Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Day the Mesozoic Died
While this is not the traditional, step-by-step lesson plan, it is chock-full of material that you can easily incorporate into your earth history unit. Its main purpose is to serve as a guide to using a three-part film, The Day the...
PBS
Technology: Conveniences and Consequences
It's a delicate balance—using technology to improve our lives while still protecting the environment, and ourselves, from the hazards of technology use. Class members examine statistics about the increase in media use, complete a survey...
Nevada Outdoor School
Let It Snow! Let It Melt!
Winter weather offers a great opportunity to teach young scientists about the states of matter. This activity-based lesson includes a range of learning experiences, from experimenting with the rate at which ice melts to singing a song...
NOAA
Calling All Explorers
Let's get moving! The second installment of a 2-part series of six adventures helps learners take part in individual explorations by sea and by land. After navigating the waters in an informative WebQuest, groups create and hide their...
Curated OER
A Day In My Life
Students brainstorm how they can conserve energy in their daily lives. For this energy lesson plan, students discuss how they use energy and ways to conserve it.
Carnegie Mellon University
Bathtub Model
Using a colorful infographic handout and a guide sheet, hold a class discussion about how a bathtub can serve as a model for the greenhouse effect created by Earth's atmosphere. Participants will understand that as energy or matter is...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Climate Change Debate
Students debate climate change and its causes. They examine articles about the topic and use the information to form their arguments. Students use debate sequence sheets and debater's grids during the exercise.
University of California
Energy and Biomass Pyramids
Young scientists play tag as they act out the food pyramid in the ocean ecosystem. Energy circles pass from the smaller prey to the predators and at the end of the activity, a data chart and analysis questions allow pupils to apply their...
Space Awareness
Greenhouse Effect
A greenhouse provides additional warmth and protection to the plants inside, but what if the greenhouse gets too hot? Pupils discuss and experiment with the difference between natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effect. They measure the...
Curated OER
Human Impacts on Major Rivers of the World
Young scholars explore motivations behind human intervention in the stream flow of selected rivers, infer kinds of interventions and their results, and evaluate level of success of such interventions of stream flow as well as...
Curated OER
Global Warming
Students read information about global warming and make their own greenhouse. In this global warming lesson, students read several pages of global warming and climate information. Students then make their own greenhouse and answer...
Curated OER
Get a Leg Up
Traveling through space is an amazing experience, but it definitely takes a toll on the body. After reading an article and watching a brief video, learners perform an experiment that simulates the effects of zero gravity on the human body.
Curated OER
The Hajj: Muslim Pilgrimage in a Geographic Perspective
Students read information on the Hajj. They discuss pilgrimage and ways it differs from going to a church, mosque or synagogue. Students discuss logistical problems that might be posed for the host country of a pilgrimage. Students do an...
Curated OER
Keep the Environment Clean
Students discuss ways our environment becomes polluted. They make a list of ways to keep it clean.
Curated OER
Exploring Animal Habitats: Winter Changes
Students explore animals during the winter months. They discuss the changes that animals make during winter in order to survive. Students discuss migration, hibernation, and staying active during winter months. Students create various...
Curated OER
Air Quality and Transportation in the Tulsa Area
Students investigate the effects of air pollution. In this environmental instructional activity, students discuss the causes of air pollution and identify how transportation has an effect on the air quality. Students identify other...
Curated OER
2.0 "Water Is Life" Global Water Awareness Mini-Unit (Grades3-5)
Students study the amount of potable water on the Earth. In this water lesson plan, students examine the amount of potable water as compared to all the water on the Earth. They discuss why many parts of the world do not have access to...
Curated OER
How Does the Loss of Ozone Affect Our Climate
Students explore the greenhouse effect and what it does to the environment. They discuss if and how human behavior contributes to global warming and test natural materials for carbon content.
Curated OER
Plants And Animals in the Local Environment
Students observe the various living things they can find outside their playground making sure to look both on the ground and in the air. They develop a large poster Venn digram, as a class, of plants and animals that live in the air, on...
Curated OER
People for the Land: Native Americans in Iowa
Students identify Iowa's American Indian cultures and complete a research project for the topic. In this Iowa's American Indian lesson, students research read the background information about tribes in Iowa and complete a research...
NASA
Data Literacy Cube: Global Atmospheric Temperature Anomaly Data
Evaluate global temperature anomalies using real-world data from NASA! Climatologists analyze a data set using a literacy cube and differentiated question sheets. Team members evaluate global temperature anomaly data with basic...
Curated OER
Environment: Climate Change
Young scholars explore climate change and the greenhouse effect. Using provided definitions, they assess local weather conditions and analyze long term climatic data for their areas. Once they explore the concept of and connection...
Science 4 Inquiry
Deforestation
Young scientists observe deforestation from satellite photos and discuss the importance of forests to the global environment. They then simulate a plot of forest when farmers move into the area over the course of seven years. Finally,...
California Academy of Science
Carbon Cycle Poster
Humans can have a big impact on the environment, specifically the influence they have on the carbon cycle. First, the class will define and discuss each of the earths four major spheres, the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and...