Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding the Indoor Environment: Word Walls

For Teachers K - Higher Ed
Young scholars study vocabulary words about indoor air quality. For this indoor environment lesson, students create a word wall with vocabulary words about indoor air quality and pollutants.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Deep is the Ocean

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students predict and then analyze the layout of the tectonic plates that form the ocean's floor using mapping skills and Inquiry based problem solving, They compare the depth of various regions in the ocean with the geologic age to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It Came from Outer Space! The AA Meteorite Connection

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Pupils discover why Antarctica is the most fruitful place on earth for locating meteorites. They work in groups. Students are given a Museum or University Name for each group. They are explained that each group is allowed to comb the...
Lesson Plan
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What is a Karst

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students investigate landforms by holding a class experiment. In this topography lesson, students define the word "karst" and discover why sinkholes are created on the surface of the Earth by completing worksheets. Students create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Dynamic Nature of the Sun

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students compare and contrast images of the sun taken at different times and viewed at different scales. They record their observations in a journal and create a graphic organizer to help analyze their observations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Can You Get A Charge Out Of Matter?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students observe and demonstrate how objects can be charged positively and negatively and how static electricity works. They observe a teacher-led demonstration, and in small groups rotate through various static electricity activities,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Rocks

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students shake a box containing Plaster of Paris "rocks", gravel, and sand, to measure the effects of erosion. They work individually during this exercise. This task assesses students' abilities to make simple observations, describe...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's Dancing in the Water?

For Teachers K - 6th
Students learn about watershed, as well as the different forms and uses of water. For this water forms lesson, students brainstorm water sources and uses. Students read the book Water Dance and discuss water examples. Students complete...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pattern

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars describe examples of the relationship between structure and function in living systems, particularly with regard to specialized tissues and organs. They describe examples of biological diversity and adaptation of organisms...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chemical Weathering

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students measure the effect of water temperature on the rate of a chemical reaction, similar to the interaction of a weak acid and carbonate rock, using hot water and effervescent antacid tablets.
Lesson Plan
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The Blizzard of 1993

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students read and interpret the information from a barograph from a major winter storm. This task assesses students' abilities to interpret and analyze graphs, construct data tables and graphs, generalize, infer, apply knowledge of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Formation of Wind

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students correctly sequence the steps leading to the formation of wind, and describe the cause and effect relationships involved in the formation of wind. This task assesses students' abilities to classify, generalize, infer, interpret...
Lesson Plan
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What is a Karst?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the process that creates limestone.  For this limestone lesson students complete a worksheet and participate in a lab activity. 
Lesson Plan
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Watersheds, Watersheds Everywhere

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students identify the watershed in which their school is located. They use maps to locate their homes and school. They define and use the correct vocabulary.
Lesson Plan
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Jell-O-Shakin

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design a tower made of jell-o. In this science lesson, students investigate what it takes to build a jell-o building that will not fall when shaken. They discuss what causes earthquakes and how it is controlled.
Lesson Plan
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Aging of Trees

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students examine tree rings to determine its age.  In this tree ring lesson, students examine core tree samples, identify the tree rings, and then determine its age. Students complete a worksheet, deciding which of the two core...
Lesson Plan
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Observation Hike

For Teachers K - 12th
Students participate in an observational hike to study the natural surroundings.  In this observational hike lesson, students hike through a state park and observe the plant and animal life.  Students learn about appropriate...
Lesson Plan
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Living During the Little Ice Age

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students brainstorm what living conditions during the period known as the Little Ice Age (1350-1850) might have been like. They research lifestyles, the economy, crop yields, and human and livestock mortality.
Lesson Plan
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Interdisciplinary Task: Weather

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students design a chart to use to record the weather for five days. They then build an anemometer to record wind speed and discover why they are used for this purpose.
Activity
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Teach Engineering

Incoming Asteroid! What's the Problem?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Oh, no! An asteroid is on a collision course with Earth!. Class members must rise to the challenge of designing a shelter that will protect people from the impact and permit them to live in this shelter for one year. In this first lesson...
Lesson Plan
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What's Under There?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students determine ways to make "observations" about unknowns, such as the land beneath an ice sheet or the interior of the Earth, using tools other than sight. They build "mystery boxes" and exchange them with other groups to "map"...
Lesson Plan
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Volcano!-Thar She Blows!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils describe how volcanoes are formed. They name the types of boundaries where volcanoes occur. They utilize models to illustrate the occurence of volcanoes and earthquakes along plate boundaries. They compare and constrast the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Carbon Dioxide Heats It Up

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners design an investigation to test whether vegetation in an area helps regulate the ambient air temperature. They make comparisons between the investigation and global changes in climate. In groups, they present their findings to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Formation of Rain

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students sequence the steps leading to the formation of rain, and design a model to represent these steps. This task assesses students' abilities to classify, generalize, infer, interpret and communicate data, and construct a pictorial...