Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Nannofossils Reveal Seafloor Spreading Truth
Spread the word about seafloor spreading! Junior geologists prove Albert Wegener right in an activity that combines data analysis and deep ocean exploration. Learners analyze and graph fossil sample data taken from sites along the...
NOAA
Waves
Is it possible to outrun a tsunami? After watching a presentation that explains how waves and tsunamis occur, class members investigate the speed of tsunamis triggered by an earthquake.
Curated OER
The Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Fifth graders identify all parts of an egg, and explore their importance to the life cycle of a chicken. Learners compare all sorts of birds and place them in categories based on what they look like. This five-day lesson effectively...
Curated OER
Sea Water Mixing and Sinking
Learners investigate the role of temperature and salinity in determining seawater density. They use a Temperature-Salinity Diagram to examine the effects of mixing on density.
Curated OER
Building for the Big One
Students build and test structures that can best withstand earthquakes. They create their structures from playdough, cornstarch, grape-nuts and popsicle sticks and place their structures on a "shake table."
Curated OER
Creating/Improving the International Space Station
Students research space and gravity and understand the difficulties humans have while on the International Space Station. In this space lesson plan, students listen to personal accounts of astronauts on videos and present designs to...
Curated OER
Looking at the Water Cycle
For this Looking at the Water Cycle worksheet, read an explanation of the water cycle and fill in missing words. Learners also create a poster about the water cycle, deliver a weather forecast, and research further questions.
Curated OER
The Properties of Water: "Dead Or Alive"
Students study the water cycle and create a booklet entitled: "Discover the Wonder of Water" They observe and record data regarding evaporation, condensation, and precipitation and how water moves from a solid to a liquid to a gas. They...
Curated OER
Biomes and Plant Growth
Seventh graders design four biomes models and plant three types of seeds in them to observe growth. In groups for each type of biome, they predict the seeds' growth in each of the settings. Students follow the conditions on a biome chart...
Curated OER
Freshwater Fish Anatomy & Taxonomy
Tenth graders use a classification key to identify organisms. In this classification lesson students identify freshwater species of fish and document their observations.
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...
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...
Space Awareness
The Big Meltdown
Explore the world (our world) of melting ice caps. Why are these caps melting? What is the effect of melting ice caps? Dive into the ever-present issue of global warming with a resource that has learners looking at data and participating...
Space Awareness
Oceans on the Rise
Temperature rises and land disappears! Through a lab exploration, learners understand the effect of temperature increase on water similar to the effect of global warming on our oceans. As they heat the water in a flask, they measure the...
Space Awareness
Meet Our Neighbors: Moon
Since a field trip to the moon isn't possible, bring the moon to young astronomers! Participants use everyday materials to create models of the moon and represent the features on its surface. The materials serve as a tactile as well as a...
Curated OER
The High Cost of Chemical Dependency
Sixth graders explore, analyze and study the effect and impact that humans have on the environment based on their choices as individuals, businesses and governments. They assess the balance between human activities and aquatic pollution.
Curated OER
Are Butterflies Free?
Students use remote sensing to study monarch butterfly migration and human interaction to save the Oyamel forest (Mexico) for butterfly and human habitation.
NASA
Discovering the Milky Way
What do you call a tiny collection of galaxies? A puny-verse! Young scholars graph data gathered by scientists studying Cepheids. They attempt to identify a relationship between the variables through standard and logarithmical...
Urbana School District
Electric Fields
What kind of pears do electricians eat? Amperes! Presentation begins with electric field vectors for various charge configurations and field strengths for both point charges and uniform fields. It continues with various surfaces,...
Messenger Education
Exploring Solar Systems Across the Universe
Scientists have theorized that our solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago. In this pair of activities, learners first hypothesize how our solar system was formed. Using this information, groups then determine how scientists search for...
Biology Junction
Energy Flow in an Ecosystem
Every living thing requires a food source, thus the interconnections in ecosystems become complex. Scholars learn about these interconnections in a presentation on energy flow. It starts with the sun and moves through many different...
Curated OER
Spider Safari
Today we are talking about one of the stealthiest, sneakiest, and most intriguing insects of all times, the spider. Learners will examine the predatory nature of these super bugs as they conduct a spider safari survey. Each child will...
Curated OER
Animals and Humans
Young scholars identify the functions of various body parts. They participate in the "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" song, draw a picture of themselves and other mammals, and create a traced outline of their body that they add...
Curated OER
Does cloud type affect rainfall?
Student use MY NASA DATA to obtain precipitation and cloud type data. They create graphs of data within MY NASA DATA. Students compare different cloud types, compare precipitation, and cloud type data They qualitatively describe graphs...