Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Sinkholes in a Cup

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars simulate a sinkhole, and discover the geological catalysts that happen beofore sinkholes occur.
Activity
Optical Society

Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: Lose a Glass in a Glass

For Students 6th - 8th
This is an activity that should only be done outdoors or in a well-ventilated area, with adult supervision, as it involves paint thinner. It demonstrates the concept of the index of refraction for different materials, in this case that...
Activity
Optical Society

Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: Interference in a Ripple Tank

For Students 3rd - 8th
An investigation, using a ripple tank, into how waves behave when they collide with each other. With an explanation of what is observed, and a link to an article on refraction.
Activity
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: What Lies Beneath the Upper Crust?

For Students 6th - 9th Standards
Students use the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program as an example to help them find ways of checking science news stories for accuracy. They are given a science news story and instructed to investigate the accuracy of the claims made in...
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Properties of Fluids in Reservoirs

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This investigation will help students understand the physical relationships between natural gas, oil, and water in a reservoir and how these relationships can affect recovery.
Activity
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: A Bit of Engineering

For Students 5th - 8th
After researching how scientists drill into the ocean floor to retrieve core samples, students work in small groups to simulate the process in the classroom and report on their findings.
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: A Model of Three Faults

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson, students learn about the different kinds of faults and plate boundaries and where they can be found. They research and report on the faults that are present in their state. They are also asked to develop models of three...
Lesson Plan
Pennsylvania State University

Penn State University: Embryology in the Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Come and learn more about how to incorporate embryology into your classroom. This site features tons of information about the embryology of chickens.
Website
University of Utah

University of Utah: Genetic Science Learning Center: The Basics and Beyond

For Students 9th - 10th
This website offers a clear definition of the science of Genetics, highlighting DNA and genes. There is a neat, easy-to-understand animated tour of the basics and an opportunity to go inside an animated cell. Student can build a DNA...
Activity
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Take the Pulse of Your Classroom

For Students 6th - 9th
In this activity, students leverage SeisMac technology to understand how a seismometer records ground motions.
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Mineral Electrical Conductivity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The purpose of this activity is to test the conductivity of various minerals with a simple electrical circuit and draw conclusions about which ones would be used in electronics.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Nova Science Now: Sleep: Classroom Activity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students practice a procedural skill -- knot tying -- to investigate if and in what way sleep affects learning and memory in relation to a learning a procedural skill. Sleeping is a behavior that is natural and essential for our health...
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Mystery Mollusc

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners become marine biologists, and their goal is to characterize the biological communities that live on or near the seamount in the Monterey Bay area. There, they must identify a mystery mollusk.
Activity
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Soil Color and Redox Chemistry

For Students 9th - 10th
Students use chocolate candies to simulate the process that occurs in saturated soil when Fe3+ is reduced to Fe2+ due to a microbial mediated redox reaction.
Activity
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Survey Mark Hunting

For Students 9th - 10th
In this activity, students find data on a location and description of survey marks in the area, and then they search for them through a variation of geocaching.
Activity
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Chemistry of Burning

For Students 6th - 8th
In this activity, students use pipe cleaners and foam balls to build a model of a hydrocarbon molecule. They then modify it to demonstrate the chemical reaction that happens when the hydrocarbon is burned.
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Make Your Own Powers of Ten

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Watch Charles and Ray Eames's Powers of Ten video, and then create a similar project while exploring scale.
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Earth's Hydrologic Cycle

For Teachers 1st - 9th
For this experiment, students create a model of the water cycle and learn about its crucial role in moving water around the Earth.
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: How Can You Test Your Soil?

For Teachers 5th - 9th
As a citizen scientist, students use a soil test kit to find out how much of each type of chemical is in the local soil.
Activity
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Build a Rain Gauge

For Students 5th - 9th
In this experiment, students build and calibrate a rain gauge and use it to measure and record how much rain falls in their local area each time it rains.
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Engineer a Satellite

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this activity, students will construct a scale model of a satellite by researching what scientific instrument to put on it and how to power it.
Activity
The Franklin Institute

In Quiry Almanack: Touching

For Students 3rd - 8th
Let your students get a feel for their sense of touch by perusing this site. Site includes interactive activities to use in the classroom.
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Energy and Population

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learn about how the population of a state is related to the energy consumed by studying these maps in this lesson plan.
Lesson Plan
NC State University

North Carolina State University: Spreadsheets in Science

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Intriguing lesson from North Carolina State University using a spreadsheet to solve real world science problems. Contains downloadable files for student activities.