Before your learners excuse themselves to get a drink at the water fountain, prompt them to think about where that water comes from. A middle school science instructional activity encourages groups to research their community's source of...

Why do rocks break down over time? Learners explore this concept by simulating physical and chemical weathering of different types of rocks. They use an abrasive to demonstrate physical weathering and acid to demonstrate chemical...

Ever needed a reason to stop eating meat? Read this interesting (and slightly disgusting) passage with your class to assess reading comprehension. 

How is a movie theater like a desert biome? Compare systems to ecosystems with a set of activities that focuses on accessing multiple intelligences and building upon knowledge. As learners discuss the ways elements of an ecosystem depend...

If you're planning on including Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles in your science fiction unit, use a concept analysis guide to frame your instruction. It covers literary elements such as setting, narrative voice, and theme, as...

What's the most interesting fact about a blue whale? Learners read an interview about the similarities between the Titanosaur and the blue whale displays at the American Museum of Natural History. Pupils learn not only about blue whales...

Third graders identify various types of landforms of the United States. They discuss earth movements that produce geologic structures and landforms and define cycle as it relates to rocks and soil. They demonstrate the processes forming...

Students discover the faults throughout the Earth. They describe the different types of faults and how they are related to earthquakes. They build models of the faults.

In this plate tectonics worksheet, learners complete 8 fill in the blank questions on plate boundaries, 9 short answer questions on the Earth's crust and 5 fill in the blank on continental drift. There are 3 follow questions at the end.

Students examine the properties of minerals and show examples of the functions.  In this minerals instructional activity students create models of different minerals.

Eighth graders engage in a class discussion while going through a PowerPoint on Mississippi's contribution to space exploration. In this Space science lesson plan, the students will also participate in Brain Pop quizzes where they will...

Get your class thinking about the geography that shaped the Egyptian landscape and culture. They compare ancient climate zones and geogrpahical fetures, locate evidence of plate tectonics, take and quiz, and write a short essay. The...

Seventh graders learn how solar radiation, latitude, and other factors affect weather. They break into six groups and are assigned a topic to research and to present their findings orally.

Eighth graders describe the steps in the water cycle. They discuss factors that affect runoff and explain the differences between stalactites and stalagmites. They discover the importance of ground water.

Students compare and contrast renewable and nonrenewable energy. In this environmental science lesson, students discuss the importance of going green. They identify the different components in a power grid system.

Fifth graders brainstorm processes or forces that cause Earth's surface to be changed.

Seventh graders discover how water circulates through the earth and its atmosphere while determine how much of the Earth's water is suitable for drinking. They discover the meaning of evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation and...

Students listen to an Elder speak about permafrost structures in their area. In this permafrost lesson plan, students listen to the guest speaker, take a tour outside to view permafrost structures, and draw them.

Students view a disk on the continental movement and analyze the given data on fossils, rock types and climate zones. In this geology lesson students draw a diagram of the earths layers, take a quiz complete a PowerPoint presentation.

Pupils examine the relationship between human-made structures, flood waters and the increasing population through video clips, websites and a lab experiment.

Students use the Internet to gather information on tides and then use this information to determine the period of revolution of the moon around the earth (part 1) and the relative pull of the sun and the moon on the tides (part 2).

Students study the Earth and Solar System through a variety of activities. They compile a coloring book show the characteristics of the Sun and nine planets.

Students build model caverns using paper mache or clay and bury them in a tray of sand. They test the models by dropping balls onto them to simulate an asteroid hitting the earth. They evaluate the effectiveness of a structure against...

Students use diagrams to review how the Earth rotates around the sun. In groups, they use the same diagrams to explain how the sun shadows are produced and how they differ between seasons. They describe the Earth's rotation and...