Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Rocks & Minerals

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Take young geologists on an exploration of the rock cycle with this six-lesson earth science unit on rocks and minerals. Through a series of discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on investigations your class will learn...
Unit Plan
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Brooklyn Children’s Museum

Rocks and Minerals in Our Lives

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
Young geologists discover the important role that rocks and minerals play in our everyday lives through this series of hands-on activities. Starting off with a lesson that defines the difference between plants, animals, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Are Rocks Formed?

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students identify types of rocks. In this geology lesson, students view animated graphics to identify how sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks are formed. Students take a rock quiz to show how different rocks are formed.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Sedimentary Rocks are Formed

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the stripes in sedimentary rocks, using a structure at Petra, Jordan, as an example, and then do a hands-on activity using mixed nuts to illustrate the layering of sedimentary rocks.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock and Their Properties: Days 2-4

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars engage in cooperative research projects in order to study about the properties of the three basic rock types and the processes that form them. They plan and develop their products.with the resources for conducting their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children Actively Investigating Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students follow directions to set up their own record keeping journal. As a class, they are introduced to the characteristics of crystals and identify three types of crystals they see in their everyday lives. They examine materials they...
Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

What is in that?

For Teachers 6th Standards
Invite your class to dig in to an engaging journey into the world of mining! Here you'll find the tools to equip young miners with knowledge of soil, rocks, and minerals, as well as types of mining operations. To round things out, the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Health: The Three Dimensions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils examine the three dimensions of health, wealth, and happiness from both emotional and social perspectives. Among the week-long activities are discussions about good and poor habits, minimizing risks by proper planning and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How to Recycle a Rock

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore the rock cycle and explore how rocks are made, changed, destroyed and recreated. They create representations of these processes with hands-on activities.
Lesson Plan
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Kenan Fellows

Sustainability: Learning for a Lifetime – Soil

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Dynamic Earth

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students participate in assessments related to the layers of the Earth. They read chapters of text, answer questions, watch videos, and identify and label continents and oceans on a map. They design posters, create vocabulary cards,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explain how the earth makes fossils and how dinosaur remains become fossils. In this Bringing Dinosaurs Back to Life lesson plan, students solve paleo-puzzles which ask students to solve problems as if they were paleontologists....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Primary Energy Sources Pros and Cons

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students explore the different types of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. In this earth science lesson, students discuss the pros and cons of each type. They conduct a variety of experiments on renewable energy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Graphing and Analyzing Biome Data

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore biome data. In this world geography and weather data analysis lesson, students record data about weather conditions in North Carolina, Las Vegas, and Brazil. Students convert Fahrenheit degrees to Celsius degrees and use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's Art ... Naturally

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider the ways nature has been used in art, and then design and create their own original sculptures using materials from nature for a class exhibit.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating Journals

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students take a virtual tour of Yosemite and selects photographs to use in their journal.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Soil?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine what makes soil by creating a Venn Diagram.  In this Earth environment lesson, 3rd graders identify the different components that soil is made from. Students bring soil from their homes to examine and create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Landslides!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars discover soil and Earth movement by experimenting in class.  In this Earth Science lesson, students utilize a stream table, soil, graduated cylinder and water to create a re-enactment of a landslide.  Young...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Survey Says...

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students practice taking surveys to answer different questions about radio.  In this communications lesson, students brainstorm to create questions they can ask strangers about how often they listen to their radio.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food: Early American Food Cycles Web Quest

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners complete a Web Quest on ways that Native Americans hunted for, harvested, stored, and prepared food and what types of natural foods were eaten.  In this early American food cycles lesson, students discover many of the ways...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Population Densities

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Young scholars explore biological impact by completing a worksheet in class. In this animal population lesson, students utilize river rocks and jars to conduct a coqui frog population role play activity. Young scholars define a list of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Soil Separator

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students investigate botany by creating a soil separating device.  For this plant life lesson, students identify the needs of plants and how important the right soil is in the growing process.  Students define different soil...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oil Trap Model

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate oil accumulation by creating a model in their classroom. In this petroleum geology lesson, students discuss where oil comes from and why it is vital to our society at this particular time. Students cut out a 3-D...
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

What's This? Leeches

For Students 6th - 12th
Who actually likes leeches? Meet a scientist that makes his living letting leeches feed on him. Pupils learn about the characteristics of leeches and different variations of the species. The lesson works as a remote learning resource or...