Using a dry cleaner bag and a blow dryer, create a hot air balloon! The materials list suggests obtaining one dry cleaner bag per student, but since this is probably inconvenient, consider doing this as a demonstration during a lesson on...

Blow your class away with a gust of humor as they watch this video about air pressure and wind. Along the way, they find that the density of air (as determined by temperature, altitude, and water vapor content) leads to air pressure...

Raise the temperature in your class with this hot film! Cartoon teens discuss thermal energy, the conservation and transfer of energy, three methods of heat transfer, conductors, and insulators. The publisher effectively packed every...

In lab groups, young scientists place aluminum cans with a bubble-solution cap into different temperatures of water to see what size of bubble dome forms. As part of an atmosphere unit in preparation for learning about convection...

Add this to your repertoire of convection demonstrations. This one can be done by mature and skilled laboratory classes. Basically, open a tea bag, clip the ends off, open and empty it, then stand it on one end. Light the top of it. As...

Why does a brown cloud occur in Denver at a certain time of the year? When warm air is higher in the atmosphere, it traps cooler, denser air below and smog just sits in between them. Using bottles of colored hot and cold water, this...

Use this demonstration to help your class understand convection currents. Learners put food coloring in bottles, one with hot and the other cold water, and see what happens. This is a terrific way to make this idea come alive. Once they...

Add this to your repertoire of convection demonstrations. This one can be done by mature and skilled laboratory classes. Basically, open a tea bag, clip the ends off, open and empty it, then stand it on one end. Light the top of it. As...

Why does a brown cloud occur in Denver at a certain time of the year? When warm air is higher in the atmosphere, it traps cooler, denser air below and smog just sits in between them. Using bottles of colored hot and cold water, this...

Use this demonstration to help your class understand convection currents. Learners put food coloring in bottles, one with hot and the other cold water, and see what happens. This is a terrific way to make this idea come alive. Once they...

Journey underwater for a better look at the tectonic plates and the volcanoes they create. Although this video is slightly dry, it is packed with valuable information and easy-to-understand visual images. Consider using a portion to...

Convection, conduction, and radiation are the three methods of heat transfer. Introduce them to your physical science students by showing this video. The emcee shows where each of these play a role in his kitchen and explains a bit about...

This activity will lift spirits in your class, but there is little scientific explanation for what makes a hot air balloon rise. As you are teaching middle school scientists about density and convection, you can incorporate this...

Here's a great selection of slides for a class being introduced to heat transfer. Types of materials that are good conductors or insulators are covered and the diagrams that accompany the information should make understanding more...

Wow! Colorful and simple, these 160 slides introduce the various forms of energy, along with a relevant image. Some of the images are animations, which help beginning physical scientists to visualize the flow of electrons or energy! This...

This PowerPoint can be used to introduce mini meteorologists to this extreme weather phenomenon. The imperfections of this resource include a link to a tornado recording that does not work, blurry graphics depicting the steps of tornado...

Students identify different climate regions and local weather patterns.  In this cloud coverage lesson students use NASA satellite data and import it into Excel. 

Earth, life, and physical science classes can all benefit from understanding heat transfer. There is not room enough to describe these seven exceptional laboratory experiments that explore conduction, convetcion, and radiation. Several...

Fire up your physics class by assigning a worksheet on heat transfer. They explain in words the differences among conduction, convection, and radiation. They reveal their knowledge of transfer rates, convection currents, and...

Somebody in the Nevada Joint Union High School District has a talent for focusing the important, organizational skills, and a creative eye for creating sharp science presentations! Here is one on heat transfer.  Conduction, convection,...

Compare the density of different salt solutions and then observe currents that are caused by the difference. Set up a demonstration of dynamic equilibrium. The intent with these activities is to begin building understanding of density...

More than a week's worth of investigation is provided in this source. Physical science stars experiment to describe specific heat, conduction, convection, and radiation. They also discover the relationship between mechanical and thermal...

There are so many topics touched upon in this Jeopardy-style science game, that it is difficult to classify! The categories include electricity, matter, ecology, earth and space, and scientific investigation. This would best be used at...

Questions that can be used in a lesson on Earth's radiation balance are suggested in this resource. It is not a lesson plan, per se, but it is a list of questions for stations within a "Gallery Walk" lesson. The link to how Gallery Walks...