Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's Rainin', It's Pouring

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students take a quick examine part of the water cycle, and the combined gas laws. The lesson lead them through the conditions necessary for cloud formation and allow them to create clouds in three different hands-on activities.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air Pressure & Barometers

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders observe, measure, and record data on the basic elements of weather over a period of time (i.e., precipitation, air temperature, wind speed and direction, and air pressure). Then, they make a barometer and keep record of...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Seeing a Dwarf Planet Clearly: Pluto

For Students 9th - 11th
In this dwarf planet worksheet, students use images from the Hubble Space Telescope and they determine the scale of the image, they identify the largest features in the images, they calculate the volume of Pluto and they create a model...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating Craters

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars explore parts of an impact crater and compare and contrast craters found in Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Crater formation is modelled and the relationship of mass, velocity, and size of the projectile to the crater formation...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Global Resources: What Will You Do with Your Power?

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students examine the human impact on natural resources. They read and discuss an article, evaluate nations regarding their environmental problem-solving, develop a presidential speech on the environment, and conduct a natural resources...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Convection Currents

For Students 7th - 9th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Minerals

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students apply rules to compare and rank the hardness and softness of minerals. They perform a scratch test on four unknown mineral samples, read a bar graph that illustrates the comparative hardness and softness of four named minerals,...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Other Objects in the Solar System

For Students 7th - 9th
For this solar system worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle given 11 clues about objects in the sky such as asteroids, meteoroids, comets and planets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Yellowstone Fires

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students assume the role of environmental biologists and help several government agencies resolve the debate surrounding "let it burn" policies in national parks.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Is Global Warming Affecting Hurricanes?

For Students 7th - 12th
In this hurricane worksheet, students use data charts showing the number of hurricanes and the severity of these hurricanes to determine if global warming is causing an increase in hurricanes. This worksheet has 2 short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Non Native Species: English Ivy-Landscape Plant or Deadly Killer?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study the impact that invasive species have on biodiversity and more natural areas.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Long Island Sound

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students use the Internet to research the history of Long Island Sound. In groups, they identify the sources of point and nonpoint pollution and how humans are impacting the area. After watching a video, they discuss the role of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rockets Away with Newton's Laws of Motion

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders comprehend Newton's Laws of Motion and to use the scientific method in rocketry sub-unit. They work through the scientific method. Students illustrate how science and Newton's Laws can be used in everyday situations and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elements for Disaster Reporting

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students identify the elements of natural disasters and gain an understanding on how the media influences people's responses to disasters. In this natural disaster lesson plan, students study the impact of natural disasters, and the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Off Base

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explain the Chatelier's Principle. In this pH lesson, students identify factors that resist changes in pH of the ocean and why the ocean is becoming more acidic.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Make Your Own Compass

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students explore magnetism.  In this "magnets" science lesson, students make a compass with common household items and explain the relationship between what a compass does and the earth's magnetic fields.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Start at the Very Beginning

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Learners explore ocean ecosystems. In this cross curriculum art and oceans lesson, students create a collage featuring three-finger algae using sand paper, tissue paper, and construction paper.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classification of Clouds

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students view progressive slides of cloud formations and identify which type of cloud is shown as it forms. They estimate the cloud's height while viewing each image.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Nitrogen Cycle

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate the nitrogen cycle and examine the concepts of decomposition and nitrification. Students participate in a class discussion about the creation of waste and ammonia compounds, then using nitrogen cycle cut-outs...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geological Maps of the Western Regions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the geological makeup of the West.  In this geological maps lesson plan students creat a map that includes a key and present it to the class. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science: Hurricanes As Heat Engines

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students conduct Internet research to track the path of Hurricane Rita. They record the sea surface temperature of the Gulf of Mexico during and after the hurricane and draw conclusions about how hurricanes extract heat energy from the...
Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Can Carbon Dioxide Act Like a Greenhouse Gas?

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Ninety-seven percent of scientists who study climate agree that human activity is warming the planet. Learners explore carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, a gas causing this warming, through a hands-on experiment. Once complete, they...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Off Base

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does carbon dioxide affect the world's oceans? The final installment in a series of six lessons has pupils research ocean acidification, then conduct an experiment to witness the delicate balance that exists in our seas. Materials...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lake Ice Out Lessons

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the greenhouse effect.  In this environment lesson, students describe how "ice out" affects animals and plants who live in a Maine lake.  Students graph "ice out" data and make predictions about the upcoming...