Curated OER
El Nino and Its Effects
Students research El Nino and its effects all over North America using Web Resources. Working in teams, they present their findings. They look for connections and relationships between animal behavior and climate.
Curated OER
Climate Change
Students examine climate change, the greenhouse effect, and their attitude about the environment. They examine how green they are by taking a quiz and investigate recycling activities by participating in a game. Finally, they design...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Plant Phenology Data Analysis
Studying data over time can paint a pretty interesting picture. Learners use data they collected in the previous lesson to compare to historical data in a similar region. They graph the data of the first bloom of a specific species over...
New York Hall of Science
My Carbon Footprint: High School Curriculum
The earth has a love-hate relationship with carbon. Learners complete a series of nine lessons that begin with an examination of the role of carbon in Earth's systems. They then relate changes in climate and weather to changes in the...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Ecological Mismatches
Modeling is a powerful teaching tool. The final installment in a six-part series has pupils complete an activity to model a food web and discover the interconnected relationships in an ecosystem. They then read about changes in migratory...
Curated OER
Weather or Not!
Students are introduced to the different climate regions of Canada. In groups, they discuss ways in which people are affected by the weather and how it limits their outdoor activities. They use artwork by Robert Harris to predict what...
Curated OER
Observing and Predicting Weather from a Weather Station
Fourth graders us a Weather Log data chart to record the date, time, day, and weather. They discuss different instruments and charts needed to record the information. Students turn in their weather logs at the end of two weeks and...
Curated OER
Weather: It Works, or Not?
Students discover the techniques meteorologists use to examine the atmosphere. In groups, they build their own weather station and observe the various weather conditions. They identify the types of weather patterns that allow the...
Curated OER
Ecosystems and Climate
Pupils examine climatic effects on ecosystems. They plant tomatoes and observe the differences in plant growth with differences in light. They create picture collages of plants, animals, and insects found in each climate of the U.S.
Curated OER
Breaking it Down
High schoolers will identify the factors that contribute to erosion and weathering. They will start by differentiating between chemical and mechanical weathering. They then apply what they learned by playing the online jeopardy game. Key...
Curated OER
Believe It...Or Not
Students critically analyze data regarding climate changes using a glossary of terms generated by examination of climate related articles. They examine and graph climatic data, and discuss, hypothesize and test apparent discrepancies in...
Curated OER
Climate in the Western Regions
Students examine the interactions of the Earth's systems and other objects in space. In this climate change instructional activity students study the pros and cons of different climates and what their preferences are.
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Whales and Sea Ice: Investigating Insulation
Students investigate the properties of insulation as it relates to whales and sea ice. They research whales and examine the atmospheric changes that occur when there are changes in sea ice.
Curated OER
Global Warming
Students read information about global warming and make their own greenhouse. In this global warming lesson plan, students read several pages of global warming and climate information. Students then make their own greenhouse and answer...
Curated OER
Weather Watchers
Students collect and analyze data about the weather. For this algebra lesson, students organize and graph their data using graphs, line plots and stem and leaf plots. They make observation and draw conclusion using their data.
Curated OER
The Tibetan Plateau
Students discuss the characteristics of the biosphere, with a focus on the Tibetan Plateau. They participate in a question and answer period discussing biomes and climate patterns. They compare and contrast different ecosystems.
Curated OER
EarthTrek Gravestone Project
Students explore the effects of acid rain. For this acid rain lesson, students investigate the effects of the weathering from acid rain in different places. Students visit cemetaries to collect data about the effects of acid rain on the...
National Park Service
Glaciers and Water
Explore the amazing power of glaciers with a hands-on earth science experiment! After first learning basic background information, learners go on to create their very own chunks of frozen water and gravel in order to observe first-hand...
Curated OER
Differences Between Ground and Air Temperatures
Middle schoolers examine the differences between air temperature and ground temperature. In this investigative lesson plan students find NASA data on the Internet and use it to create a graph.
Curated OER
Dimming The Sun
Students review the meanings of global warming and global dimming. While watching a video, they take notes on different aspects of the issue. In groups, they develop a list on what can be done to reduce global dimming. They...
Curated OER
It's Really Heating Up in Here!
Students create and observe a greenhouse effect model and discuss the implications of global warming theory for engineers, themselves and the Earth. They discover that Global warming is becoming an increasing concern as we learn more...
Curated OER
Changes Close To Home
Middle schoolers interview the senior citizens in their community. While interviewing them, they identify perceptions they have about the local climate. Using the internet, the compare the results of the interview to those of public...
Curated OER
Water Supply
Fourth graders explore weather patterns by completing an Internet project. In this water cycle lesson, 4th graders read assigned text including a Magic School Bus book about precipitation and water. Students complete a water science...
Curated OER
A Comparison Study of Water Vapor Data to Precipitation over North America
Students use NASA satellite data to compare water vapor over the United States. In this data analysis lesson students use an Excel spreadsheet to map their data.