Curated OER
Carving Mountains
Students explore geography by participating in an illustration activity. In this land-form lesson, students define vocabulary terms associated with glaciers and forests. Students utilize pens, cardboard and pottery clay to draw and...
Curated OER
Under the Ice: Imaging Glacier Bases with Sound
Students investigate with radio waves that are used to remotely sense the topography beneath the ice sheet. They experiment with travel time of waves and convert data to distance and depth. As a result, they develop a profile of the...
Curated OER
The Earth's Crust
Young scholars use clay to form models of the different landforms and then complete a data table using a map, atlas, or the Internet to locate famous landforms in the United States. Students complete various activities, writing down...
Curated OER
Land Formations
Second graders explore land formations. In this science lesson plan, 2nd graders develop an understanding of how land is naturally developed, investigate several land formations as well as earth science and chemical terminology, and ...
Curated OER
Modeling Plate Tectonics
Students investigate the four different ways tectonic plates interact at their boundaries. Using simple available materials, they create models to simulate these interactions present at plate boundaries.
Center Science Education
Looking Into Surface Albedo
How does the color of a surface affect the heating of the earth? Middle school science classes experiment with color and surface albedo to determine the relationship. The website has tabs for an overview, teacher's instructions,...
Curated OER
Studying Snow and Ice Changes
Students compare the change in snow and ice over a 10 year period. In this environmental science lesson, students use the live data on the NASA site to study and compare the monthly snow and ice amounts on a map of the entire...
Curated OER
Weathering and Erosion
Young scholars investigate how changes occur on the surface of the earth through erosion and glaciation. They observe what happens to salt and iron after they interact with water and vinegar, and analyze what occurs when water is...
Curated OER
Go Glacier Go!
Learners create a model of a glacier and observe how it moves. In this landforms lesson, students learn what a glacier is, build a model glacier and observe how it moves in a manner that more closely resembles a liquid than a solid.
Curated OER
A SALT WATER-Y WORLD
High schoolers observe a model of the distribution of the earth's water and compare the relative volumes and percentages of types of water on earth.
Curated OER
Coral Mania
Students examine deep-sea coral. In this coral lesson, students identify the structure and function of a coral polyp. Students then create a model of a coral polyp.
Curated OER
Glacier Climbing
Young scholars model the movement of a valley glacier by using a cornstarch mixture to test the rate at which it flows when poured on a titled surface. Students model how a valley glacier flows by using a super thick, viscous fluid. ...
Curated OER
Where's the Water? Stream Side Science
After a whole-class discussion of water reservoirs, ten liters of water are given to each lab group to represent Earth's total amount of water. They divide the water into smaller containers, each representing one of those reservoirs. The...
Curated OER
Building A Solar Still
Students investigate the water cycle by viewing an online video. For this drinking water lesson, students create solar stills at their campus in order to purify water that is tainted. Students view a video on their computers...
Curated OER
Regolith Formation
Students explain the difference between regolith formation on Earth and the Moon. In this space science lesson, students model the different factors affecting regolith formation on Earth. They identify the different types of weathering.
Curated OER
Erosion
Pupils model rain erosion. In this erosion lesson, students construct a landscape out of sand and dirt in a metal pan. They make it rain on the landscape and observe the erosion that occurs.
Curated OER
Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change Course
Young scholars explain the impact of glacial melting to global climate change. In this environmental science lesson, students design an experiment to investigate the effect of salinity change to melting glaciers. They share their results...
Curated OER
Earth and Space Science: Let it Flow
Students engage in a activity in which volcanoes be explored and examined. After watching a video, students create volcanoes out of clay.
Curated OER
Network This
Students determine the number of paths in a network with up to six vertices. They construct a network to solve a problem situation. They describe and defend the solution to a network problem.
Curated OER
Meteors and Meteorites
Learners create Earth boxes containing some of Earth's biomes--desert, forest, tundra, ocean, and mountains. They simulate Earth's encounter with a comet trail and the resulting meteor shower. They present their Earth boxes to...
Curated OER
Glacier Dynamics
Students create flubber glaciers. In this glacier dynamics instructional activity, students experiment factors that may affect glacier speed. Factors include slope, ice temperature, and basal conditions. Students develop hypothesis,...
Curated OER
Where in the World Is All the Water?
Students investigate the distribution of the earth's water. They conduct a demonstration of water distribution, and create a pie graph to display the results.
Curated OER
The Climate Change Skeptic's Argument: Natural Solar Cycles or Human Activity?
Teachers explore patterns in sunspots and total solar irradiance to understand the counterpoint to the human effect of global warming. In this professional development tool, teachers work through a lesson plan on the sun's natural...
Curated OER
Edible Glacier
Pupils complete a KWL chart on what they know about glaciers. Then they gather together around a table containing Jello and Cool Whip cookie mixture and are introduced to the parts of a glacier by observing this model.