Curated OER
Plate Tectonics: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities
This unit focuses primarily on plate tectonics and plate boundaries surrounding continents. It contains pre- and post-lab sections that walk young geologists through plate movements in order to visualize what's going on inside Earth.
Curated OER
Build a Model Watershed
Collaborative earth science groups create a working model of a watershed. Once it has been developed, you come along and introduce a change in land use, impacting the quality of water throughout their watershed. Model making is an...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Country Project
Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of geography with this fun, collaborative social studies project. Working in small groups, students develop their very own countries, writing descriptions...
Montana State University
Meet Mount Everest
Learning about one landform might seem boring to some, but using the resource provided practically guarantees scholar interest. The second in a sequential series of eight covering the topic of Mount Everest includes activities such as a...
Montana State University
Who’s on Top?
What's it like to climb Mount Everest? An educational resource encourages an in-depth knowledge of Mount Everest's scientific missions through a variety of activities, including an analysis of maps, a KWL chart, videos, a simulation, and...
Curated OER
Sea Surface Temperature Trends of the Gulf Stream
Students explore the importance of the Gulf Stream. Using a NASA satellite images, they examine the sea surface temperature. Students collect the temperature at various locations and times. Using spreadsheet technology, they graph the...
Curated OER
A Thoreau Look at Our Environment
Sixth graders write journal entries o school site at least once during each season, including sketched and written observations of present environment. They can use sample topographical maps and student's own maps. Students can use...
Curated OER
Water Resources
Students explore the differences between surface water and ground water. They collect data using maps and graphs and investigate a Texas river basin and a nearby aquifer. They complete a written report of their findings regarding the...
Curated OER
Cardinal Directions
Students draw items on a map in specific places to show their knowledge of cardinal directions. In this simple map skills lesson plan, students draw a cloud, a tree, a house, and a lake to show North, South, East, and West.
Curated OER
Watershed Island
Students make a clay model and a geographic map of a watershed. They talk about the differences between the two representations and the potential human threats to watersheds.
Curated OER
Combining Geography and Literature by Mapping a Story
Students listen to or read a story on their own. Using the text, they describe the relative locations of the main events. In groups, they develop two and three dimensional maps of the story. They create a key and a title for their map.
Curated OER
Home on the Range
Young scholars use maps and mathematics to determine the appropriate panther population in a given area. In this Florida ecology lesson, students research the area requirements of male and female panther and use a map to help calculate...
Curated OER
Mental Map Postcard
Learners visit an outdoor setting and make a mental map of what they observe. They return to the classroom and create a postcard with specified elements such as a description of the land and the ecosystem. Students illustrate the...
Curated OER
Locating Patterns of Volcano Distribution
Students examine patterns of volcanic distribution worldwide, use tables to plot and label location of each volcano on map, lightly shade areas where volcanoes are found, and complete open-ended worksheet based on their findings.
Curated OER
How far have we traveled?
Learners practice longitude and latitude to determine given position on Earth's surface, convert and calculate angular measurements, and use Pythagorean Theorem to determine change in position or distance traveled between any two locations.
Curated OER
Probes, Exploration and Application
Students examine the benefits of the space program to our life on earth. In this space exploration lesson students participate in a lab, answer questions and study radar mapping.
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Introducing The Gulf Stream
Sixth graders research the average temperatures of different places on Earth. In this earth science lesson plan, 6th graders explain how the sun's heat cause ocean movement. They discuss how temperature change affects the weather we...
Curated OER
"Hard" Data from Space
Students use satellite images to analyze development patterns within Baltimore City. They prepare a land cover map for Baltimore indicating the prevalence of impervious surfaces and explore how these patterns affect water pollution.
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Ocean Currents
Young scholars discover the geography of Earth by analyzing water currents. In this oceanography lesson, students create visual references on a map of the globe where and why major ocean currents are moving water. Young...
Curated OER
Creating Station Models
Students work in groups to interpret weather maps. They use latitude and longitude readings to complete a worksheet together and turn in the worksheet along with the maps and a rubric.
Curated OER
Where is Everybody?
Students collect data from different grade levels at their school and develop thematic maps which show population density, and determine how this might affect the school and themselves in the future.
Curated OER
Around the World At 30o North Latitude
Reinforce the use of an atlas and reference materials with writers. They discover how geographic location can make living easier or harder. They draw an assigned journey on a map, categorize survival needs, and prioritize options during...
Curated OER
Rain Forests: A Disappearing Act?
Students examine and locate rainforests on maps, and research the patterns of their destruction. They develop a bar graph of rainfall and temperature data, write a journal entry, and research the people, animals, and plants/products of...
Curated OER
Blast It! (Learning About Copper)
Opening with background information on copper use and mining, this worksheet assesses junior geologists' reading comprehension. A map activity is available, but the map is not. There is a useful set of vocabulary matching cards and a...