From days of 24 hour sunlight, to endless nights that last for days, the Arctic is a very unique place to live. Examine the seasonal changes that occur in the northern-most reaches of the globe and the impact they have on the plants and...

Students study plots and use a Live Access Server to generate plots.  In this temperature lesson students examine the process of incoming and outgoing radiation. 

Students construct a mockup of a volcano by crumbling up newspapers and piling them into the shape of a volcano. They place a tarp over the newspapers making sure the tarp is large enough to simulate a flat area at the volcano's base....

Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then,...

How can December 21 be the shortest day of the year when all days are 24 hours long? Pupils see how to build a model showing the differences between winter and summer solstices and equinoxes. Using this model, classes can then discuss...

Help pupils see the world through the eyes of a mathematician. As they examine tide patterns, sound waves, and stock market patterns using trigonometric functions, learners create scatter plots and write best-fit functions. 

Pupils explore the concept of daylight. In this daylight lesson, students compare the amount of daylight on a particular day in Anchorage compared with daylight where they live. Pupils color maps of the US according to amount of...

Young scholars determine the average hours of daily sunlight for each month of the year by constructing a bar graph. They develop a understanding of how the amount of daylight hours varies by month and how that affects both temperature...

Students identify that the origins of Canada Day come from Dominion Day, which celebrated the British House of Commons decision allowing the Canadian provinces to unite and form a confederation. Then they identify the varied ways that...

Should every school have solar panels? The 19th lesson in a series of 21 has scholars research the feasibility of using solar panels at their school. They begin by gathering data on the solar energy in the area before estimating the...

Third graders examine the phases of the moon. In this moon phase instructional activity, 3rd graders listen to a read aloud of The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn M. Branley and discuss the phases of the moon. They complete a moon phase...

Fourth graders graph the number of daylight hors throughout the year and examine why day length varies. They discover that seasonal changes and latitude on Earth affect the number of hours of daylight in each day. Students listen to...

Young scholars examine how Christopher Columbus determined his latitude.

students investigate a natural factor affecting their everyday lives: daylight. First, they collect data on sunrise and sunset in their hometown, create a Microsoft Office Excel chart to help them understand the data pattern, and offer a...

Students answer questions for each of the graphs and record their answers on the Student Observation Sheet. They use the data they have collected, hypothesize which graph represents which month of the year using each graph. They then...

Learners explore origins of Islamic religion, the faith of Muslims, and examine traditions of the feast of Ramadan.

Pupils are introduced to the work and lives of 19th century lumberjacks through a living history slide show presentation. They compare and contrast life 150 years ago with the present. Students describe the history of logging in...

Students observe two demonstrations to conclude why bulge developed on the north flank of Mount St. Helens and conclude that when the "cap" was removed the pressure inside the volcano was suddenly released causing the violent eruption.

Plants take cues from the environment—change in daylight hours and temperature—to complete their seasonal life cycles. Lesson four in the series of six has classes collect phenology data on plants. After taking initial observations,...

You can demonstrate the destructive force of volcanic mudflows to your early earth scientists using this lesson plan. Messy, but memorable, the two demonstrations require some preparation. Use one or both! Included is a link to activity...

Junior geologists become the force that makes the world go around! With a lamp on the floor in the middle of the room to represent the sun, volunteers hold a globe, revolve, and rotate. Observers notice how the light hitting the globe...

What can shadows tell us about the changing season? Over several months, astronomy learners record length and position of an outdoor object's shadow, such as a flagpole. They apply the data to a growing hypothesis and note the...

Pupils hypothesize the location of the sun in the sky at diferent times of day and at different latitudes. They perform several experiments to provide evidence for their hypothesis. Experiments including observing the sun's position at...

Students conduct surveys to determine when spring occurs in the minds of people in their area. They organize and interpret their data.