With almost half of Americans relying on groundwater supplies, it is more important than ever to protect aquifers from possible contaminants. Working in small groups, young environmentalists explore this problem as they create an aquifer...

Students label the continents, oceans, and seas on a provided world map and use it to determine where they would expect most of the world's coral reefs to be found based on provided information the teacher has read to them.

Students explore what is beneath the surface of the earth is one of the jobs of a geologist. Rather than digging up vast tracts of land to expose an oil field, or to find coalbearing strata, core samples can be taken.

Eighth graders describe how stress builds up in the Earth's crust by the movement of tectonic plates. In groups, they relate the three types of stresses to the types of plate movements and explain how the stress causes faults to form. ...

Students create a timeline of geologic events of the Phanerozoic Eon. In this geologic timeline lesson, students view a handout that shows a timeline of the Earth's history. They create their own timeline of the Phanerozoic Eon with...

Students examine the different components that make up soil. Using data, they identify the components of soil in their local area and discover how scientists use the soil to see how it was formed. They also describe the soil forming...

Students identify the contents of a glacier like those found in Patagonia. They construct a mini glacier model in class. Students compare and contrast the classroom model with Patagonian glaciers. They label specific parts of the...

Demonstrate for your earth scientists how plant pollen of the past has become part of sedimentary deposits, providing clues about ancient climates. Then give them simulated sediment layer samples to analyze for different types of paper...

In this planets worksheet, students use Internet research to complete 5 pages about solar system facts. Students answer 25 essay questions and label a diagram of the solar system.

Eighth graders watch the "Earth, the Environment & Beyond" video on earthquakes. Take notes and give an oral summary. They build a working, two dimensional model of a strike-slip, thrust, or normal fault.

Students use foam packing pieces to represent molecular positioning inside the four layers of earth's atmosphere. This lesson help students visualize that molecules become thinner as one ascends higher in the atmosphere.

Students practice classifying rocks in the categories sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. They bring personal rock collections to school, then correctly label the three types of rocks on posterboard.

Students participate in a creative project where they construct globes. They label specific places on the globe that helps them learn how to read an actual globe.

Learners draw a picture and label the layers of a rain forest in Africa.

Learners investigate where volcanos come from. In this volcano lesson, students watch videos do Internet research and participate in experiments to discover the cause of volcanos.

Students analyze soil for types of pollen to determine the probably climate conditions. For this earth science lesson, students make conclusions on what a climate is like based on soils samples. Students use a model soil...

Students explore islands. They create a two- or three-dimensional map of an island. They explain how the topography of an area influences the location of water sources, ecosystems, and human settlements. Lesson includes adaptations for...

Young scholars perform classroom experiments to observe adhesion. They perform a second experiment using sand, salt, water, and a heat lamp to observe the principle of capillary action. They also experiment with adhesion in plants.

Students discuss the drilling process. In this engineering lesson, students get into small groups and drill their own core samples in a sandwich using a plastic tubing, a jumbo straw, a slim straw and a offee stirrer predicting...

Learners explore modeling of geologic structures in experiments. They study how compressive and tensile forces produce these structures. The compression makes the flatlying strata shorter and tension make the strata longer.

Students explore how and where volcanoes form. They also explore how the interactions between oceanic and continental crust create volcanoes and other mountains and earthquakes in a simulation activity using cardboard of two thicknesses.

Learners simulate the dating process with popcorn. In this geology lesson, students discuss how geologist find the age of rocks by gauging the amount of decay of radioactive elements. They have 6 bags of popcorn and each group microwaves...

In this waves activity, students read about the different types of waves associated with earthquakes. Then students complete 1 fill in the blank and 2 short answer questions.

Students participate in a review unit in Astronomy using the Layered Curriculum. This allows them to take charge of the type of assessment that is given. The method also allows better differentiation of instruction to occur.