Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's The Weather?

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore the role that remote sensing plays in predicting our weather. Students investigate weather websites, and read about the three kinds of clouds. Students record and draw their observations in science journals.
Lesson Plan
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Falling

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the earth's gravitational force. They discuss objects in motion and the concepts of pulls and pushes. Students investigate the idea that falling and gravity can be useful in connection with various sports...
Lesson Plan
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Diurnal Temperature Changes and Water Vapor Content

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the greenhouse effect, as they determine how moisture in the air affects the diurnal temperature range. Their investigation help them to explain different climatological regimes of both the Southern Great Plains and the...
Lesson Plan
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Weather Lesson 2

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Learners identify the elements that make up the earth's weather. Begin by having students pretend they are hiking along a mountain ridge. It's been sunny and warm all day, but you see a dark line of clouds moving from the west.
Lesson Plan
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Wet World in Danger

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students investigate the reasons why wetlands are threatened especially by people. They study the wise use of water to preserve wetlands.
Lesson Plan
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Making Models To Understand Our Home

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate the concept of a model and how it is used to represent something that is real. They recognize how the model can be applied to other types of concepts like the solar system. Students create a scale drawing of a house...
Lesson Plan
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Greenhouse in a Bottle

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Young atmospheric scientists create models of an atmosphere with and without clouds to determine the effect of cloud cover on Earth's temperatures, as well as figuring out whether dark or light surfaces absorb more energy. You may wish...
Lesson Plan
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Newtonian Mechanics

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scholars familiarize themselves, through teacher demonstration, with Gavendish's apparatus first used for experimentally determining the value of the Universal Gravitational Constant G, and calculate theoretical value of Earth's...
Lesson Plan
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Blazing Gas

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read and discuss the sun and the energy we use on Earth from the sun. In this sun lesson plan, 4th graders discuss the solar system, planets, and answer short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
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Water and Ice

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate how water goes from a solid to a liquid then back again.  In this experimental lesson students conduct their own experiment and see how water changes form. 
Lesson Plan
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Geologic Age

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars investigate radioactivity as a tool for measuring geologic time and how geologists use this information to determine the absolute age of rocks or minerals.
Lesson Plan
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Super Gelatin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate the refraction properties of gelatin to calculate its index of refraction. They discover that as the light travels through the gelatin, its speed and wavelength also change. Students find th indes of refraction...
Lesson Plan
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Theories

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students view a series of videos that explore the development, formation and arguments for the geocentric model of the solar system. Studenst investigate the heliocentric model of the solar system and consider how scientific theories...
Lesson Plan
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Albedo and Irradiation of Surfaces

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Here is a physical science activity where pupils place thermometers inside of a white and a black paper pocket and place them under a lamp. They record and compare the temperature increase over a ten-minute period. Have your class...
Worksheet
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Soil Porosity, Moisture Content, pH, and Density

For Students 9th - 12th
This lab activity does not have to be done with AP environmental scientists. It can also be done with middle to high school earth scientists. The procedures aren't complex. Learners determine the density of dry and wet sand in order to...
Lesson Plan
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Mystery of the Megaplume

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Read through the extensive background information and then lead your geology or physical oceanography class through an investigation of actual temperature anomaly data from the Juan de Fuca ridge. They translate the data onto a plot,...
Lesson Plan
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Planetary Surface Evolution and Resurfacing

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students are provided with drawings of planet surfaces in order to investigate different types of planetary terrain. They make observations for each planet and discuss the characteristics observed. The lesson includes background...
Lesson Plan
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Water Cycle Bracelets

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Young scholars engage in a lesson that investigates the hydrological cycle. They create bracelets with different colored beads that represent parts of the cycle. Students can follow the cycle in the order of the beads. The lesson...
Lesson Plan
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Stopping Deforestation in the Amazon: A Publicity Campaign

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the environment by designing a group project.  In this ecology activity, students identify the man made threats to the Amazon while reading environmentally conscience vocabulary terms.  Students collaborate...
Lesson Plan
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Galaxies

For Teachers 4th - 6th
The first thing to note is that this lesson plan was written for use in a parochial school. Even if you are in a non-religious setting, however, the website exploration of galaxies and the accompanying worksheet make for an engaging...
Unit Plan
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Matter And Materials

For Teachers 1st
Students investigate the concept of identifying different objects in nature and classifying them into different categories. The students will describe and explain a group of the objects orally and in writing form that is appropriate to...
Lesson Plan
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Cooler In The Shadows

For Teachers K - 1st
Students investigate the concepts of shadows and how they are projected with objects different positions in relation to the sun. They conduct an experiment by observing objects in different positions. Then students record the observations.
Lesson Plan
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Detectives in the Landscape

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore landscapes. In this landscape lesson, 4th graders investigate different elements of landscapes. Students design a visual presentation using photographs taken during a nature walk.
Lesson Plan
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Energy and Energy Conversion

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders investigate different energy conversions through hands-on activities. In this energy instructional activity, 3rd graders move through four stations and conduct experiments illustrating energy conversions. Wave energy,...