Lesson Plan
NorthEast Ohio Geoscience Education Outreach

Carbon Cycle

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Using a jigsaw approach, earth science experts teach each other about the physical, biological, and geologic components of the carbon cycle, with a specific focus on the ocean. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating and Analyzing Graphs of Tropospheric Ozone

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students create and analyze graphs using archived atmospheric data to compare the ozone levels of selected regions around the world.
Lesson Plan
Forest Foundation

Forests, Carbon & Our Climate

For Teachers 4th - 6th
To conclude their examination of forest ecosystems, class members consider the role forests play in the carbon cycle and how forests can offset climate change.
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Great Red Spot Pinwheel

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The great red spot on Jupiter is 12,400 miles long and 7,500 miles wide. In this sixth part of a 22-part series, individuals model the rotation of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. To round out the activity, they discuss their findings as a...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Exploring the Water Cycle

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The water cycle is one of earth's most easily observable processes, but demonstrating each step within classroom walls can be a challenge. Through a series of videos and quick demonstrations, cover each aspect of the hydrologic cycle in...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Dive into the power of the sun with a two-part lesson. Budding scientists model the greenhouse effect in a hands-on activity, and then participate in a skit that explores the earth's energy balances and what really occurs in the...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

GEEBITT (Global Equilibrium Energy Balance Interactive TinkerToy)

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Students use the GEEBITT excel model to explore how global average temperatures are affected by changes in our atmosphere in part two of this series of seven lessons. Working in groups, they discuss, analyze graphs, and enter data to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comprehension: Compare and Contrast Topics in Two Texts

For Teachers 3rd
A scripted instructional activity can be a big help for new teachers. This fully scripted three-day learning activity provides teachers with the means to demonstrate how to compare and contrast two topics in two texts. Learners will work...
Website
American Museum of Natural History

Climate Change

For Students 6th - 12th
It actually is possible to have too much of a good thing when it comes to climate change. A slide show lesson describes how burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change. Individuals read about the scientific process and the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's the Water? Stream Side Science

For Teachers 6th - 9th
After a whole-class discussion of water reservoirs, ten liters of water are given to each lab group to represent Earth's total amount of water. They divide the water into smaller containers, each representing one of those reservoirs. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Ocean Acidification - the Chemistry is Less than Basic!

For Teachers 7th - 10th
A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this lesson on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of carbon dioxide...
Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Why Do Clouds Form in the Afternoon?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The stability of the atmosphere changes on a daily basis. A kinesthetic lesson models how the stability of the air changes as it's warmed by the sun. Learners connect their models to the changing air currents and movement of warm and...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Introducing Ecosystem Services

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Purifying air and water, providing soil in which to grow crops, and moving water through its natural cycle are all services an ecosystem provides that benefit humans. Lesson four in a series lets learners explore and discuss the value of...
Lesson Plan
US Environmental Protection Agency

Weather and Climate: What's the Difference?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Future weather forecasters collect daily temperatures over a period of time. Afterward, they compare their data with monthly averages, as researched on national weather websites, in order to grasp the difference between weather and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

NIGHT AND DAY: DAILY CYCLES IN SOLAR RADIATION

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine how Earth's rotation causes daily cycles in solar energy using a microset of satellite data to investigate the Earth's daily radiation budget and locating map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Biogeochemical Cycles Study Guide

For Students 9th - 12th
The four cycles in Earth's biogeochemical system are covered in this worksheet. Science stars fill in the blanks or define vocabulary terms pertaining to the hydrologic, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous cycles. This resource provides a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tides - The Ins and Outs of Tides

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Get your junior oceanographers to generate tidal prediction graphs on an interactive website. They will feel like experts in the field, or shall we say, experts in the ocean! This is a brief, but worthwhile activity that could be used to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather Watchers

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students identify basic weather instruments and how they are used to record weather data. Students define several vocabulary terms as stated in lesson. Students use basic instruments to record weather data in their area. Students use the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WATER HERE AND THERE

For Teachers K - 2nd
Introduce the topic of water conservation with a little drama. Dressed as snowflakes, hail stones, or rain drops class members dramatize the events in a narration of the water cycle. The series of lessons that follow focus on...
Activity
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University of Texas

Observing the Moon

For Teachers K - 8th Standards
Why does it look like there is a man on the moon? Why does the moon look different every night? These are the focus questions of a lesson that prompts class members to observe and record the nightly changes of Earth's natural...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Acid Rain

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Simulated acid rain, a dilute sulfuric acid solution, needs to be prepared for this demonstration. After a condensed lecture on acid rain, you will apply the solution to a sample of granite and a sample of limestone. Your young...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Comparison Study of Water Vapor Data to Precipitation over North America

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Learners use NASA satellite data to compare water vapor over the United States.  For this data analysis lesson students use an Excel spreadsheet to map their data. 
Unit Plan
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NASA

Collecting Electromagnetic Radiation

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Astronomy is literally over your head, but this lesson will explain how we study it. Young scientists make telescopes, calculate and compare the light gathering power of lenses, and simulate detection of infared radiation....
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Climate Change Around the World

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
It is unknown if cloud cover increases in response to carbon dioxide levels changing, helping climate change slow down, or if cloud cover decreases, allowing Earth to warm faster. Part four in the series of five lessons has classes...