Curated OER
Hinode-Close Up of a Sunspot
In this solar sunspot worksheet, learners use two photographs from the Hinode solar observatory showing a sunspot on the solar surface. Students solve 5 problems including finding the scale of the images, determining the smallest detail...
Curated OER
General Description of Site
In this earth science learning exercise, learners identify what a site matrix is and that is composed of a sandstone mixture. They excavate each quadrant and write detailed journal entries. Students also complete a site map that...
Curated OER
The No Zone of Ozone
Students explore the causes and effects of the Earth's ozone holes through discussion and an interactive simulation. Using gumdrops and toothpicks, they conduct a large-group, interactive ozone depletion model.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Day the Mesozoic Died
While this is not the traditional, step-by-step lesson plan, it is chock-full of material that you can easily incorporate into your earth history unit. Its main purpose is to serve as a guide to using a three-part film, The Day the...
Teach Engineering
What's Wrong with the Coordinates at the North Pole?
Here is an activity that merges technology with life skills as individuals use Google Earth to explore the differences between coordinate systems and map projections. The self-guided worksheet is the fourth segment in a nine-part unit....
US Environmental Protection Agency
Building an Model Aquifer
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...
Kenan Fellows
Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Energy Resources
Is one type of energy inherently good or bad? Young scientists explore energy resources in a week-long unit. After extensive research, groups create powerful position statements and presentations supporting their energy resource of choice.
Teach Engineering
Dress for Success
Dressing for success is not always about looking sharp. Sometimes it is about staying warm and dry. Present your class with an activity that challenges groups of pupils to design a layered material for blizzard conditions. The teams test...
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Fourth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Examine earthquake intensities and ways to measure an earthquake through the comparison of the Mercalli and Richter scales. After completing the pre-lab worksheet, fourth graders compare high and low intensity quakes by testing...
Curated OER
Earth Science
Young scholars analyze the mechanisms for generating ocean currents, temperature, and deep ocean circulation. They are able to assess the formation and breaking of waves and their effect on shorelines, particularly the North Carolina...
PHET
The Sun: Pre- and Post-Assessment
Want to see how far pupils have come since the beginning of the unit? This activity is designed to be a pre- and post-assessment for a unit on the Sun. The first in a series of 18 that can be combined to form a complete unit. Two...
Curated OER
Scale Model of the Earth
Students work together to create a model of the Earth. They label and identify each layer and describing its properties. They discover how engineers use models to test different concepts.
Curated OER
Baseball Challenge - Basic Geography Skills
A fabulous presentation/activity based on geography. The author has designed a "baseball game" where batters advance to the next base if they correctly answer a multiple choice question about geography. Geographic terms are used, along...
Curated OER
Its Getting Thinner and Thinner
Students design posters on the ozone to be judged. They design a board game on the depletion of the ozone and list the layers of the atmosphere. They construct a collage of the atmosphere into layers according to the way temperature...
Curated OER
Rocks Unit
Young scholars learn about all types of rocks through a unit study consisting of 6 days. They are doing activities such as illustrating rocks, answering questions on a worksheet, reading, and reviewing questions. After the end of each...
Curated OER
Chocolate Chipping Away at the Rock Cycle
Eighth graders identify the different types of rocks. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders compare and contrast rocks and chocolate cookies. They explain how materials are recycled beneath the Earth.
Curated OER
Wave Math
Students identify the different factors affecting the size and shape of ocean waves. In this math lesson plan, students calculate wave speed and wavelength given a mathematical formula.
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics: Third Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Third graders examine plate movements and boundaries with a lab that demonstrates how volcanoes and earthquakes are formed. It presents different types of stresses an object can withstand through a hands-on...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lesson 6: Biomes and Landscapes
Aside from the amazing animals in Gorongosa National Park, what else is there to discover? The sixth installment in an eight-part themed series contains an interactive map where scholars can learn more about the geographic features of...
Curated OER
Plate Tectonics: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Second graders explore convection currents and how they relate to the movement of tectonic plates. Then, young geologists reconstruct Pangaea with a worksheet and pinpoint plate boundaries on a map...
Teach Engineering
Flame Test: Red, Green, Blue, Violet?
Let the true colors shine through. Pupils conduct a flame test to identify an unknown element. Class members calculate and prepare specific molarity solutions of three chemicals. Using their observations of the colors emitted, they...
Curated OER
It's Going to Blow Up!
Get your ocean explorers online, reading articles about submarine volcanoes. They answer a series of questions and take a geometery challenge in which they calculate how much of a volcano has been blown away. Make sure to explore several...
Curated OER
Aquifers and Groundwater
Young scholars understand the purpose of an aquifer. In this aquifer and groundwater lesson, students build a model aquifer find its relationship to water usage. Young scholars record observations as they build the layers of the aquifer.
Curated OER
What's down there?
students analyze how oil is formed and where in the Earth we find it. Students take a core sample to look for oil in a model of the Earth. They analyze their sample and make an informed decision as to whether or not they should "drill...