How did scientists discover what lies beneath the earth's surface? Dig a hole? X-ray vision? Guide your class through the types of seismic waves and how these waves helped shed light on Earth's many layers. The included resources provide...

Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have...

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...

Examine earthquake intensities and ways to measure an earthquake through the comparison of the Mercalli and Richter scales. After completing the pre-lab worksheet, fourth graders compare high and low intensity quakes by testing...

Air, air, everywhere, but what's in it, and what makes Earth's air so unique and special? Journey through the layers above us to uncover our atmosphere's composition and how it works to make life possible below. Pupils conduct...

What causes earthquakes? Second graders learn about stresses from plate movement with a set of hands-on activities. After tracing fault lines on a map with yarn, class members create a paper plate model of Earth to show its layers...

Introduce third graders to energy waves with a hands-on geology activity, in which they answer questions and compare seismograms in the San Francisco Bay area. After a demonstration that shows how bigger waves indicate a...

A set of first grade geology lessons focuses on plate tectonics and movement of plate boundaries. During the pre-lab, learners experience three types of plate movement through a kinesthetic demonstration. The lab...

There's a lot content packed into the four lessons of this physical science unit on density. From salad dressing to the water cycle and hot air balloons, these lessons engage students in hands-on activities that explore real-world...

Second graders explore convection currents and how they relate to the movement of tectonic plates. Then, young geologists reconstruct Pangaea with a worksheet and pinpoint plate boundaries on a map...

Third graders examine plate movements and boundaries with a lab that demonstrates how volcanoes and earthquakes are formed. It presents different types of stresses an object can withstand through a hands-on...

Here is a set of pre-lab, lab, and post-lab lesson plans on plate tectonics. After completing the previous labs on volcanoes and earthquakes, sixth graders use the gained knowledge to explore plate boundaries and the movement of...

Identify the outer layers of the sun. [Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.]

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Identifies the various layers of the Earth, including the crust, mantle, core, lithosphere, and asthenosphere.

Identify the layers of the Sun's interior. [Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.]

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Identify the layers of the sun's internal structure.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] The lithosphere is made of the brittle crust and uppermost mantle and lies on the plastic asthenosphere. Read about the properties of the lithosphere and asthenosphere.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How different temperature gradients separate the atmosphere into distinct layers.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes the various layers of the Earth.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes the properites of the thermosphere and exosphere.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes the properties of the thermosphere and exosphere.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] How different temperature gradients separate the atmosphere into distinct layers.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes the gases that the atmosphere is made out of.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Identifies and describes the two internal layers of Earth.