Smithsonian Institution
Watching Crystals Grow
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Curated OER
Adapting to the Dark-Bats and People
Students consider how cavers make adaptations to the cave as do bats.
Curated OER
Changes Over Time
Sixth graders identify and classify changes in their lives. During the second activity students record observations of Blue Palo Verde seed pods and predict changes over time leading to further investigations.
Curated OER
Modeling an Active (!!) Explosive Volcano
Students examine how gas pressure causes eruptions of explosive volcanoes, and demonstrate how the build-up of gas from dissolving alka seltzer causes the lid of a film canister to blow off. They compare/contrast between the model and...
Curated OER
Collecting Rocks
Students examine how rocks are formed, used, and how to collect them. They listen to and discuss the book, Let's Go Rock Collecting, sort rock samples, and collect rocks from home.
Curated OER
Minerals - The Building Blocks of Rocks
Students examine how rocks are composed of different minerals. They analyze rock samples, then examine cookies, sorting out the simulated mineral ingredients from the cookies and identifying the mineral ingredients.
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
Igneous Rocks
Second graders examine how igneous rocks are formed by watching a video. They create a volcano.
Curated OER
Contain Yourself: Changes Over Time in the Use of Containers by Native Americans
Young scholars investigate how Native American containers changed over time and how the use of pottery changed their lifestyle. They create a pottery container.
Curated OER
4.2: Exploring Rocks
Students collect and look at rocks and write down information about them in science notebooks. They make comparisons and sort the rocks according to their properties, and then discuss their findings with their classmates and put them on...
Curated OER
The Rain Forest of Costa Rica
Fifth graders examine and discuss the topography, climate, natural resources and artwork of Costa Rica. They develop a diagram of the layers of the rain forest, and design a tourist brochure or advertisement promoting Costa Rica's...
Curated OER
Aerial Photography
Eleventh graders compare the artistic values of Terry Evans' photography with LandSAT images and other images made for purely scientific, government and commercial purposes. They consider the artistic choices made in aerial photography.
Curated OER
How Old Is Illinois?
High schoolers 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
Understanding Topographic Maps
Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...
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?
Students 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
Making Sandstone & Conglomerate - An Introduction to Sedimentary Rocks
Students review the three types of rocks and the rock cycle. They participate in an experiment in which they discover the lithification process of sedimentary rocks. They record and share their observations.
Curated OER
Tracing Highs and Lows in San Francisco
On a topographic map, students identify the scale bar, north arrow, and contour interval. They then locate a hill on the map and make note of the contour lines. Students then locate other places with similar contour line patterns....
Curated OER
Then and Now, A Watershed in San Francisco
Learners compare recent and historic maps to explore landscape changes. Using photos provided, students identify prominent features on the maps. They discuss differences in landscape, human impact on watershed, and changes in natural...
Curated OER
Molecular Biology and Primate Phylogenetics
Pairs of high school biologists compare amino acid differences in the beta hemoglobin of different primates. They use the information collected to construct a phylogenic tree. Follow-up discussion questions are provided. This is a...
Curated OER
"What If The Earth Were Made Of Sand
High schoolers examine the most common characteristics of clay and sand, and to understand how the properties of these materials affect the erosion of the landscape and the formation of the many landforms. They explore clay and sand...
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
Rocks
Fifth graders, while in the computer lab, investigate and study the composition and level of organization of objects and organisms and utilize technology to collect and store information collected. They explore, research and examine a...
Curated OER
Earthquakes and Seismic Waves
Students explore earthquakes and seismic waves. They investigate how energy is released in the subsurface to create seismic waves. Students explore the inner workings of a seismograph and how they are used to determine the location of an...
Other popular searches
- Marine Geology
- Geology Rocks and Minerals
- Geology and Rocks
- Geology Unit Plan
- Desert Geology
- Science Geology
- Cartography Geology
- Geology and Erosion
- Geology Bodies
- Geology Field Activities
- Mining and Geology
- Climate and Geology