Curated OER
What On Earth
Middle schoolers explore earth science through concept mapping, discussion, and self-discovery.
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Sea Levels Rising
Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...
PBS
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Earth's surface constantly changes thanks to a variety of geological forces; in fact, Australia currently moves faster than GPS technology. Scholars connect the idea of continental drift to earthquakes and volcanoes with the help of an...
Curated OER
"Potato Mountain": Reading/Understanding Topographic Maps
Middle schoolers investigate how to read topographic maps. In this map reading lesson plan students complete a topographic map activity.
Curated OER
Contour Map Worksheet #1
Being able to read a topographic map is a standard in middle school earth science units and imperative for outdoor enthusiasts. As you introduce learners to this skill, you can assign this as an assessment or reinforcement. Pupils view a...
Curated OER
Thunder and Lightning
In this earth science activity, students read and study about the formation of lightning and thunder using online resources. They complete 8 short answer questions that follow.
Curated OER
Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics
In this earth science worksheet, learners read and study about divergent and convergent boundaries, tectonic plates and volcanoes to complete 1 data chart 7 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Is the Hudson River Too Salty to Drink?
Students explore reasons for varied salinity in bodies of water. In this geographical inquiry lesson, students use a variety of visual and written information including maps, data tables, and graphs, to form a hypothesis as to why the...
Polar Trec
Create a Topographic Profile of Beacon Valley
Landforms in Beacon Valley, Antarctica, where there is no snow, bear a striking resemblance to landforms found on Mars. Scholars identify landforms found in Beacon Valley through analysis of topographic maps in the activity. They then...
Environmental Education in Wisconsin
Biome Travel Guide
In a perfect marriage of social studies and science, groups work together to research and create a travel guide presentation to share with the class. Not only do kids learn about the climate and geography of a biome, but also the...
Curated OER
Making Maps
In this map making worksheet, students learn about the science of making maps, which is cartography. They then answer the 11 questions on the worksheet. The answers are on the last page.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Rivers, Maps, and Math
Middle schoolers use maps to locate and label the major rivers of North and South America. Using the internet, they identify forests, grasslands, mountain ranges and other landforms on the continents as well. They compare and contrast...
Science Matters
Ring of Fire
Over a period of 35 years, earthquakes and volcanoes combined only accounted for 1.5 percent of the deaths from natural disasters in the United States. The 15th lesson in a 20-part series connects the locations of earthquakes and...
Curated OER
The Dynamic Earth
Learners participate in assessments related to the layers of the Earth. They read chapters of text, answer questions, watch videos, and identify and label continents and oceans on a map. They design posters, create vocabulary cards,...
Curated OER
Comparison of Snow Cover on Different Continents
Students use the Live Access Server (LAS) to form maps and a numerical text file of snow cover for each continent on a particular date and analyze the data for each map, corresponding text file to determine an estimate of snow cover for...
Cornell University
Constructing and Visualizing Topographic Profiles
Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...
Curated OER
Interior of the Earth
Sixth graders identify and describe the composition and physical properties of the layers of the Earth. They also explain how scientists used the scientific process to know about the center of the Earth. Finally, 6th graders read a...
Curated OER
Classify Rocks
Students classify different types of rocks. In this earth science lesson, students test different rock samples and construct a chart to record observations. They create a concept map that answers essential questions.
Curated OER
Magnetic Earth
In this magnetic Earth worksheet, students learn how a compass works with the magnetic poles of the Earth. This worksheet has 4 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Aerosol Lesson: Science - Graphing SAGE II Data
Young scholars examine and plot atmospheric data on bar graphs.
Curated OER
Anatomy of an Earthquake
In this earthquake worksheet, students read and study earthquake maps and statistics. They complete 8 short answer questions that follow.
Curated OER
Hurricane Katrina's Floods
For this ecology worksheet, learners analyze and interpret flood maps of Hurricane Katrina and complete 8 short answer questions about them.
University of Colorado
Strange New Planet
The first remote sensors were people in hot air balloons taking photographs of Earth to make maps. Expose middle school learners to space exploration with the use of remote sensing. Groups explore and make observations of a new...