Curated OER
Scale Model of the Solar System
Students work in groups of 4-6 for the experiment/activity part of this exercise. Students know that earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the moon, the sun, eight other planets and their moons, and smaller...
Curated OER
Introducing Biodiversity
Students investigate biodiversity by creating reports with their classmates. In this ecosystem lesson plan, students utilize the Internet to research the different types of life in our environment and different locations around the...
Virginia Department of Education
Hurricanes: An Environmental Concern
Hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones are the same type of storm, but their names change based on where they happen. Scholars use a computer simulation to learn about hurricanes. Then they hypothesize ideas to prevent hurricanes...
Space Awareness
Continental Climate and Oceanic Climate
There's nothing better than a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. Scholars explore how water affects change in temperature using a hands-on experiment on climate. They use measurement tools to compare the continental and oceanic...
Baylor College
How Do We Use Water?
Send youngsters home to survey how they use water in their homes. Then bring them together to discuss which uses are essential for our health and which are not. A helpful video offers teaching tips for this lesson plan, and a...
Curated OER
Where in the World is Carbon Dixoide?
Students conduct experiments designed to detect the presence of CO2 by using a BTB that changes color (blue to yellow) in the presence of CO2. First, students experiment with the CO2 from combining vinegar and baking soda. In part two,...
Curated OER
Mushrooms Can Save the World
Students use mushrooms to solve problems. In this environmental lesson, students study how fungi have been used to combat environmental problems. Students design strategies that employ mushrooms to combat other environmental challenges.
Curated OER
The Water Planet
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...
Curated OER
Taking a Voyage away from Home
Students experience and participate in a journey through a "Voyage" exhibition of the Solar System and the frontier it covers. They build a dynamic model of the Earth and Sun. Descriptions are given on the relative sizes of the Sun and...
Curated OER
There's More to Light than Meets the Eye
Students explore the concept that not all light is visible to the
human eye. Although UV light is not visible, it can still be harmful, causing sunburns or skin cancer. They use special beads to detect UV light around the school....
Curated OER
Lesson 5: Technology: Conveniences and Consequences
Students identify positive and negative impacts of technology. In this technological advancements instructional activity, students consider how toxic pollution affects the Earth and its inhabitants. Students participate in 3 activities...
Curated OER
Feeling Vulnerable
Students discover some of the ways the developing world is vulnerable to the impact and effects of natural disasters. They investigate some "natural disaster hotspots" around the globe and assess how vulnerable these areas are.
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics
In this geology worksheet, students will cut a map of California along the San Andreas fault line to see how California might change in the future. Then students will compare a world map from 50 million years in the future with a present...
Curated OER
Properties of the Ocean
Learners participate in a problem-solving activity, that includes Internet research, about how energies such as currents, waves, tides, etc. affect the ocean.
Curated OER
Air and Weather
Second graders study Earth's materials. In this air and weather instructional activity, 2nd graders note changes in the weather and examine tools that help us study the weather. Students analyze how changes in the environment make...
Curated OER
Cherishing the Water of Life
Students work in small groups to brainstorm a list of all creatures, plants, natural, and artificial processes that use or depend on fresh water. The class views an aquarium filled with water representing all the water in the world. The...
Curated OER
Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics
Young scholars research about earthquakes that took place within a certain distance from their place. In this geology lesson plan, students explain why earthquakes occur. They analyze patterns of different earthquakes using a computer...
Curated OER
Looking into Earth with GIS
Students work with data from a seismic wave model in a freely available GIS (geographic information system) program, ArcVoyager SE. Using a GIS, they examine maps and produce graphs to explore variations in seismic wave velocities at...
Curated OER
World Wide Winds
Students recognize that global winds move in specific directions in specific latitudes and describe that in a written form. They relate the motion of the wind belts to historical navigation.
Curated OER
Voyage: A Journey Through Our Solar System
Thoroughly written, this plan walks you through every detail of having your high school astronomers design scale models of the solar system. Complete instructions on building to scale, lesson procedures, and associated worksheets are all...
Curated OER
People Change the Landscape
Students examine ways in which humans have brought change to the natural environment. In this ecology and literacy instructional activity, students listen to the book Island Boy by Barbara Cooney. Students observe and define map-reading...
Curated OER
The Creation of an Imaginary Species
Students explore the characteristics that distinguish different forms of animal life on Earth which are the results of natural selection and adaptations to their environment. The creatures are created using a game and then drawn by the...
Curated OER
Why Do We Have Night?
Learners engage in a fun, creative way to discover how the Earth moves. This lesson helps students explain why there is day and night. It can also create curiosity to further study the solar system and eclipses!
Curated OER
Reason for the Seasons
Students study the seasons of the Earth. In this seasons lesson plan, students study the science of the seasons on Earth by studying the tilt and axis of the Earth's orbit. Students read background information and four experimental...