Curated OER
Ride the Rock Cycle
Students identify the steps in the rock cycle. They complete a K-W-L chart before the lesson begins. They answer questions about the stages to complete the lesson.
Curated OER
Building for the Big One
Students build and test structures that can best withstand earthquakes. They create their structures from playdough, cornstarch, grape-nuts and popsicle sticks and place their structures on a "shake table."
Curated OER
Plotting Earthquakes
Students plot earthquakes on a map. In this instructional activity on earthquakes, students will explore recent earthquake activity in California and Nevada. Students will plot fault lines and earthquake occurrences on a map.
Columbus City Schools
Diversity of Living Things
Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have changed along...
American Museum of Natural History
What is Marine Biology?
A marine environment covers the majority of the earth but is arguably the least understood. Teach young scientists about the characteristics of oceans and ocean species using an interactive online lesson. The in-person or remote learning...
Curated OER
Volcanoes: Sixth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Bring a set of pre-lab, lab, and post-lab lesson plans on volcanoes to your earth science unit. Sixth graders explore the three types of volcanoes found on Earth, plot the specific locations of these volcanoes on a map, and investigate...
It's About Time
Mass Extinction and Fossil Records
The focus of a fossil-based lesson uses graphs and charts that allow young paleontologists to make inferences about events of mass extinction. They must apply their previous knowledge about fossil records in this final lesson of the...
Curated OER
Creating Journals
Students take a virtual tour of Yosemite and selects photographs to use in their journal.
Curated OER
How Old Is Illinois?
Students use fossils found in rocks to determine the age of rock in Illinois. They use a chart to identify the fossils and then identify the periods of rock.
Curated OER
Our Ever Changing Earth
First graders study ways in which the earth changes due to erosion and weathering in this series of lessons.
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics & Land Forms
Fourth graders discuss the different interactions of plates and the ways mountains are created. In this plate tectonics lesson students complete an activity in groups.
Curated OER
The Delicate Balance - Iowa's Natural Resources
Discover the natural resources in Iowa by studying it's history. In this environmental lesson, your students will observe a topographical map of Iowa and identify where its most valuable resources are. They complete an Iowa name...
Curated OER
Wreck Detectives
Junior archaeologists examine types of artifacts from the Bronze Age on the internet. In collaborative groups, they create a story about a ship from this period and then construct a model of the ocean floor after their ship has sunk....
Curated OER
How Does Your Soil Stack Up?
Young scholars examine the soil in their local area and create a soil profile. They record observations in the field and the classroom. They create their own display of the soil profile as well.
Curated OER
"Investigating Soil Color and Texture"
Ninth graders will identify/understand the differences between soil and dirt. They will classify soil color accurately and use Munsell notation to describe it (Munsell books provided).Students will classify soil texture using the feel...
Curated OER
Earth Structure and Processes
Students classify different rocks according to their types. In this earth science lesson, students explain how plate tectonics created Earth's landforms. They explain the continental drift theory and sea floor spreading in their own words.
Curated OER
Denali Park Topographic Maps
Students construct a topographic map of the Denali National Park. They identify different elevations and record historic landmarks in student science journals.
Curated OER
Design an Island
Students explore islands. They create a two- or three-dimensional map of an island. They explain how the topography of an area influences the location of water sources, ecosystems, and human settlements. Lesson includes adaptations for...
Curated OER
Rock Cycles, Crayon Cycles
Students examine the rock cycle and the path that rocks go through to rearranged in different ways. They define key vocabulary terms, then in small groups conduct a variety of experiments using crayon shavings as simulated rocks and...
Curated OER
Water: A Necessity for Life
Students examine types of aquifers and make a model landfill. In this water usage lesson, students determine the difference between confined and unconfined aquifers. They build a model landfill, observe it for two weeks, and analyze what...
Curated OER
The Gifts of the Nile
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...
Curated OER
The 50 States and its Holidays
Though the format of this ELL lesson is confusing (the standards listed are for plate tectonics, yet the objectives are for American geography and holidays), a teacher could glean some ideas from the main idea. Here, pupils complete a...
Curated OER
Digging into the Past
Students discover how fossils are found and how they help scientists reconstruct the past. They examine how they shed light on what kinds of animals and plants lived over the years, when they lived, and under what environmental conditions.
Curated OER
Earthquake Proof Structures
Eighth graders build a structure that is able to withstand a simulated earthquake. They research earthquakes, earthquake measurement, and society's preparation for and reaction to them. Pupils build models and present them to the...