What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them. 

Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...

Modeling dough and paper cutouts in science class? Learn about how relative age dating concepts, like the Law of Superposition and cross-cutting relationships, can be used to describe the formation of sedimentary layers.

Fifteen detailed pictures and informative captions delve deep into the exploration of stars—their life cycle and importance in the universe. 

Seriously, 93 slides of literary terms? Yes, and well worth the time, although perhaps not all at once. The beauty here is in the concise, easy-to-understand definitions for such well-known terms as imagery and personification, as well...

Arctic sea ice reflects 80 percent of sunlight, striking it back into space; with sea ice melting, the world's oceans become warmer, which furthers global warming. These activities explore how humans are impacting ecosystems around the...

Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...

Introduce your class to Mars with a resource that provides information about its size, location, length of day, length of year, number of moons, and average temperature. Also includes is information about the lans for past...

What was the most significant tool used by the Chumash? How did the environment make the tool possible? What group behaviors allowed the Chumash be be successful for thousands of years? After watching West of the West's documentary Once...

Robert Hass's article "Rivers and Stories" underscores the importance of rivers in the development of civilization and the importance of reclaiming supposedly dead rivers and implementing policies that protect river health. Groups...

West of the West's documentary Arlington Springs Man and a two-page scientific article about the same topic provide the text for a reading comprehension exercise that asks individuals to craft a one page summary of information gathered...

Complete with maps, photographs, and historical documents, this presentation would be a great resource throughout a unit about mid-19th century America. Manifest Destiny, Texas Independence, the Oregon Trail, and the Mexican War are...

Learners view Understanding Geologic Time on the Internet or by CD-Rom to explore the length of time that the Earth has existed.

In this middle and recent Earth history activity, students are given 20 statements about the changes in the Earth and life on Earth and they determine if they are true or false. If the statements are false, students change the italicized...

Seventh graders take an outdoor observation walk around the campus and take soil samples. Working in groups , they conduct experiments with rocks and soil that demonstrate the effects of different types of erosion.

Fifth graders dig for fossils. For this fossil lesson, 5th graders read about the oldest found fossils and discuss the process of fossilization. They dig for their own fossils in a fossil box made of several dirt layers. 

High schoolers explore the importance of seed diversity for cultural and ecological stability/health. They discover what an heirloom seed is and why they are important to conserve.

Students create instruments to capture different types of insects. In this The Greatest Show on Earth: The World's Smallest Animals activity, students compare the attributes of certain insects and record the data on a chart. After...

Students recognize that artifacts are destroyed over time.  In this environmental factors on artifacts lesson, students experiment and observe through the microscope to find the environmental impact on artifacts.  Students make...

Students create a timeline of the times dinosaurs lived.  In this  dinosaur timeline lesson, students research the various periods when dinosaurs lived. Students work in groups to research the dinosaurs of a specific time...

Students explore how the centuries-old invention of the lever led to today's applications in mobiles and crowbars. They watch a video on the lever, then utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan to guide their experiments.

Seventh graders use the Internet to research the holiday of Kwanzaa. Using the information, they create a brochure to promote the holiday to others. They email the information to a friend to end the lesson plan.

Students study the symbols of the state of Michigan and create a slide show using KidPix. They discuss the diversity of creation within the state of Michigan. Students also discuss how God is in control of the "kings of our earth."

In this geologic history worksheet, learners answer questions about the earth's history, about dating fossils, about layers of rocks and about unconformity.