marked and shown on the balloon.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Carbon Cycle Capers

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine the carbon dioxide cycle in the atmosphere. In this element lesson, students discuss the relationship between carbon dioxide on Earth and the plants that store it. Students play a game to ensure their understanding. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ring of Fire

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students locate some of the 1,500 active volcanoes on a world map. Then by comparing their maps with a map of the world's tectonic plates, they discover that volcanoes occur because of the dynamic nature of the Earth's lithosphere.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Antibiotic Resistance

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students using the scientific method, study bacteria as a covering surface of the earth in many forms. They discover that not all bacteria is bad and introduce the topic of antibiotic resistance. Science Fair expectations are addressed.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get the Drift?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
The anticipatory set is clever: give groups five minutes to work on the puzzle and then discuss what strategies they used to match the few that connected. This introduces middle schoolers to the concept of continental drift. A portion of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greenhouse in a Bottle

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Young atmospheric scientists create models of an atmosphere with and without clouds to determine the effect of cloud cover on Earth's temperatures, as well as figuring out whether dark or light surfaces absorb more energy. You may wish...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Groundwater Movement

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students study groundwater movement beneath the surface of the Earth. In this agriculture lesson, students experiment with how water moves through rock materials such as sand, gravel, and clay.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Puzzle it Out

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study the Earth's climatic system and construct a puzzle that names all of the pieces of the  components involved.  In this Climate instructional activity, students draw a picture on a puzzle piece depicting a specific...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interplanetary Travel Guide

For Teachers 4th - 6th
In groups of six, middle school space scientists create an imaginative travel brochure for attracting visitors to the planet Mars. Information must include surface features and atmospheric conditions. Although time-consuming, this is a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Galaxies

For Teachers 4th - 6th
The first thing to note is that this lesson plan was written for use in a parochial school. Even if you are in a non-religious setting, however, the website exploration of galaxies and the accompanying worksheet make for an engaging...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Cycle Bracelets

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students engage in a lesson that investigates the hydrological cycle. They create bracelets with different colored beads that represent parts of the cycle. Students can follow the cycle in the order of the beads. The lesson includes...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Homemade Barometer

For Teachers 5th - 8th
To reinforce the action of air pressure, have your meteorology pupils construct a barometer. They place the barometer into a closed system, a miniature atmosphere if you will, and notice the movement of the needle on the homemade...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Entering The Twilight Zone

For Teachers 5th - 6th
For this lesson sixth grade students get into groups and research a given ocean habitat. The major features of cold-seep communities are the objective but plenty information is given about other habitats which could be assigned to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Everybody Needs a Little Sunshine

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...

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