Curated OER
Winds Go Spinning Around
High schoolers simulate the Coriolis Effect to comprehend why winds in the Westerlies are prone to cyclonic and anti-cyclonic motion. They arrive at an explanation of processes that drive world wind patterns
Curated OER
Build the Tallest Building
Students examine the design and construction of skyscrapers. They use the internet to research information about different types of skyscrapers. They create their own building and defend it to the class.
Curated OER
Air Masses
Middle schoolers examine the physical characteristics of several types of air masses to discover how air masses can be identified and defined by their temperature and moisture content.
Curated OER
Fallout!
High schoolers plot the locations of fallout from two disasters that polluted much of the world's air. They plot the ash fallout from the 1980 Mt. St. Helen's eruption to see what the wind patterns in the United States look like overall....
Curated OER
Wonders of Weather
Students understand the destructive force of a tornado. They learn the role of a thunderstorm in the creation of a tornado.
Curated OER
It's Gettin' Hot In Here, So Transfer Energy
Pupils study the means by which energy is transferred from the sun through the Earth's atmosphere. They examine radiation, conduction, and convection. They complete a lab to determine how the different transfers affect the atmosphere and...
Curated OER
Biomimicry: Working Together, Cooperative Design
Middle schoolers explore the concept of biomimicry. In this cooperative design activity, students consider how cooperation is connected to nature and then collaborate to create their own cooperative designs for the future.
Curated OER
Marine Food Webs
Learners examine how food webs illustrate the ways in which organisms depend on each other for energy and nutrients, and make food webs showing the feeding relationships among organisms encountered in the Gal??pagos coastal waters.
Curated OER
Regions of the US: Gulf Stream, States and Their Capitals
Fifth graders identify one way of dividing the US into geographical regions and then consider alternate ways of doing the same. They locate each of the fifty states and their capitals on a map. They research the Gulf Stream region.
Curated OER
Shifting Coastlines
Learners study North Carolina's changing coastline during the Paleoindian and Archaic periods and determine the positions of the coastline at different times and decide what types of archaeological information has been lost due to rising...
Curated OER
The Water Cycle and Global Warming
Students study the flow of water in the environment. In this water cycle lesson students evaluate the consequences of changes in the water cycle using data.
Curated OER
Graphin' And Glyphin' Utah Weather
Fourth graders investigate the concepts of looking at sets of data. The focus of the study is upon the local weather of Utah. They study the weather found in the city and in the country and make comparisons based upon geographical location.
Curated OER
Warm up to the Gulf Stream
Students find out the temperature difference between the Gulf Stream and the surrounding water. They locate the Gulf Stream on the infrared image of the eastern seaboard of the US.
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Ocean Currents
Students map the patterns of the major ocean currents, and learn about the influences of wind, water temperature, landmasses, and water density on currents.
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Ocean Currents Change Our Earth
Middle schoolers learn about the factors that drive ocean currents by measuring the density of ocean water and tap water.
Climate Literacy
Clean: Ocean Currents and Sea Surface Temperature
To discover the link between ocean temperatures and currents as related to our concern for current climate change.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Mn Step: Sinking Water: Glaciers, Ocean Currents and Weather Patterns
A lesson where students learn how warm water is less dense than cold water, and what this means for global climate change as ice from the polar regions melts. Students will do experiments in buoyancy and water density when hot or cold,...
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Ucar: Climate Discovery Teacher's Guide: Investigating Climate Present
Lesson plans on the following: Carbon cycle: Carbon Dioxide Sources and Sinks, Nitrogen Cycle: Traveling Nitrogen, Ocean and Atmosphere: Make Convection Currents, Energy Cycle: Albedo
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Blossoms: Will an Ice Cube Melt Faster in Freshwater or Saltwater?
Engage young scholars in the study of the ocean and saltwater with these activities. Students will see that saltwater has different physical properties than freshwater - mainly density. This instructional activity can serve as a...
Climate Literacy
Clean: What Happens to Ice in Water?
Students investigate the properties of water in the ice and liquid phase as it relates to convection in the ocean and density driven circulation, and ultimately the climate.