Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
Captain Planet Foundation
Adopt-A-Plant
Note the way that plants change during the season by adopting a plant on your school campus. After your class chooses their plant, they research the plant's needs, how it differs from other plants, find ways to support their plant's...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over time....
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
Sometimes, the best solution to a problem can be found by walking in someone else's shoes. Here, scholars use character cards to take on the roles of people around the world. They determine how their character's life affects our...
Orange County Water Atlas
Location, Location, Location…
Young geographers discover not only how to read and recognize coordinates on a map, but also gain a deeper understanding of latitude and longitude and how climate changes can vary significantly across latitudes.
California Academy of Science
Exploring the Impacts of Feeding the World
Approximately 50 percent of people in the world who are chronically hungry work in agriculture. While it seems counter-intuitive, the farther you live from a farm, the more food options are available. Scholars explore concepts related to...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diseases
During a cholera outbreak, scientists presented two theories; one theory was based on miasma and the other on germs and contaminated water. The lesson looks at the scientific process for finding the real culprit.
NASA
Tools to Study Tornadoes and Galaxies
Take your class on an intergalactic journey as they explore the galaxy and various meteorological events taking place in our atmosphere each day. Learners investigate electromagnetic waves and the Doppler Effect before gathering radar...
Population Connection
The Human-Made Landscape
Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...
Curated OER
The O Zone-Code Read Alert
What are the effects of an air quality alert? Expert groups receive one component of air quality information resources to study. Pupils then jigsaw into new groups and share their knowledge. Finally, they draft a statement of what they...
Curated OER
Radiation Comparison Before and After 9-11
Using the NASA website, class members try to determine if changes could be detected in cloud cover, temperature, and/or radiation measurements due to the lack of contrails that resulted from the halt in air traffic after the attacks of...
California Academy of Science
Sustainable Water Solutions: Weighing the Pros and Cons
Switching indoor water fixtures to low flow reduces water usage by more than 45 percent. This and other solutions to reduce water usage have both pros and cons. Scholars view videos of different solutions, discuss them in small groups,...
California Academy of Science
Sustainable Food Solutions: Weighing the Pros and Cons
A growing demand for sustainable food systems comes from schools and even some cities. So what are some solutions? Scholars consider four different ways to approach sustainable food solutions and list the pros and cons of each. The fifth...
Polar Bears International
Top of the World
Learn about polar bears and the Arctic circle with a lesson about the countries and conditions of the region. After examining how the area differs from Antarctica, kids explore climates, animals, and geographical position of countries in...
Curated OER
Air Pollution and Asthma (11th Grade)
What is the air quality index? Start by discussing pollution and air quality with your budding environmentalists. A list of instructional activities are provided here from inviting a guest speaker into your classroom to discussing...