Curated OER
"Weather" or Not?
Students complete a three week unit about weather and how it affects our behavior. They read and discuss various books related to weather, conduct an experiment about the tilt of the earth, plan a field trip based on temperature,...
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Hurricanes!
Pupils access hurricane reports form the national weather service online, and draw hurricane paths. They discuss how hurricanes form and move. The research should be reported in a comprehensive presentation that can be given to a whole...
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The Pacific and El Niño
El Nino, and the climate changes that go along with it, are the focus of this Earth Science instructional activity. Learners pay particular attention to the wind patterns that are established on Earth, and look at weather maps to see how...
Polar Trec
Beacon Valley Weather
In Beacon Valley, katabatic winds regularly knock fit adults to the ground. The lesson plan compares the actual temperatures to the wind chill after factoring in katabatic winds in Beacon Valley. Scholars learn to calculate wind chill...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Are Global CO2 Levels Changing?
According to the Mauna Loa observatory, carbon dioxide levels increased by 3 ppm in our atmosphere between 2015–2016. Individuals analyze carbon dioxide data from around the world and then share this with a home group in lesson...
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Sand Shakes & Mud Pies: Investigating Sediment
Take a field trip to a location where water and land meet to study patterns of sediment organization in wet habitats: river or ocean beaches, sand dunes, tidal marshes, the edge of a pond, or a woodland stream. Small groups collect pairs...
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Weathering Landforms
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of ways the Earth's surface can change. As a class, they are introduced to the concepts of erosion and weathering and discover how wind and water cause changes to the surface of the Earth. To end the...
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Earth's Tilt Creates Seasons
Students examine how the Earth's tilt creates the seasons. In this seasons lesson, students study a diagram that shows the rotation of the earth around the sun and how it tilts during the rotation. They answer 4 discussion questions and...
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Predicting Severe Weather
Students recognize the range and variety of severe weather. They plan for severe weather conditions that they may experience on an immediate and long-term scale and use climate information to make personal choices about where to live and...
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The Science of Weather: Hurricanes
Students use this USA today activity to learn about hurricane season. For this hurricane lesson, students study the map of the earth and hurricane science. Students complete discuss questions. Students draw a map of the United States and...
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Weather Report Chart
Pupils complete a weather report chart after studying weather patterns for a period of time. In this weather report lesson, students measure temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, wind speed, and wind direction for a month. Pupils...
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Seasonal CEENBoT
Students simulate the Earth's revolution around the sun using CEENBoT. In this earth science activity students calculate the Earth's distance in AU and it's speed of revolution. They explain how the Earth's movement cause seasonal...
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The Earth's Crust
Young scholars use clay to form models of the different landforms and then complete a data table using a map, atlas, or the Internet to locate famous landforms in the United States. Students complete various activities, writing down...
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The Many, Varied, and Unusual Places and Things on Earth
Students discover how energy flows through communities because of the relationship between producers, consumers and decomposers. Examining various ecosystems, they identify the materials that cycle continuously through them. They label...
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Environmental Changes from Space
Learners discuss Landsat Satellites and the use of the images they provide as well as the purpose of keeping records of the information from the satellites. The class works in groups to complete a worksheet on short term and long term...
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Crashed on the Moon
Students compare and contrast the environments of the moon and the earth. They discover how the differences might change one's daily activities.
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Rock of Ages
Students are given a classification table and samples from their location. They locate their samples on the classification table using the characteristics used in rock identification.
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Weather Forecasting Basics
Eighth graders analyze weather diagrams and weather maps. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders explain why it is important to know the weather. They complete a handout at the end of the lesson.
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Weather Instrument Use and Application
Eighth graders measure temperature, wind speed and pressure using Skymaster SM-28. For this earth science lesson, 8th graders collect data and record observations taken from outdoors. They explain why numerical values are different in...
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Weather Elements and Instruments
Eighth graders identify the different weather elements. In this earth science instructional activity, 8th graders explain the difference between relative humidity and dew point. They discuss the different instruments used to predict...
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A Comparison of Cloud Coverage Over Africa
Students use a NASA satellite data to contrast amounts of cloud coverage over different climate regions in Africa. They explore how Earth's major air circulations affect global weather patterns, and relate to local weather patterns.
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Sky Show
Middle schoolers participate in a discussion of the sky and colors. They watch a demonstration of how colors can change. They examine the issue of if weather should be a part of their coursework.
Rainforest Alliance
Climate Educator Guide
Climate change is a hot topic in the news. Class members examine carbon dioxide data to analyze trends of our atmospheric makeup over time. They also discuss climate and climate change, and determine how these changes are affecting life...
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Investigating the Climate System - Clouds
Here is a fabulous lesson on the Earth's radiant energy system. This amazing, 31-page document is chock-full of great activities, worksheets, lab sheets, quizzes, rubrics, and assessments. Learners model and explain cloud formation,...