How are maps like fish? They both have scales. The chapter includes six different activities at three different levels. Scholars complete activities using natural resources, learn how to read a map, see how to make a compass rosette,...

Volcanoes are among the most spectacular geological features on the planet. Jump into an exploration of these amazing phenomenon with this multimedia lesson plan series. Working collaboratively in small groups, young scientists view...

A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...

Take cover because a wild presentation on hurricanes is about to make landfall in your classroom! An outstanding PowerPoint presentation is the centerpiece of this lesson. Not only does it provide information and photographs, but several...

A professional-quality PowerPoint, which includes links to footage of actual landslides in action, opens this moving lesson. Viewers learn what conditions lead to erosion and land giving way. They simulate landslides with a variety of...

Geologists are gneiss, tuff, and a little bit wacke. The fifth chapter of seven includes ten activities at four different levels. The hands-on activities cover fossils including how they are formed, vertebrates, invertebrates,...

There has been an earthquake! Can you listen to the description of damage given by callers in order to determine the epicenter? The 11th of 20 lessons has pupils read a script of one emergency caller. The class records the information on...

What can layers of rock teach us about the climate? Young scientists solve a mystery about who stole a cookie by applying the law of superposition. Then, they apply the same concept to solve a more difficult mystery, trying to determine...

Students identify and interpret photographic details of a Martian surface image, design, and create a simple features map. They identify and interpret the geologic history of a part of Mars' surface and then, analyze and discuss the...

Students view geologic time lines and discuss how old the Earth and solar system is, when dinosaurs roamed Earth, and when humans first appeared. They review the four major eons and life that was present in each before creating a time...

In this coastal geology instructional activity, students use Google Earth to locate and identify different types of landforms and phenomena that occur along a coast. This instructional activity has 2 short answer questions.

Who knew Snickers® could be used to teach science? Give your budding earth scientists a chance to explore the Law of Superposition, in addition to a well-earned snack.

Students read the story A New Coat For Anna and discuss their knowledge on how to make a coat. In this reading and coat making lesson plan, students discuss coat making and listen to a speaker that spins thread to make coats.

Students place events in sequence and assign relative times to each event. They gain an understanding of relative and numerical time and become familiar with the methods used by scientists to develop the Geologic Time Scale.

Students explore Earth science by identifying types of rocks in their schoolyard. In this geology lesson, students collect a group of rocks from their playground and categorize them based on color, shape and size. Students read the book...

Students discover how rocks are created.  In this rock formation lesson, students investigate saturation, evaporation, and phase changes in geology.  Students create rock candy from skewers, string, boiling water and sugar.

Students predict how sediments in a water column will settle.  In this earth science lesson, students examine the layers of sedimentation. Students are given sediments to place into a column of water and observe how they settle....

Students participate in finding the slope of a sand pile and then other materials. In this geology lesson, students describe what happens to the piles of materials when they are poured through a funnel. Students measure the slope using a...

Students investigate major landforms (e.g., mountains, rivers, plains, hills, oceans and plateaus). They build a three-dimensional model of a landscape depicting several of these landforms. Once they have built their model, they act as...

Students examine how lava flows change the landscape.  In this lava lesson students complete a lab activity where they create a lava flow using cake batter. 

Students develop a timeline of all the major events involved in the formation of the Earth and the emergence of humans. In groups, they focus on a specific topic by watching a PBS program and taking notes. After the video, they list...

Students go on an imaginary fossil hunt. They follow a script read by the teacher, students "find" (remove from envelope) paper "fossils" of some unknown creature. They attempt to reconstruct fossil pieces into an animal.

In this earth science worksheet, 7th graders classify rock samples according to chart provided and physical properties of the rocks. They answer 2 analysis questions and formulate a conclusion.

Learners investigate the concept of earthquakes and the different types of magnitudes. They research the Richter scale and how it is used to measure the intensities of earthquakes. Students then apply the concept by completing a...