Science 4 Inquiry
Layers of the Earth
We can't dig a hole through the Earth, so how do we know about the layers beneath our feet? Scholars learn about layering through hands-on exploration of common materials. They study the characteristics of each layer and apply their...
Curated OER
Earth's Interior
In this Earth's interior worksheet, students read about the geology of the Earth, the layers of the Earth's crust and the forces that change the Earth's surface. Students label the Earth's layers on a diagram, they answer 2 questions and...
Curated OER
What's Inside the Earth?
In this earth's composition worksheet, students read about the layers within the earth and they answer 3 multiple choice questions. They color a diagram of the earth's core using different colors to represent the solid metal, the liquid...
Baylor College
Fossil Fuels and the Carbon Cycle
Humans are quickly depleting Earth's fossil fuels and locating them is becoming increasingly difficult! Layered muffins are used for models as young geologists take core samples in order to determine the presence of oil. Consider first...
Curated OER
Earth Science: The Structure of the Earth
Students identify and complete activities about the structure of the Earth. In this Earth structure lesson, students view a Powerpoint about the Earth's layers and complete a diagram. students compare temperatures in the Earth's layers...
Space Awareness
Climate Zones
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...
Curated OER
Layers of the Earth (Crust, Mantle, Inner and Outer Cores)
Students study the layers of the Earth. In this Earth's crust lesson students complete an activity, divide into groups and diagram and define given terms.
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
Review the difference between rocks and minerals using this resource. Learners identify and investigate the physical properties of these objects. They create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast types of rocks. This is a motivating way...
Curated OER
Understanding the Layers of the Earth
Fourth graders explore the three layers of the Earth describing the composition, thickness, and temperature of each layer. Layers are compared and contrasted and data unearthed placed into graphic organizers.
Space Awareness
Navigating with the Kamal
Historians have proven that as early as 1497 skilled navigators were using a kamal to sail across oceans. Scholars learn about navigation tools and astronomy before building their own kamals. They then learn how to use it to determine...
Curated OER
Exploration Yesterday and Today
Young scholars compare and contrast the voyages of early explorers with the space explorations of the present day. After reading the biographies of Benjamin Banneker and Timothy Livengood, students create a Venn Diagram comparing and...
Curated OER
Earth's Plate Tectonics
Students identify the different layers of the Earth. In this earth science lesson plan, students create a model of the crusts and continents. They explain how plates movement cause earthquakes and volcanoes.
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
Star in a Box
What happens to stars as they get older? A simulation takes pupils through the life cycle of stars based on their masses. The resource introduces the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and the common relationships and life cycle patterns observed.
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 4
Foster's Rule? Allopatric speciation? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation, class members use Venn diagrams to compare endemic species on the Channel Islands with mainland related species. They then create a...
Curated OER
The Doctrine of Signatures
Students use the graphing calculator and the core equation: y=Ax^2+Bx+C where A = the acceleration of gravity/2, B = the initial velocity, and C = initial height above ground to graph parabolas for Earth and Mars. They experiment with...
Curated OER
What is Soil?
Third graders examine what makes soil by creating a Venn Diagram. In this Earth environment lesson plan, 3rd graders identify the different components that soil is made from. Students bring soil from their homes to examine and create a...
Curated OER
Hemispheres & Continents
Students learn in cooperative learning groups to determine how the equator and the Prime Meridian divide the earth into hemispheres and use Venn diagrams. Students will locate and label the hemispheres, continents, and oceans.
Curated OER
Seafloor Block Model
Learners construct a 3-D block model of the ocean floor to study fundamental earth processes. This is a preconstructed cut out that allows the students to put it together but then to add their own colors as well. There is an evaluation...
Space Awareness
Oceans as a Heat Reservoir
Oceans absorb half of the carbon dioxide and 80 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Scholars learn how and why the oceans store heat more effectively than land and how they help mitigate global warming. Pupils...
Prairie Public Broadcasting
Egyptian Pyramids Virtual Field Trip!
A virtual field trip takes enthusiastic travelers to the pyramids of Giza. Using Google, scholars explore the grounds of the ancient pyramids found in Egypt then complete three worksheets: a photo analysis page, a reflection sheet, and a...
Curated OER
Evaporation Introductory Lesson
Fourth graders examine the concepts of evaporation and the water cycle. They describe the relationship between heat energy, evaporation and condensation of water on Earth and identify the sun as the source of energy that evaporates...
Curated OER
Stressed to a Fault!
Eighth graders describe how stress builds up in the Earth's crust by the movement of tectonic plates. In groups, they relate the three types of stresses to the types of plate movements and explain how the stress causes faults to form. ...
Curated OER
Sun Activity
In this space science worksheet, students find the answers to the questions concerning the topic of the sun and they label the diagram for the sun.