We can't dig a hole through the Earth, so how do we know about the layers beneath our feet? Scholars learn about layering through hands-on exploration of common materials. They study the characteristics of each layer and apply their...

Science rocks! Explore three types of rocks and the rock cycle with an igneous rocks experiment. Pupils discuss textures, composition, and learn how melts are formed from the Earth's crust. They weigh materials using a scientific scale...

While rudimentary, this could be a great review of types of rocks. With diagrams, pictures, and graphics, this presentation describes igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock formations. The pictures are particularly engaging.

Students hypothesize about why various samples of coal have different characteristics. Pupils use information that they found during Internet searches to ascertain the validity of their hypotheses and verify the "story" of coal. ...

Coal forms from the ancient remains of plants that were alive on Earth before the dinosaurs! Scholars use their t-charts from the previous lesson over resources and research to determine if their information is correct. Through analysis...

Do not overlook this set of lessons just because your school does not have a data analysis system. There is plenty of material here to administer a complete mini unit on the formation, distribution, and properties of coal. Since it...

Students closely examine the earth's crust and various landforms. In this Earth's layers lesson plan students work in cooperative groups and analyze their roles and responsibilities therein. Each group is assigned a specific landform to...

Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson plan of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, students...

Students complete a narrative paper and a drawing depicting how the formation of oil and natural gas taken from the Earth's crust were once plants and animals millions of years ago. In this oil and natural gas lesson plan, students read,...

Ninth graders demonstrate the forces that cause folds in the earths crust by use of clay modeling. They demonstrate there knowledge of terminology and concepts related to Earths folding processes by a written or oral report on data...

Heat things up in your earth science class with this collaborative lesson on volcanoes. After first being introduced to the different types of volcanoes and how they are formed, young geologists work in small groups to...

Students identify and describe characteristics of natural landforms such as mountains, islands, rivers, and inlets, research information about landforms that would be encountered on imaginary trip from one place to another, and design...

The San Andreas Fault moves about two inches a year, approximately the same rate fingernails grow—crazy! The third lesson in the series allows for hands-on exploration of various fault formations. Through the use of a Popsicle stick,...

Fourth graders discuss the different interactions of plates and the ways mountains are created.  In this plate tectonics lesson plan students complete an activity in groups.

When students embark on an exploration of the Earth and rock formations, this resource could be used as a way to introduce or review key concepts. Students could use this presentation as a way to review information independently at a...

Students 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 their...

More of a mini-unit than a lesson, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...

Plumb the depths of the Submarine Ring of Fire and explore seismic waves with this instructional activity. Junior geologists simulate s-waves and p-waves, calculate their speeds, and then apply the data to discover the material that...

High schoolers focus on a study of igneous rocks. They see how igneous rocks are formed, and how to distinguish them from other types of rocks. A crystal-growing activity is present, and learners create drawings that show where each...

Eighth graders, using a candy bar, gum, and Twizzlers, demonstrate the effects of deformational forces on the earth's crust. They examine the processes of rock and fossil formation.

More than 80 percent of the earth's surface originated from volcanoes. The 16th lesson in a 20-part series introduces the shape and development of volcanoes. It begins with a demonstration using a balloon and flour to illustrate the...

Pupils sequence the steps leading to the formation of rain, and design a model to represent these steps. This task assesses students' abilities to classify, generalize, infer, interpret and communicate data, and construct a pictorial...

Seventh graders study and make a model of the significant formations of the ocean floor. They examine images and illustration and apply their imagination while creating the model. They are challenged to complete further research as an...

Students use construction paper to model the layers of the earth.