Use this demonstration to help your class understand convection currents. Learners put food coloring in bottles, one with hot and the other cold water, and see what happens. This is a terrific way to make this idea come alive. Once they...

Convection currents do more than just bake a cake. A quick lesson demonstrates the convection currents of the earth and how they contribute to continental drift. An animation illustrates the movement of the currents and demonstrates how...

Use this demonstration to help your class understand convection currents. Learners put food coloring in bottles, one with hot and the other cold water, and see what happens. This is a terrific way to make this idea come alive. Once they...

In this convection current worksheet, students experiment with hot water in a beaker and a colored ice cube to demonstrate how convection currents work. They record observations and answer questions.

Sixth graders work together to show convection currents in the air. They construct a paper propeller that be caused to spin due to the transfer of heat energy through the air.

Students introduced to the interior structure of the Earth. They explore how the Earth's interior is broken down according to both it's physical properties and it's chemical composition. Students explore how convection currents within...

Fire up your physics class by assigning a worksheet on heat transfer. They explain in words the differences among conduction, convection, and radiation. They reveal their knowledge of transfer rates, convection currents, and...

After reading a brief article on the connection between convection currents and winds, kids use information in the text to respond to a series of comprehension questions.

Students explain the role of convection currents in the movement of air. In this earth science lesson, students investigate convection by observing a boiling water in the lab. They describe how fluids move when they experience convection.

Students use water, beakers, hot plates, paper dots, and goggles to participate in a hands on activity where they see how a convection current creates wind. In this convection current lesson plan, students participate in a hands on...

Somebody in the Nevada Joint Union High School District has a talent for focusing the important, organizational skills, and a creative eye for creating sharp science presentations! Here is one on heat transfer.  Conduction, convection,...

Students study tectonic plates by using the concept of convection.  In this investigative instructional activity students observe a demonstration then make their own convection current. 

Sixth graders use jars of water, parsley and heating plates to observe convection currents. They discuss the demonstration and consider how their observations might apply to architecture and building design.

Students listen as the teacher explains convection currents in the ocean. They experiment with finding a smoking match in the classroom with their eyes closed. Students discuss what might effect their ability to pinpoint the smoke...

Use science to explain why sitting on a metal bench on a cold day isn't a good idea. The instructor describes conduction and convection through drawings and animations. Learners understand how conduction and convection transfer heat...

Review heat transfer with your seventh graders and guide them in making a practical application. Learners use a paper cutout spiral to locate convection currents in the classroom and throughout the school. They record the temperature at...

Looking for a way to teach convection to perfection? Give this inquiry-based lesson plan a try. Pupils explore the effects of temperature change on air and pressure in a variety of demonstrations, then work together to apply new...

Does it make more sense to place a space heater in the middle or on one side of a room to heat it? After watching a video on convection that explains what causes it, and how it works, pupils know the correct answer.

The instructions for demonstrating ocean turnover are provided in this resource. You could set this up for your earth science class as part of a lecture on convection currents or as an explanation of how ocean currents form. An animation...

Compare the density of different salt solutions and then observe currents that are caused by the difference. Set up a demonstration of dynamic equilibrium. The intent with these activities is to begin building understanding of density...

Students examine how differences in the temperature and salinity of the water help create ocean currents. They perform an experiment which shows how temperature affects the circulation of ocean water.

Stimulate interest in ocean currents with a simulation. The first installment of a five-part middle school series teaches future oceanographers about the forces that interact to cause ocean currents. A simulation shows how wind and the...

In lab groups, young scientists place aluminum cans with a bubble-solution cap into different temperatures of water to see what size of bubble dome forms. As part of an atmosphere unit in preparation for learning about convection...

Blow your class away with a gust of humor as they watch this video about air pressure and wind. Along the way, they find that the density of air (as determined by temperature, altitude, and water vapor content) leads to air pressure...