Get ready to move, shake, slip, and slide with a well-rounded plate tectonics unit! The engaging resource includes everything you need to inspire eighth grade science scholars, from worksheets to demonstrations. Assess their...

Young geologists piece together the puzzle of plate tectonics in an earth science lesson. Given a physical map of the world, they search for land formations that indicate the location of different types of plate boundaries.

How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West...

How do scientists provide evidence to support the theories they put forth? What clues do they put together to create these theories? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation class members engage in a series of...

Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...

Foster's Rule? Allopatric speciation? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation, class members use Venn diagrams to compare endemic species on the Channel Islands with mainland related species. They then create a...

Show the class the world as they've never seen it before—from way above! Learners try to unravel the mysteries presented by rich satellite imagery, learn to interpret topographic maps, and study erosion by constructing their very...

Discover how rocks are formed from volcanoes during a geology pre-lab activity. Third graders describe the volcanic rock samples and creating a model of Mt. Lassen, located in California. The lesson culminates in...

Young geologists explore volcanoes with a series of engaging geology activities. First, they learn the difference between magma and lava before coloring and labeling the parts of a volcano. During the lab, individuals watch a...

After learning about P waves and S waves, fifth graders view the intensity of earthquakes by examining seismographs and images of earthquake damage. Young scientists then forecasting future quakes by analyzing data about...