High schoolers., in groups, define calorie and compare the absorption of solar energy by three different collectors. They define solar constant and offer several explanations for discrepancies between the data collected and the solar...

Introduce your class to one of the ways that technology is benefiting humanity. The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission involves the data collected by nine satellites from different countries with a united focus on studying world...

Students access information at remote sites using telecommunications, identify impacts by reviewing past El Ni??o events, make and use scale drawings, maps, and maps symbols to find locations and describe relationships.

In groups of six, middle school space scientists create an imaginative travel brochure for attracting visitors to the planet Mars. Information must include surface features and atmospheric conditions. Although time-consuming, this is a...

Learners study global change and how these changes impact wildlife.  In this polar bears  lesson students analyze maps and data to understand climate change. 

Research topics associated with the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Researchers write five facts about their topic and one question for each of those facts. They present what they learned to the rest of the class. Six topics are...

Students explore satellite orbits and gravitational force.

Student learn about "chromatography" in a hands-on experiment. Students make a chart showing what the colors represent.

Students interpret data on snow cover and analyze trend patterns. In this snow lesson students compare data and locate their school's GPS coordinates.

Students examine the rock cycle and how rocks can change over time.  In this geotechnical engineering lesson students draw a diagram of the rock cycle.

Students explore the water cycle.  Students identify the stages in a water cycle and create a PowerPoint presentation based on their knowledge.

Students explore, via a CD-ROM, the Virginia's five geological regions and discover the rocks and minerals located in each. In stone kits, they examine samples of rocks and minerals and answer questions about them. After discovering the...

Seventh graders observe and test for the presence of carbon dioxide gas. They compare concentrations of carbon dioxide gas and conclude high concentrations of carbon dioxide gas are unhealthy for human beings.

Students investigate the concept of weather and how it is created. They review relevant vocabulary related to weather. Students predict weather given slight background knowledge. The lesson includes background information for the...

Young scholars examine the weather conditions throughout the globe. As a class, they discover the impact of snow on various types of crops. In groups, they participate in an experiment in which they form raindrops and calculate the...

Students describe how water exists on earth in three states. They trace the path that rain water follows after it falls. Students describe various forms that water takes on the earth's surface and conditions under which they exist....

Students record weather observations and research online weather data. In this weather observations lesson, students study the cloud cover for several days and record their observations in a chart. Students identify the cloud types and...

Students use the NASA website's Live Access Server to create a graph of surface temperature at two locations on earth. They analyze the data and then answer specific questions provided in this lesson. They also examine and compare the...

Students become aware of the important role the ocean plays in our lives. Students will gain general knowledge about the ocean by reading information on the Internet. They discover the weather events generated by ocean conditions.

Third graders take note of the changes in the water level in a cup of water that is left out. Using a model of the water that depicts a lake and landscape that is being heated by a heat lamp, the students observe precipitation, and...

Students collect, interpret and analyze weather variable data. They describe atmospheric variables that affect evaporation. Students create graphs and analyze the information collected.

Fourth graders investigate how weather influences shelter choices. They explore the concept of insulation and discuss some traditional Native American shelters. They discuss the shelters used by the Okanogan people during the various...

Fourth graders review how erosion can happen by wind, water, and gravity which they studied in previous lesson. They attempt to discover if all soils erode at the same rate. In small groups, 4th graders experiment with three different...

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.