National Park Service
Glaciers and Water
Explore the amazing power of glaciers with a hands-on earth science experiment! After first learning basic background information, learners go on to create their very own chunks of frozen water and gravel in order to...
NOAA
Your Own El Nino
Scholars make a model to discover how the force of trade winds over the Pacific Ocean creates an El Niño. Super scientists observe how the severe weather affects life in water and on land.
Geography for Geographers
Five Themes of Iceland
How do the five themes of geography relate to the country of Iceland? Pupils learn about everything from the differences between relative and absolute location to how humans both adapt and change the environment. The presentation...
Curated OER
Rocks: Mineral Mixtures
A 22-slide set provides pretty much everything you need to teach the rock cycle except the actual specimens. All of the slides contain graphics or photographs to help describe the process, and most even have links to educational videos....
Curated OER
Understanding Weather
A succinct set of slides covers the main points for your weather unit. From the factors that contribute to conditions, to fronts and extreme occurrences, to the different types of clouds, numerous facts are listed in bullets. The only...
Curated OER
The Atmosphere
Here is a suitable set of slides to use when teaching about the layers of the atmosphere, climate, global winds, and types of clouds. These slides will support a few different lectures. You will probably want to replace the diagrams with...
NASA
Making Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide
Some like it hot! Scholars observe both exothermic and endothermic reactions as part of the carbon dioxide oxygen cycle. First, scientists demonstrate (or watch) a chemical reaction to create pure oxygen using fire for...
Space Awareness
Ocean Acidification
Learn the science behind ocean acidification and its effects on ocean wildlife. Young scientists conduct a laboratory investigation that monitors the acidity level of water. While burning a candle, learners capture the carbon dioxide in...
Columbus City Schools
Constructive and Destructive Geologic Processes
Show the class the world as they've never seen it before—from way above! Learners try to unravel the mysteries presented by rich satellite imagery, learn to interpret topographic maps, and study erosion by constructing their very...
Cornell University
Constructing and Visualizing Topographic Profiles
Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...
Curated OER
The Water Cycle
Your class sets up a mini water cycle model to examine the process. Then they watch an animation, following a water molecule through the cycle. A well-developed lab sheet guides learners through the lesson plan and a PowerPoint...
Curated OER
Water in the Atmosphere
A slide show serves as the backdrop for a lesson on the moisture in Earth's atmosphere. Through it, mini meteorologists learn about the attributes of the atmosphere and actually use data-collecting weather tools to make observations and...
Curated OER
Water in the Biosphere
Environmental explorers examine the campus and take note of living organisms. Introduce them to the biosphere and the questions of the day: How much water can be found in the biosphere? A slide show helps you along, and even contains a...
GNS Science
Think like a Geologist: 1
How well do pupils play the role of geologist? Test their abilities in the first installment of a two-part series. Presented with a series of rock formation diagrams, learners write stories to match what they see in the diagrams. The...
NOAA
How Do We Know?: Make Additional Weather Sensors; Set Up a Home Weather Station
Viewers learn about three different weather measurement tools in installment five of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They build weather vanes to collect data on wind speed, barometers to determine air pressure, and...
Curated OER
Water Conservation
Open learners' eyes to the challenge of finding safe drinking water – something we often take for granted in our country. The PowerPoint presentation includes images, graphs, diagrams, and even a video to stimulate discussion on how we...
Space Awareness
Greenhouse Effect
A greenhouse provides additional warmth and protection to the plants inside, but what if the greenhouse gets too hot? Pupils discuss and experiment with the difference between natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effect. They measure the...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Pesky Plastics: The Problem with Plastic
What can happen to the environment if plastic continues to pollute it? Learners read about the implications of plastic on health, water, and nature in a two-page reading passage. After they finish reading, they work on six comprehension...
Curated OER
Oil: The Problem or Solution to the World's Economic Future
Students map the major oil producing and consuming countries and regions. They identify current and future topographic and political problems that could affect the production and transportation of oil.
Curated OER
Weathering and Soil Formation
A set of 27 slides systematically shows how weathering, erosion, and deposition contribute to soil formation. Both chemical and mechanical weathering are described, as are resulting soil layers and properties. There is no longer any need...
Messenger Education
Give Me a Boost—How Gravity Assists Aid Space Exploration
The propellant needed for space explorations runs in the thousands, while paying to get the craft into orbit costs millions! In the second installment of three, two activities explore laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Using...
American Museum of Natural History
Microbes Coloring Book and Scavenger Hunt
Coloring pages showcase microbes—bacteria, viruses, and protists. Scholars have the option to download a coloring book and scavenger hunt or color the page directly on the computer. Three paragraphs describe each microbe.
Curated OER
The Work of Waves and Wind
This is not revolutionary, but it is informative. Earth science viewers in grades 7-12 get carried away with wave and wind erosion. They view diagrams of how waves impact ocean shorelines. They see examples of the different types of sand...
Curated OER
Critical Analysis Leads to Global Action
Young scholars discover the interconnectedness of the world. In this global studies lesson plan, students identify challenges the world faces and craft solutions to the problems they identified. Young scholars present their findings in a...