Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Waves: A Study of Earthquakes and Tsunami

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine plate tectonics and the causative effect of earthquakes.  In this tectonics lesson students differentiate between the types of energy waves that cause earthquakes and tsunamis and how waves travel at different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Soup to Nuts

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the concept of idioms as they learn about philanthropy. In this literature and service learning instructional activity, students read Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen and examine negative idioms. Students reflect on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shadow Trackers

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students use online websites to inquire about the cycle of day and night. In this web based lesson, students are able to see the movement of the sun and Earth. Students can look at different parts of the Earth as if they were on the Sun...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Snug in the Snow

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore how snow helps animals survive in the wild. In this animal science lesson plan, students review key vocabulary words and discuss types of animal adaptations. Students construct shoebox to simulate the snowy environment...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Lesson Is a Breeze, So Don't Blow It!

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students conduct an experiment to show that air is all around us and that wind is the movement of air. They construct a weather vane to determine which direction the wind is blowing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Alice World:Tornado

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders use the Alice program and complete a world that is damaged after a tornado.  In this atmospheric conditions lesson students complete an activity using the Alice program. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Does Santa Claus use the Coriolis Force to Travel East?

For Teachers K - 9th
Students are given a visual demonstration of the Coriolis Force in the Northern Hemisphere. They are encouraged to find locations around the globe and try to predict what the weather circulation patterns might be like.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Integrating Physical Science and the Geological Environment

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students undertake a series of experiments and activities related to geology, especially in Connecticut. They evaluate types of rocks, minerals, and crystals, exploring the main concepts of geology.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Take a Rock Apart

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students take a crushed rock and sort the remains of the rock minerals into different categories based on the different properties. In this sorting lesson plan, students learn what makes up a rock and how to sort something into categories.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Dissolved Oxygen and Demonstration of a Simple Test Procedure

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explain the importance of dissolved oxygen in water ecosystems. They describe the aquatic oxygen cycle and the effect of water pollution on oxygen. They make observations, collect data and draw a conclusion.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rain, Rain, Go Away

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students conduct a number of experiments involving evaporation and condensation. They view and discuss a video about the water cycle and then design posters about the rain based on the book "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs".
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Lesson: Tsunami Attack!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine how earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides can trigger tsunami waves. They determine how engineers use sensors to detect the dangerous wave, and how they help design building that will survive the wave force and water.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Day in the Life of a San Francisco Native Animal

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Students research animals indigenous to the area.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classroom Triangles

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use bearing measurements to triangulate and determine objects' locations. Working in teams of two or three, students must put on their investigative hats as they take bearing measurements to specified landmarks in their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Namib From Space

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers view photos of the Namib Desert from space as they appear on the World Wide Web. They study the photos and identify landmarks from space as they examine how to collect information from the Internet for a class presentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Cycle Boogie

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students explore the water cycle. They learn the "Water Cycle Boogie." Students create hats to represent the different parts of the cycle and learn hand motions to go with the words of the song. Students practice singing the song and the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Field Trip Preparation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students make a contingency plan in case of unexpected events such as bad weather. They discuss safety and appropriate conduct.They map out a schedule to ensure that sufficient time is allotted for all activities.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sustainable Southern Belize: Coral Health Lesson Plan

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate coral reefs and the dangers they face by labeling and drawing.  In this oceanography lesson, 5th graders view a PowerPoint presentation of photographs of coral reefs in Belize.  Students investigate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rate It - Working With Positive and negative Numbers

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
Students practice rating things using numbers between -2 to 2. In this rating lesson plan, students determine what a rating scale is before rating things such as the weather, a book, or a day using the numbers -2 to 2. They examine the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Avoiding Sports Injuries

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students research sports injuries and how to deal with the injury. In this injury prevention instructional activity, the teacher introduces several exercise risk factors and prevention techniques, then students work in small groups to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ancient Sun Models of the World

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explain that many different cultures across the world developed their own reasoning for the weather around them. They explore the different cultural beliefs of the sun's cycle and to create their own story of the sun's movement.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Agents of Erosion

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the agents of erosion. They observe rocks that are rough and unweathered and record observations. They investigate rocks rubbed with sandpaper and ones that are not and the effects that the sandpaper has on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Latent Heat and Clouds

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore latent heat and how it relates to clouds in the atmosphere.  For this earth science lesson students investigate how clouds are formed. Students examine clouds and the water cycle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cultural Contact

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the diversity of the Hispanic Culture, utilizing technology enhanced research and creative graphics (by hand) to retell the researched story.