Carnegie Mellon University
International Perspectives to Climate Change 1
After a lecture about how the first industrial revolution triggered the path to climate change, your environmental studies class discusses what the impacts are. In a culminating activity, they get into groups and identify countries on a...
NASA
Erosion and Landslides
A professional-quality PowerPoint, which includes links to footage of actual landslides in action, opens this moving lesson. Viewers learn what conditions lead to erosion and land giving way. They simulate landslides with a variety of...
NASA
Earth's Global Energy Budget
Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...
NASA
Rain Gauge Activity
Complete teacher narrative and presentation slides for teaching about Earth's water make up the bulk of this lesson. Embedded within the slide show, you will find videos about the water cycle, keeping track of the limited supply of fresh...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Air Pressure & Wind
Blow your class away with a gust of humor as they watch this video about air pressure and wind. Along the way, they find that the density of air (as determined by temperature, altitude, and water vapor content) leads to air pressure...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Tides
The tide will turn in your earth science or oceanography unit when viewers see this clip. They learn that tides are caused by the gravitational pull of our moon, and are even impacted by the gravity of the sun. High, low, neap, and...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Nitrogen Cycle
Expose your class to the steps of the nitrogen cycle with this short clip. Colorful computer imagery and animation explain how nitrogen travels from the atmosphere as a gas into plants and soil, where bacteria convert it into nitrates....
Scholastic
Study Jams! Weather Instruments
Concise, yet complete, this set of seven slides describes with photos and text the different basic instruments for measuring weather factors. After viewing, young meteorologists will be able to talk about how to measure humidity, wind...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Clouds & Precipitation
Pretty pictures of water droplets, clouds, and snow-covered mountains are the backdrop for information about clouds and precipitation. With 10 slides in all, viewers see how and where clouds form as well as what forms of water can fall...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Weather & Climate
Introducing your class to weather concepts is a breeze with this fresh film! It differentiates between weather and climate, describes the factors that affect weather (temperature, air pressure and humidity), and displays Earth's climate...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Severe Storms
Tornadoes and hurricanes and blizzards, oh my! Severe storms are always occurring somewhere on the planet. By reading through these slides, learners discover the characteristics of each type. Have them do this as homework and then take...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Carbon Cycle
Take a ride on the carbon cycle by watching this animated featurette. Those who do will learn about the element carbon, how it cycles through the atmosphere and biosphere, and how it contributes to Earth's temperature. This video comes...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Volcanoes
You will lava this little clip about volcanoes! It explains what a volcano is and describes the four different types. It also addresses how magma flows through a conduit, passes through a vent, and becomes lava. All of this takes place...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Filtration Investigation
Scholars build a simple filtration system to remove impurities from muddy water and rate the filtered water to a grade of clarity scale. The focus is on teamwork and problem solving. This instructional activity would be effective in your...
Northwest High School Science
Metric Conversion: Stair-Step Method
Elevate young scientists' skills with unit conversion using the stair-step method. Detailed instructions and a neat stair-step diagram are on the first page. Four pages of practice problems follow, mostly with real-world applications....
South Penquite Farms
Measuring Soil Temperatures
Using an auger, start-up soil scientists bore a core of soil. They examine the sample and record the temperature at three depths in the borehole. This is an attractive activity sheet that succinctly guides your earth science class...
Rice University
Characteristics of the Sun
After reading about how the sun gets its energy, and about the layers and features of the sun's atmosphere, heliologists complete a comprehension worksheet. On it, they label features on a diagram of the sun and match terms from the...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Mars Opposition Dance
Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...
California Academy of Science
What's on a Penny?
As a activity on scientific observation, have your class investigate the features of a penny and a nickel. Working in pairs, they practice writing detailed descriptions using their senses and a ruler to gather information. This is an...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year
How many times have you traveled around the sun? Aspiring astronomers grasp what a year is and they differentiate between orbit and rotation by walking around the sun right within your classroom. Place a lamp in the center of the room to...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Moon Phases
We are the world! Each of your class members models Earth and holds a styrofoam ball to see its phases. Thorough teacher background information and a detailed lesson plan will make this a cinch to teach. If you do not want to purchase...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Longer Days, Shorter Nights
A lamp, four globes, and some signs taped around the room are all you need to set up a solar system simulation for teaching how Earth's tilted axis creates the seasons. (Sticky dots are also needed, but not mentioned in the materials...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Earth's Rotation
After completing the activity, "Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year," zoom in on Earth's rotation using the same simulation setup and this outline. Each class member dons a map of the Western Hemisphere and plays the part of...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Birthday Stars
Space explorers take a virtual trip around the sun right within your classroom! They stand in a circle facing away from the "sun" (a lamp) in the center of the room. As they move according to your instructions, they view different...