Curated OER
The Role of the Atmosphere and Greenhouse Effect in Determining the Surface Temperature of the Earth
Pupils complete research and solve problems that show the factors that determine the temperature of the earth's surface including the effect of greenhouse gases. They look at the relationships between solar energy, atmosphere, and how...
California Academy of Science
Carbon Cycle Role Play
Anytime you make concepts clear with role playing or hands-on experience, it's a win for the whole class. Ping-Pong balls are used to represent carbon in a carbon cycle role-play activity. In small groups, children first discuss what...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Carbon, Greenhouse Gases, and Climate
Climate models mathematically represent the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land, sun, surface, and ice. Part two in the series of four lessons looks at the role greenhouse gases play in keeping Earth warm and has participants...
NOAA
The Incredible Carbon Journey: Play the Carbon Journey Game
Class members explore the carbon cycle in the final installment of the 10-part Discover Your Changing World series. They play a simulation game where they walk through the steps carbon takes as it cycles through the different layers...
Wild BC
Carbon Sinks and Sources
Earth or environmental science pupils are assigned to be carbon sources or sinks. They ask yes-or-no questions to try to figure out which one they are. Then they discuss ways people can have positive effects on the changing climate by...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Understanding the Greenhouse Effect
Dive into the power of the sun with a two-part activity. Budding scientists model the greenhouse effect in a hands-on activity, and then participate in a skit that explores the earth's energy balances and what really occurs in the...
Chicago Botanic Garden
GEEBITT (Global Equilibrium Energy Balance Interactive TinkerToy)
Students use the GEEBITT excel model to explore how global average temperatures are affected by changes in our atmosphere in part two of this series of seven lessons. Working in groups, they discuss, analyze graphs, and enter data to...
Curated OER
Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change
Students differentiate weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, students compare weather and climate in different regions of the world. They interpret weather graphs and compare isotherm lines of northern and southern hemisphere.
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Global Climate Change
Here is an extensive reading resource that addresses our climate change crisis. It thoroughly explains the greenhouse effect, related Earth cycles, and the history of climate change. Use it as part of the intended unit, published by the...
NOAA
The Biogeochemical Cycle
The biogeochemical cycle ... no physics? The fourth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces the biogeochemical cycle by having pupils simulate movement between Earth's...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Ins and Outs of Photosynthesis
The most important chemical process on Earth is photosynthesis. Scholars explore the changes in the gases in our atmosphere as life on Earth developed. They create a model of photosynthesis and consider simple questions.
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Ocean Acidification - the Chemistry is Less than Basic!
A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this lesson on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of carbon dioxide...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: From a Distance
Challenge your class with an amazing set of ideas that really put the project back into project-based learning. It all starts with a whole class research task. Each learner will look up and take notes on multiple facets of things that...
NOAA
Climate Is Our Friend…Isn’t It?: Make an Extinction Polyhedron
Climate affects populations in different ways. Scholars research extinct organisms and mass extinctions in part three of the 10-installment Discover Your Changing World series. They create graphic organizers, then fill in the...
Curated OER
Case Study of Local Trends in the Carbon Cycle
Students examine the relationship between chlorophyll and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In this investigative lesson students study the local effects of climate change.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Weather and Climate: What's the Difference?
Future weather forecasters collect daily temperatures over a period of time. Afterward, they compare their data with monthly averages, as researched on national weather websites, in order to grasp the difference between weather and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Calculating Your Ecological Footprint
You can lower your ecological footprint by recycling! Lesson four in this series of five has individuals, through the use of a computer, calculate their ecological footprints. Through discussions and analysis they determine how many...
Colorado State University
Why Do Clouds Form in the Afternoon?
The stability of the atmosphere changes on a daily basis. A kinesthetic lesson models how the stability of the air changes as it's warmed by the sun. Learners connect their models to the changing air currents and movement of warm and...
Curated OER
Biogeochemical Cycles Study Guide
The four cycles in Earth's biogeochemical system are covered in this worksheet. Science stars fill in the blanks or define vocabulary terms pertaining to the hydrologic, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous cycles. This resource provides a...
University of Colorado
Looking Inside Planets
All of the gas giant's atmospheres consist of hydrogen and helium, the same gases that make up all stars. The third in a series of 22, the activity challenges pupils to make scale models of the interiors of planets in order to...
Curated OER
Solar/Lunar Eclipses and the Seasons
How do the moon, sun, and Earth line up to create eclipses? Why do the seasons change throughout a year? The answers to these questions are explained through this series of slides. This apt presentation outlines information using bullet...
Curated OER
Hazards: First Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Examine the environmental hazards associated with volcanoes with a three-part science lesson. In the pre-lab, first graders learn that gas, landslides, ash, and lava are all hazards that come from volcanoes. They then explore...
International Technology Education Association
Tidy Up Those Sloppy Force Fields!
It is just magnetic. This resource presents the concept of Earth's and another planet's magnetic field and how spacecrafts detect them. Learners study a problem using magnetometers and participate in three experiments to come up with a...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Water Purification by Evaporation and Condensation
This easy-to-perform demonstration shows students how the water cycle, specifically the processes of condensation and evaporation, purifies Earth's water supply. Just mix up some water, dirt, and gravel in a glass bowl, place a cup in...