Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Grandpa Right, Were Winters Colder When He Was a Boy?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compare current weather data to historic data to see if there is a temperature change.  In this weather lesson students complete a lab activity and determine average changes in temperature, precipitation and cloud cover.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Researching Hurricanes with Technology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explain the components that make up a hurricane.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Volcanoes:How Safe Are They?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore volcanoes, locate them on maps, record general information about volcanoes, and organize information on a fact sheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Floods: Rising Waters and You

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the relationship between human-made structures, flood waters and the increasing population through video clips, websites and a lab experiment.
Website
American Museum of Natural History

A Closer Look at Mars

For Students 6th - 12th
A website looks at how we know so much about Mars—telescopes, robots, and spacecraft—and the search for martian life. Following the informational text are three questions that quiz pupils about possible life on Mars. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing the Wind

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students make a windmill.  In this wind lesson, students learn background information about the windmill, complete an activity where they create a windmill, discuss using wind as a natural resource and brainstorm other inventions...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using A Winogradsky Column to Analyze Microbial Communities

For Teachers 4th - 11th
Students use easily obtained materials to study ecological succession in a microbiological community. They collect water samples from outdoor sources in plastic bottles to observe and record changes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biogeochemical Cycles

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research an assigned biogeochemical cycle. In this cycle activity, students need to determine that all cycles need energy to continue. The students will look at a given cycle to describe it, research and draw an assigned cycle,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Get To the Core!

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars practice analyzing ice core samples to discover climate changes. Using the samples, they identify and graph the gas amounts. They use these numbers to determine their effect on global warming. In pairs, they complete a...
PPT
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Hhmi: Bio Interactive: Paleoclimate: A History of Change

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the history of Earth's climate in this Click and Learn. Learn how many factor control Earth's climate. Specifically, examine two of the most important factors: solar radiation and the composition of Earth's atmosphere.
Article
Read Works

Read Works: Passages: "The Rise of Oxygen in the Earth's Atmosphere"

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] The article "The Rise of Oxygen in the Earth's Atmosphere" from the American Museum of Natural History focuses on when the rise of oxygen in the earth's atmosphere began. A Step Read, a question set,...
Handout
Nine Planets

The Nine Planets: Earth Facts

For Students 9th - 10th
Find lots of information about our planet Earth here. Covers basic facts, Earth's history, layers of the Earth, plate tectonics, composition of the atmosphere, Earth's magnetic field, and some facts about our moon.
Unit Plan
Vision Learning

Visionlearning: Atmosphere and Oceans: The Origin of the Modern Atmosphere

For Students 9th - 10th
An explanation of how the Earth's atmosphere has changed over time. Evidence that helped scientists understand these changes is presented.
Unit Plan
Vision Learning

Visionlearning: Atmosphere and Oceans: The Rise of Atmospheric Oxygen

For Students 9th - 10th
An explanation of the Earth's atmosphere and how it has evolved over geologic time.
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Paleobiology: The Archaean Eon

For Students 9th - 10th
Journey into the past while reading this comprehensive overview of the Archaean Eon that covers topics such as early continents and oceans, first life on Earth, Earth's atmosphere, fossil evidence, and plate tectonics.
Lesson Plan
Other

Digital Library for Earth System Education (Dlese)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This resource provides materials for teachers on a huge array of topics. Search site by topic, grade level, and desired output (such as lesson plan, case study, assessment or tutorial). Site is focused on earth science, geography, and...
Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Hhmi: Biointeractive: Earth Viewer

For Students 9th - 10th
Watch the earth change with this interactive app? What did Earth look like 250 million years ago? Or 1 billion years ago? Or 4.5 billion years ago? What was the climate like in the deep past? Find the answers with EarthViewer, an...
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Weather and Atmosphere

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this unit, students learn the basics about weather and the atmosphere. They investigate materials engineering as it applies to weather and the choices available to us for clothing to counteract the effects of weather. Students have...
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Paleobiology: Geologic Time: Hadean Eon

For Students 9th - 10th
Journey into the past while reading this comprehensive overview of the Hadean Eon that covers topics such as the formation of the earth, its surface and atmosphere, fossil evidence, erosion and plate tectonics.
Online Course
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Earth and Space Science: The Geologic Timeline

For Students 9th - 10th
Take this online quiz and test your knowledge of geological history, and the formation of our atmosphere, water, crust, oxygen, tectonic plates, Moon, and the rest of the Earth.
Activity
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Activity: Living in the Extremes of the Biosphere

For Students 9th - 10th
In this activity, you'll describe what you think it might be like for humans to live in the extremes of the biosphere. Think about the challenges associated with living either underwater or in the upper atmosphere. Also, think about what...
Article
Open Curriculum

Open Curriculum: Into the Mitochondrion: Making Atp With Oxygen

For Students 9th - 10th
The aim of this article is to relate the history of oxygen in the atmosphere to the evolution of photosynthesis, aerobic respiration, mitochondria, and life on earth.
Handout
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Early Atmosphere and Oceans Study Guide

For Students 9th - 10th
This comprehensive study guide covers the main terms and concepts needed for an earth science unit on the early atmosphere and oceans. Review questions are included at the bottom of the study guide.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: The Atmosphere and Life

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an interview between two scientists discussing how shaping the biosphere is due to geologic events and changes in the atmosphere. Learn how there is a "complex balance between Earth's processes and its network of life".