Curated OER
Discovering the Physical Geography of Washington
Pupils develop a mental map of the state of Washington and draw it on paper. Using the Virtual Atlas, they identify the physical features of the state and draw them on their map. They also examine the populations and diversity of the...
Curated OER
Investigation 6 - Dinosaur Extinction
Fourth graders research and analyze theories on why dinosaurs became extinct. They need to find clues as to what the cause may have been. They record the evidence that they find to support their theory on the Dinosaur Extinction Theory...
Curated OER
Moon Observations
Third graders create a model of the moon and use a flashlight to illustrate the various stages of the moon.
Curated OER
Landforms And The Oregon Trail
Fourth graders investigate the historical context for the founding of The Oregon Trail. They conduct research to put together the events that led to the geographical route that was taken. The lesson also strengthens geography skills with...
Curated OER
Water Cycle Boogie
Students explore the water cycle. They learn the "Water Cycle Boogie." Students create hats to represent the different parts of the cycle and learn hand motions to go with the words of the song. Students practice singing the song and the...
Curated OER
How We Get From Here to There
Students recognize various types of movement people rely on to get from one place to another, locate the forms of movement on a map and choose one form of movement and research its path.
Curated OER
Polishing the Petoskey
Students select a stone and polish it. Throughout the process they demonstrate an understanding of rocks and fossil formation.
Curated OER
Eagle Creek Park (A Hike)
Students plot a hiking course using aerial photos and a topographic overlay and find the latitude and longitude of absolute locations. They measure the total distance of a hiked area and figure the area of the ground walked using Heron's...
Curated OER
Spectral Surprise
Students experience a model that produces, separating, and displaying spectral colors.
Curated OER
Looking At Water: a Walking Field Trip
Fourth graders observe the effects of water on the soil and record those effect by drawing sketches of water erosion and conservation practices.
Curated OER
Five Themes of Geography
Students conduct research to determine why geography is important and how it provides information regarding many aspects of the world. They investigate the hemispheres, longitude, latitude and absolute location.
Curated OER
Mystical Chinese
Students explore various Chinese beliefs about the environment. Using the internet, they research the characteristics of Feng Shui. They discuss how human actions modify the physical environment and vice versa. They discover how the...
Curated OER
Timing the Transit of Venus
Middle schoolers calculate elapsed time and look for patterns.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Fast and Slow Changes on Earth's Surface
Observe fast and slow events that change the face of Earth's surface with this slideshow. Students will use evidence from videos and images to describe how changes on Earth's surface can happen quickly or slowly. Students will have the...
NASA
Nasa Earth Observatory: Changing Global Land Surface
Learn how scientists view the changes in the land surface made by humans over time. Read questions that scientists pose to answer some unknown questions about global land surface and learn several things scientists are doing to try to...
National Geographic
National Geographic: Interactions Within Earth's Atmospheres
Using computational models, students investigate the interaction between greenhouse gases, solar radiation, and the Earth's surface for the impact on climate. They then look at data on atmospheric carbon dioxide to analyze changes in...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Fourth Grade Science: Earth Science: Theory of Plate Tectonics
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Discusses what a tectonic plate is and how scientists can recognize its edges, how the plates move by convection in the mantle, the three types of plate boundaries...
Utah State Office of Education
Utah Science: Change Is My Game
Discover the ways in which the Earth's surface is always changing and what causes those changes through reference materials and a collection of activities.
Library of Congress
Loc: Sea Changes in a Community
A lesson plan dealing with the fishing industry in New England and native and immigrant fishermen, and government legislation.
NOAA
Noaa: National Ocean Service Education: Global Positioning Tutorial
Illustrated tutorial explains the history and science of geodesy. Animations help students visualize how scientists measure and monitor the size and shape of the Earth and the location of points on its surface.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Cloudy Climate Change: How Clouds Affect Earth's Temperature
As the Earth's surface temperature gradually rises, it has become vital for us to predict the rate of this increase with as much precision as possible. In order to do that, scientists need to understand more about aerosols and clouds....
Utah Education Network
Uen: Reasons for the Seasons
Lesson plan addresses misconceptions about seasonal changes and Earth's orbit through a pre-lesson survey and follow-up experiments to scientifically study the answers to questions found in the survey. Includes great teacher background...
Other
Bscs: Earth's Changing Surface Lesson 3: Grand Canyon Explorers
Students will learn that landforms can change over time in this lesson. Included are a minute-by-minute lesson plan, activities, and teacher discussion points and questions.
Other
Chicago Science Group: Earth's Changing Surface Virtual Field Trip
Join Science Companion author Belinda Basca and her family as they explore the land forms in Hawaii from a helicopter! Includes suggestions for teacher lessons, student activities, and web resources.