Scholastic
Lesson Two: The Earth, Introductory Activities
Determine what young pupils already know about earth science with a brainstorming activity. After class members work together to complete a KWL chart about the Earth, they craft an acrostic poem to demonstrate their understanding.
Scholastic
Lesson Four: The Earth, Layers of Earth
Get your hands dirty with a set of earth science activities! Class members delve into a hard-boiled egg to find the similarities to the earth's layers, create a papier-mâché model of the earth, craft a simulation of the earth's...
National Science Teacher Association
Middle School Sampler: Science
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis and...
Curated OER
Space and Science Fiction
Use the Franklin Institute's exhibition "An Inquirer's Guide to the Universe" to have students research ideas for a science fiction story. After completing their research, writers will compose science fiction stories that incorporate...
Curated OER
Hubris Lesson Plan
Bring this lesson on hubris to your short story unit. After reading Jack London's "To Build a Fire," young readers discuss the role of hubris in the protagonist's death. The lesson has connections to other short stories, such as "The...
Curated OER
Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System
Wow! What a lesson plan! Six terrific activities are described in great detail, in this 31-page document! Learners will model and explain cloud formation, sketch and identify certain cloud types, calculate and compare incoming and...
Curated OER
Spaceship Earth
Middle schoolers develop an understanding of our planet as a system by designing a very-long-duration space mission in which the life-support system is patterned after that of earth.
Curated OER
Terrabagga Activity Using a Magnetometer
Clever! Earth science learners construct a model of a planet containing a magnetic core. The planet, Terrabagga, is made out of a paper grocery bag, magnets, a dead D battery, and rubber bands. Pictures of each step of the construction...
Curated OER
Earth Day: A Look into the World Around Us...
Eighth graders listen to an interactive lecture about Earth Day and related environmental problems and background. They observe a paper mache volcano made of recyclable material and using guidelines make their own art piece as well as...
National Wildlife Federation
Wherefore Art Thou, Albedo?
In the sixth lesson in a series of 21, scholars use NASA data to graph and interpret albedo seasonally and over the course of multiple years. This allows learners to compare albedo trends to changes in sea ice with connections to the...
Curated OER
Floods and Flash Floods
Junior geologists, hydrologists, or meteorologists simulate what happens during the flooding of a river and demonstrate factors that contribute to flash flooding. This outstanding resource provides a vocabulary list, online resources,...
Curated OER
Our Earth
In this Earth's environment worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle given 35 clues about a variety of topics related to our Earth. Topics include ecosystems, precipitation, biomes, energy transfer, soil, weathering and rocks.
American Forest Foundation
Who Speaks for the Trees?
Help young conservationists appreciate the important role that trees play in ecosystems around the world with this collection of six engaging activities. From a shared reading and class discussion of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, to in an depth...
Curated OER
Comparing Light Bulbs
An average home produces twice as many emissions as an average car. Teach your class how to reduce energy consumption by replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Perform an experiment to compare...
Curated OER
Our Poetic Planet - Writing Poems about the Earth
As a way to combine language arts and science, try this lesson on writing cloud poetry. Begin by showing a PowerPoint presentation and images of cloud types. Take meteorology masters outdoors to explore the sky using the provided "Cloud...
Curated OER
In your Science! - Merging Art and Science
Ninth graders reflect on what they have learned throughout the unit. For this Science lesson, 9th graders demonstrate how working together can produce an informative useful project.
Curated OER
Living On Earth
Students discover the many different animals within various habitats and discover how each individual species interacts with its particular environment. Through charting different animals and their distinct habitat and matching animals...
Safe Routes to School
Pollution & Evolution
Bring together a study of two major scientific topics with a lesson on the relationship between pollution and evolution. With the help of a PowerPoint presentation, hands-on activity. and class demonstration young scientists learn how...
National Wildlife Federation
What's Your Habitat?
How are third graders like rabbits? They both live in habitats and require food, water, and shelter to survive! An educational science instructional activity encourages your learners to think about their own habitats and survival needs,...
Curated OER
Earth Day: a Look Into the World Around Us
Students develop an artwork made entirely out of recycled materials to exhibit during an Earth Day celebration. They participate in a lecture discussion on the history of Earth Day and environmental issues, do internet research on a...
Curated OER
Sun and Weather
How is the Earth's weather created? Middle schoolers will explain how the Sun's energy is transformed into different forms. They will perform mathematical calculations of volume, mass, and temperature. They they will explain the...
Curated OER
Stressed Out!
Have your class engage in lessons on earthquakes. Learners explore the science behind earthquakes using interactive websites and video clips. Then, they review the layers and parts of the Earth before delving into the causes of...
Curated OER
Investigating the Climate System: Energy, A Balancing Act
Earth science explorers design an experiment to demonstrate that the albedo of a surface affects its temperature. They test to find out if moisture on the surface affects temperature. They discover whether or not concrete or asphalt heat...
Curated OER
Poetry Through Digital Storytelling
Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...