Resource links to a video, satellite images, data, and photographs of glaciers provide emerging earth scientists the opportunity to examine how the ice has been retreating over the years. A data table is included for pupils to record...

Here is part two of a two-part instructional activity in which scholars investigate the changing states of water—liquid, solid, and gas—and how energy from heat changes its molecules. With grand conversation, two demonstrations, and...

Begin a unit on weather and climate change by assessing prior knowledge of the topic. Learners respond to a survey with questions that ask what they think causes climate change, the effects of climate change, and if it is important...

Get your kids thinking about climate change with a series of activities that include creating a ditty box poem for the planet, a poem that identifies concepts or objects they would want to preserve.

Consider the preponderance of evidence when making a verdict. The third of five lessons in Unit 1: The Big Climate Change Experiment focuses on the evidence for climate change. Learners study graphs, diagrams, and pictures regarding...

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...

Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...

Super scientists visit ten stations to predict, observe, and draw conclusions about the physical and chemical changes that occur when different states of matter—liquid, solid, and gas—are placed under a variety of conditions. To...

After three eye-opening lessons about our environment, scholars revisit a 10-question survey, reflect on their new-found knowledge, and take action by writing to a representative or creating a public service announcement about...

The Grand Canyon formed between five and six million years ago, but is it still changing? Scholars explore 10 sites in the United States, including the Grand Canyon, to better understand the geoscience processes that formed these...

Students explore how scientific knowledge changes in the context of abrupt climate change. They are introduced to some recent ideas about abrupt climate change. This gives them a glimpse into how scientific theories are formed and...

Continental drift happens over millions of years, but new perspective shows much faster changes. An informative resource offers a short term perspective using a series of satellite images. Viewers observe major changes to a coastline in...

Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final lesson in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings made of Wall...

Fourth graders investigate chemical changes in everyday life settings, such as cooking. They investigate leavening which is one of the classic chemical changes that people experience. Pupils observe leavening in biscuits with the...

Dry ice is extremely cold — it is -109.3°F or -78.5°C. Scholars observe and explain the molecular motion associated with melting. Then they design their own experiments to speed up the melting process. Finally, a teacher presents a...

There are five types of frost: ground frost, air frost, hoar frost, glaze, and rime. Scholars mix ice and salt in a metal container to observe frost forming on the outside of the can. Animations and videos enhance the learning. 

Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science lesson. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...

Students observe the differences between physical and chemical changes in properties. Through the use of an interactive presentation, the students compare and contrast the changes and provide supporting examples of each type of change.

A large data table is given to your elementary earth scientists in which they record observations that they make while viewing pictures of Alaskan glaciers. They compare and contrast recent photos with older photos. Hold a discussion...

If you discover an unknown powder, how do you determine if it is safe? Lesson uses four different tests to identify the properties of various powders that appear the same. Then scholars get an unknown powder and have to determine which...

Why does it look like there is a man on the moon? Why does the moon look different every night? These are the focus questions of a lesson that prompts class members to observe and record the nightly changes of Earth's natural...

A fish that lives in the desert? You and your class can meet the desert pupfish as they examine its habitat, the role humans play in diminishing water supplies, and how climate change might impact this fishy friend. There are four short...

Observe different types of weather right in your classroom! Here, pupils look at clouds, rain, snow, wind, and hot and cold temperatures, and observe these weather patterns at school. They keep track of their observations in a worksheet...

Celebrate the arrival of spring with this fun primary grade science unit. Engaging young scientists with a variety of hands-on activities and inquiry-based investigations, these lessons are a great way to teach children about...