Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examples for Socratic Questioning: Climate And Solar Radiation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the various controls on the amount of solar radiation received at different parts of the Earth's surface by participating in a whole class discussion. They respond to prompts that lead them to conclusions about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WorldWatcher Activity: What Happens to Sunlight?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine a set of data to try to determine the amount of cloud cover. In groups, they make a list of items that reflect light in the atmosphere and how different amounts of it can change the temperature. Using WorldWatcher,...
PPT
Curated OER

Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Solar System

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Fifteen questions about our solar system make up this interactive review game. It was written by a teacher in the UK, and therefore the monetary winnings for answering correctly are in pounds. The content applies, however, to any...
PPT
Curated OER

Jeopardy - Earth Sciences

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Questions about water, weather, geology, astronomy, and the scientific process make up this Jeopardy game. It is a pretty well-rounded set of slides, although you may want to be aware that a few of the questions are specific to the state...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Effects on Global Warming

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners explore the greenhouse effect and how it affects our climate.  In this global warming lesson students draw the sun and label features and describe the effects of the sun's energy on the world. 
Workbook
1
1
University of California

Seasons Lab Book

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Unlock the mystery behind seasonal change with a collection of worksheets and activities. Whether they are drawing pictures of Earth's orbit around the sun or graphing the temperature and daylight hours of different locations...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Arrays for the Space Station

For Teachers K - 4th
Students explore the challenges that are faced when transporting materials into space. They review the various forms of energy, including solar arrays, that are used on the International Space Station and how generating this energy calls...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Cloudy vs. Clear - Maps

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Find out the science of how clouds keep Earth cooler on hot days. Using guided discussions, investigators analyze and interpret maps of how much solar energy Earth receives at different times of the year. Participants draw conclusions...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Cloudy vs. Clear - Graphs

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Explore the link between solar energy and cloud cover using real data from NASA from China! Future climatologists analyze and interpret graphs of solar energy on clear and cloudy days using a literacy cube. Investigators draw conclusions...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Which Way is North?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Who needs a compass to find cardinal directions? Just place a stick in the ground and record the movement of its shadow over the course of a day. Then, measure the shadow lengths in order to determine a north-south line. A simple...
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

My Angle on Cooling—Effect of Distance and Inclination

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
When exploring Mars, spacecrafts are exposed to 5-11 times more sunlight than when near Earth. Groups of pupils complete a hands-on activity to explore how distance and angle of the sun affect temperature. Through discussions, they then...
Lesson Plan
1
1
American Chemical Society

Designing a Shade Structure

For Teachers K
Bring the learning outdoors with an enjoyable activity about Earth's heating, sunlight, and shade. Scholars use problem-solving skills as they design, build, and test a sunshade structure. Participants view a video summarizing the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

As the Sun Burns

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students investigate the sun's energy. They explore various websites, demonstrate proper solar protection, conduct experiments using special UV beads, and complete worksheets.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Energy Does the Earth Receive from the Sun?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore energy. In this science lesson, students conduct an experiment in which they measure how much energy is produced by the sun. Students build a calorimeter to measure the amount of energy.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Solar Water Heater Kit

For Students 5th - 8th
In this earth science worksheet, learners identify and experiment how hot water gets in a solar water heater. Then they respond to four short answer questions that follow related to the experiment.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Energy Worksheet #1

For Students 5th - 8th
A graph of Earth's average monthly temperatures from 1990 to 1994 is posted across the top of the page for meteorology masters to analyze. Five multiple choice questions are asked regarding temperature variation. This does not have to be...
Interactive
Scholastic

Study Jams! Earth's Oceans

For Students 4th - 8th
Enjoy beautiful images and ocean facts together with the slide show, then see how much you absorbed by taking the quiz. Some of the topics covered in the presentation include water pressure, sunlight in the ocean, the names and locations...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Greenhouse Gas Modeling Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Why are greenhouse gases called greenhouse gases? Young Earth scientists learn about greenhouse gases though experimentation in the second installment of a 3-part series. They use lamps to model radiant energy as well...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Making A Sundial

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Can people really measure time just by using the sun? Scholars venture outside on a nice, sunny day to build sundials and learn how people measured time 600 years ago. The class builds two different sundials while gaining practice with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Angle on Cooling: Effects of Distance and Inclination

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discuss what heat is and how it travels. They discover that one way to cool an object in the presence of a heat source is to increase the distance from it or change the angle at which it is faced.
Interactive
Weber State University

The Sun and the Seasons

For Students 9th - 12th
Why is there more daylight in June than in December if you live above the equator? How does the angle of sunlight shift throughout the year? Answer these questions and more with an interactive article about the sun, its path through the...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

An Energy Mix: Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
What did the windmill say about renewable energy? I'm a BIG fan! Lesson three in the series of 12 has classes discuss potential and kinetic energy and then, in pairs, they complete a web quest over the different types of energy...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Solar Isolation Changes and the Sunspot Cycle

For Students 8th - 10th
In this sunspot cycle and solar irradiation worksheet, students use 2 graphs of daily total solar irradiance and sunspot activity to solve 3 problems. They find the average solar irradiance during a given time, they determine the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pen Light Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study what makes Earth warm and explore how different locations on the planetreceive different amounts of solar energy based on the intensity of the sun's rays. They calculate light intensities and compare the amounts of light...