In this changing crust worksheet, students use candy bars, licorice sticks and bubble gum to simulate the 3 types of forces that change the Earth's crust. These include compressional forces, tensional forces and transversal forces. The...

In this minerals worksheet, students read about the relationship between elements, rocks and minerals. They experiment using 6 different colored gumdrops to represent 6 common elements. Students construct gumdrop and toothpick models of...

In this weathering worksheet, learners investigate the effects of water and acid on limestone. They form a hypothesis for both and experiment to find the results.

In this topographic map worksheet, students learn how to read a topographic map and create a topographic map of their own using clay or Play-Doh. Students include contour lines by layering the clay. Students answer 6 questions about...

Young scholars construct functional replicas of oceanographic tools and demonstrate and explain their use.

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...

Working in cooperative groups, young scientists research and report on how undersea volcanic activity may benefit marine ecosystems. There are many links to websites that you can use to stimulate curiosity or for pupils to use for...

Students sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...

Collaborative groups work together to report on the volcanic activity leading to island formation and construct models to demonstrate the process. Consider having each group present their project to the rest of the class. There are many...

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

Students study the basic elements of the Earth's crust: rocks, soils and minerals. They categorize rocks, soils and minerals and how they are literally the foundation for our civilization. They also explore how engineers use rock soils...

The second of a three-unit lesson plan, this focuses on how human-made structures affect watersheds. Using watershed models that were built during the first unit, junior geologists now place buildings, dams, or levees into the models and...

The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...

Students experiment with water levels and plastic topographic volcano models to determine the contour lines that would be used to create a topograpohic map of a volcano. They use the traced lines to actually develop the map.

Students study the basics of soil science. They research and gather data through readings, videos, and performance of laboratory investigations. As a team they generate oral and written recommendations for the amendment of soil.

As the great and hilarious Tim Minchin once said, "Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity." Science is more than just a guess; it is based on questions, observations, and evidence. High...

A professional-quality PowerPoint, which includes links to footage of actual landslides in action, opens this moving lesson. Viewers learn what conditions lead to erosion and land giving way. They simulate landslides with a variety of...

Take cover because a wild presentation on hurricanes is about to make landfall in your classroom! An outstanding PowerPoint presentation is the centerpiece of this lesson. Not only does it provide information and photographs, but several...

Geologists are gneiss, tuff, and a little bit wacke. The fifth chapter of seven includes ten activities at four different levels. The hands-on activities cover fossils including how they are formed, vertebrates, invertebrates,...

The Galle crater on Mars is also known as the Happy Face crater because of its appearance. First, scholars use pebbles and flour to simulate craters and study their properties. They then apply this knowledge to help decipher the history...

A series on environmental engineering introduces the class to issues that environmental engineers work to solve. This first lesson focuses on air and land issues, and looks at ways to reduce pollution.

There has been an earthquake! Can you listen to the description of damage given by callers in order to determine the epicenter? The 11th of 20 lessons has pupils read a script of one emergency caller. The class records the information on...

See the underwater world through a different pair of eyes! Middle school marine biologists identify deep-sea organisms by examining images taken by an ROV from the Okeanos Explorer. After determining what creatures lie beneath the...

What can layers of rock teach us about the climate? Young scientists solve a mystery about who stole a cookie by applying the law of superposition. Then, they apply the same concept to solve a more difficult mystery, trying to determine...