Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reasons for Seasons

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students investigate a model of the tilt of the Earth in its relationship to the Sun during the different seasons of the year. They study the solstices and equinoxes, while determining how sunlight hits the Earth with different angles in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

DAY AND NIGHT

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students use a lamp as the sun and his/her body as the earth. They rotate in different directions to explain how the earth moves around the sun. Using specific questions in their discussion, students discover the reasons for day and night.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Day and Night

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars complete a science experiment to study the role of night and day on sleep patterns. In this sleep patterns lesson plan, students brainstorm about night and day and the causes for the rotations on Earth. Young scholars work...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

After 7 years, capsule of comet dust heads to Earth

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students examine an article on a space capsule and explore NASA.  In this space exploration lesson students brainstorm the pros and cons of space exploration, then rehearse a sketch and present it to the class. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Planet

For Teachers K - 4th
Students use NASA photographs and hands-on activities to compare the amounts of land and water on our planet. They discover that the world has five oceans and that they cover seventy percent of Earth's surface. Students learn how this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Goes Around Comes Around

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate how the ocean plays a part in the water cycle. In this earth science activity, students locate a puddle outside and mark it with chalk. Students observe the changes in the water during the next two days.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sampling Rocks

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate rocks. In this earth science lesson, students collect rocks from the schoolyard and describe each of the rocks. Students measure and weigh each rock and record the results. Students create a rock guide for the...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Lesson Plan
3
3
Chicago Botanic Garden

Calculating Your Carbon Footprint

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Unplugging from technology for one day per week will decrease your carbon footprint—are you up to the challenge? Part two in a series of three allows individuals to explore their personal carbon footprints. By first taking a quiz at home...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Breaking it Down

For Teachers 4th - 12th
After challenging themselves to correctly choose the form of erosion and length of time required for a given landform to develop, earth science class members model mechanical and chemical weathering with various lab demonstrations over...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water in the Biosphere

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Environmental explorers examine the campus and take note of living organisms. Introduce them to the biosphere and the questions of the day: How much water can be found in the biosphere? A slide show helps you along, and even contains a...
Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Farm to Fuel: The Alternative Fuels Industry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Need a lesson to fuel young minds? A variety of hands-on activities is sure to get your class fired up! Beginning with an introductory slideshow and culminating with group presentations, the week-long unit has something for everyone....
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

The Carbon Cycle

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
There is 30 percent more carbon in the atmosphere today than there was 150 years ago. The first lesson in the four-part series teaches classes about the carbon cycle. Over two to three days, classes make a model of the cycle,...
Lesson Plan
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Section One: What is Biodiversity?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Four intriguing and scientific activities invite learners to explore the natural resources of their town. The activities cover concepts such as genetic traits, organizing species in a taxonomy, the differences between different species...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Three Types of Rocks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Rock out with the second installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes. Your budding geologists make observations of given rock samples and posit classification systems for rocks. They then learn about the...
Lesson Plan
Wilderness Classroom

Pollution

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Educate scholars on pollution—air, water, and land—with a series of lessons that begin with a thorough explanation of each type. Learners then take part in three activities to reinforce the importance of reducing pollution. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Curricular Correlations

For Teachers 3rd
An interesting lesson on different types of soils is here for you. In it, learners discuss what soil is, and consider three piles of soil - clay, sand, and loam. During the rest of the lesson, third graders discover all sorts of...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Take young geologists on an exploration of the collection of rocks and minerals that we call Earth with an upper-elementary science lesson. Through a series of class discussion and hands-on investigations, students learn about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hike Preparation

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine hiking preparation.  In this hiking lesson plan students plan and pack a bag for a day hike, explore wildlife safety, and investigate the teamwork involved in a group hike.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Clouds: Aerosol-Cloud Interactions in a Beaker

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students observe a teacher demo on how clouds form. In this earth science lesson, students discover how cloudiness affects relative humidity. They explain the scattering of light by clouds.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Navigating a Spacecraft

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars work with a partner to plot the trajectory of a spacecraft traveling between Earth and Mars in the 2018 and returning in 2020. They examine the key factors when planning a mission to and from Mars such as travel time,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Makes you Hot?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners manipulate different variables in a model and make inferences about the temperature on Earth.  In this heat lesson students calculate the blackbody radiation of an object at a certain temperature. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classify Rocks

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students classify different types of rocks. In this earth science lesson plan, students test different rock samples and construct a chart to record observations. They create a concept map that answers essential questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Does the Sun Influence the Temperature of the Earth?

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Pupils explore whether the sun influences the temperature of the earth.

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