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I Robot, Can Do That
Students examine how underwater robots can be used to assist scientific explorations. They read and discuss an article, conduct Internet research, complete a worksheet, and present an oral report.
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Floodplain Modeling
Students simulate the impact of fluctuating river volumes on structures and landforms. They experiment with table top-sized riverbed models and water. Students consider how human design can help mitigate the effects of a flood.
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Earthquake Epicenter
Students use chart data to determine the location of the epicenter of an earthquake. This task assesses students' abilities to generalize and infer, organize data, interpret data, and apply mathematical concepts.
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Building Up, Breaking Down
Students investigate how rocks are modified into construction materials. In this building up and breaking down lesson plan, students explore what happens to building materials over time and how people modify natural materials. Students...
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Layers of the Earth
Eighth graders study the earth's surface. In this planet structure lesson students view a PowerPoint presentation then draw and label the earths layers.
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Magnetic Hangman
Fifth graders predict what happens when the north end of their bar magnets are placed near the north end of their hanging magnets.
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The Mysterious Tragedy at Lake Nyos
Students present a convincing explanation of the Lake Nyos event and propose a solution to prevent future tragedies at central and western African lakes.
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Engineering - Solid Rock to Building Block
Students role-play as engineers designing wedge tools. They devise methods for shaping quarry rocks into pyramid blocks. Following a teacher demonstration, they use materials such as soap, clay, and foam for blocks and wood, plastic,...
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Nonpoint Source Pollution in Long Island Sound
Students examine and identify the types of nonpoint pollution on Long Island Sound. In groups, they walk the shoreline, collect trash and identify its source. Using that information, they create a variety of graphs of the different...
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Earthquake Proof Structures
Eighth graders build a structure that is able to withstand a simulated earthquake. They research earthquakes, earthquake measurement, and society's preparation for and reaction to them. Pupils build models and present them to the...
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Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion
Students identify and describe rocks that contain records of the earth's history and explain how they were formed. They formulate questions about and identify needs and problems related to objects and events in the environment, and...
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2004 Asian Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Project
Students are employees of a unit of the United Nations, they are responsible for coordinating disaster relief after a major disaster (the 2004 Asian Earthquake and Tsunami) occurs. The agency needs to understand the situation in each...
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Seasonal Cloud Cover Variations
Students, in groups, access data from the NASA website Live Access Server regarding seasonal cloud coverage and the type of clouds that make up the coverage. They graph the data and make correlations between types, seasons and percentages.
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Elements for Disaster Reporting
Students identify the elements of natural disasters and gain an understanding on how the media influences people's responses to disasters. In this natural disaster lesson plan, students study the impact of natural disasters, and the...
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Activity 2: Salinity & Tides
High schoolers explore the effects of tides and salinity on an estuary. In this salinity and tides lesson plan, students complete 3 activities which help them understand estuarine systems. They study the tides in the Chesapeake Bay, they...
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Natural Resource Management Course Outline
Gain skills in ecosystem evaluation including chemical, biological, and physical qualities. Learners write a report on a local ecosystem.
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Becoming Whales: Experiencing Discoveries of
Learners experience, through a "dig," the historical discovery of fossils which increasingly link whales to earlier land-dwelling mammals. They encounter the intermediate forms which show changes that lead to the modern whale.
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Water Cycle (Grades 2-4)
Students demonstrate their understanding of the water cycle and how it effects the environment by graphically depicting and describing the water cycle.
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Structure and Function
Structure and Function
SynopsisStudents choose some biological object, examine its structure, and identify or speculate on one particular function. Next they create a blueprint of the object, focusing on the particular function. Then...
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Grant Proposal
Students experience the creativity, anticipation and peer review of obtaining a grant for scientific research at the poles. They work in cooperative groups to assess the dynamics of polar regions. Each student proposes an original...
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A Basin Filled With Time
Learners use fossil leaves and a mathematical formula to study climate change. In this climate change and fossil lesson plan, students determine the differences in temperatures during two different times during the Cenozoic era using...
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Puzzle of the Plates
Students research tectonic plates and their movement. In this plate lesson, students describe the motion of these plates and the boundaries between them. They look into the San Andreas Fault and explore the earthquakes associated to this...
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The Tell-Tale Plume
High schoolers examine hydrothermal vents. In this ocean lesson plan, students identify changes in physical and chemical properties of sea water caused by hydrothermal vents.
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Animals of the Fire Ice
Students examine ocean life by identifying methane hydrates. In this ocean life lesson, students research organisms that live in the coldest, deepest parts of the ocean and live off methane hydrates. Students create a group...