Curated OER
Types of Rock
In this rocks worksheet, students compare and contrast the 3 types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Students complete 1 graphic organizer.
Curated OER
Geologic History of Long Island Sound
In this geologic history of Long Island Sound worksheet, students read about how the Long Island sound was formed through rivers and glaciers advancing and retreating. Students answer 5 questions about the reading and the formation of...
Curated OER
Water - The Transporter
Middle schoolers discuss the role of water in transporting sediments and dissolved particles. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students read about how water transports sediments and changes the landscape. They complete a...
Curated OER
Relative Age Dating
Modeling dough and paper cutouts in science class? Learn about how relative age dating concepts, like the Law of Superposition and cross-cutting relationships, can be used to describe the formation of sedimentary layers.
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (III), The Geology of Coal: Interpreting Geologic History
Students hypothesize about why various samples of coal have different characteristics. Pupils use information that they found during Internet searches to ascertain the validity of their hypotheses and verify the "story" of coal. ...
Curated OER
Relative Ages of Rocks
In this rocks worksheet, high schoolers review how sediments are layered over time and how the relative ages of rocks are determined. This worksheet has 1 matching and 11 multiple choice questions.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Day the Mesozoic Died
While this is not the traditional, step-by-step lesson plan, it is chock-full of material that you can easily incorporate into your earth history unit. Its main purpose is to serve as a guide to using a three-part film, The Day the...
Curated OER
Earth Materials - Geology and Plate Tectonics
Not going into depth on any one topic, this Earth science presentation skims the crust. It touches on the materials that construct the crust and then moves into plate tectonics. This is a useful and colorful note-taking guide for your...
Curated OER
Finding the Mother Lode
High schoolers engage in a paper treasure hunt to find a lode deposit of gold using the placer deposit concentrations of metals found in stream sediments. They use topographic maps and metal concentrations to assist them. Students...
Curated OER
Wind
In this wind instructional activity, students fill in 15 different question blanks that related to wind. First, they define wind erosion and what it picks up and why. Then, students determine the most common form of wind deposit and what...
Curated OER
THE TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT
Learners participate in an exercise which demonstrates how sediments are deposited.
Curated OER
Sedimentary Rocks
In this sedimentary rocks instructional activity, students list the material that make up sediments and some ways that sedimentary rocks can form. Then they describe kinds of sedimentary rocks and give examples for each. Students also...
Curated OER
Sediment Sleuths
Students classify sediments based on their physical characteristics, such as size, shape and color. They identify and describe rocks and minerals that are common to their region of the state.
Curated OER
Gravity
In this gravity learning exercise, 8th graders complete 4 different questions related to defining gravity. First, they identify the various types of mass movement that is described in each. Then, students explain what each of the 4 types...
Curated OER
Days of '49: "I've Been Toiling Hard for the Last Two And a Half Years"
Young scholars trace the stages of gold mining in California. They discuss the life of a gold miner and how the discovery of gold influenced towns and cities in California during the 1949 Gold Rush.
Center Science Education
Paleoclimates and Pollen
Demonstrate for your earth scientists how plant pollen of the past has become part of sedimentary deposits, providing clues about ancient climates. Then give them simulated sediment layer samples to analyze for different types of paper...
Curated OER
Exploring For Copper Deposits
Students examine ore deposits and identify factors in their origin. They analyze geologic maps, and locate porphyry copper deposits on a sediment geochemistry map.
Curated OER
Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources: Mining in B.C.
Students explore energy by categorizing rocks. In this British Columbia geology lesson, students define many different vocabulary terms associated with mining such as sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Students utilize sample rock...
Curated OER
Rock of Ages
Young scholars are given a classification table and samples from their location. They locate their samples on the classification table using the characteristics used in rock identification.
Curated OER
Exploring How Rocks Are Formed
These lessons produced by the Illinois State Museum are quite good. In this one, third and fourth graders are introduced to the three basic types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. They perform activities which help them...
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals Lesson Plans
You can use these hands on lessons to get kids 'rocking' in geology!
National Park Service
Caves, Canyons, Cactus, and Critters
Mother Nature's Gravel Company is open for business! The unit includes four lessons covering weathering and erosion. Experiments are simple to complete and young geologists compare notes to see who makes the biggest ice...
Curated OER
Google Earth Geology Field Trip
Learners take a virtual field trip around California using Google Earth. In this geology field trip instructional activity, students explore landforms and a variety of rocks located in California. Learners compare environments...
Curated OER
Crowley's Ridge: An Upland in the Lowlands
This clever instructional activity combines elements of geography, art, literature, and storytelling. Pupils take a close look at the six geographical regions of Arkansas, and pay close attention to Crowley's Ridge - which is one of the...