Students pan for minerals in a stream and discover why magnets attract magenitite but not nonmagnetic grains. They participate in the actual panning process and bag samples to be examined in class. Students recognize minerals by color...

Learners explore islands. They create a two- or three-dimensional map of an island. They explain how the topography of an area influences the location of water sources, ecosystems, and human settlements. Lesson includes adaptations for...

This lesson is designed to come after students have studied about the four main layers of the earth. They may relate the size of the sections to known objects such as the mantle to the size of a grapefruit and the outer core to the size...

Students explore how to read fossil range charts. They develop an knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the fossil record. Students become familiar with the concepts index fossil and fossil range. Students use bar graphs to...

Young scholars analyze an environmental policy decision. Students describe the difference between consequence-based and duty-based ethics. Young scholars argue the case for giving standing or consideration to values other than those of...

High schoolers collect and analyze pollen from different species of plants. In small groups, they classify pollen according to shape, size and physical characteristics. They draw the basic anatomy of flowering plants and create a...

Learners engage in solving a logic problem based on real organisms and real data. They develop phylogenies for seven related populations of lizards living on the Canary Islands.

Students examine satellite images of the glacial features of Cape Cod. They analyze where human activity is located in terms of those features. Students make models of the features, including kettle holes. They also use contour maps...

Young scholars make a water sampler and use proper techniques to collect water.They write a essay explaining the inter-relationship of factors such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, and phosphates in a lake that might cause...

Students complete a writing assignment focused on the use of data to support the theory of plate tectonics. They access data using the "Our Dynamic Planet" CDROM, capture images of the data plots, and incorporate them into their writing. T

Students study multiple land uses and their effects on one another. They assess multiple land uses in National Forests and Grasslands and evaluate the effects of each use on all other uses. They develop a comprehensive list of human...

Students explore the plate boundaries of the earth. Through the use of video, internet and hands-on activities, students examine the types of plate boundaries. They create a model to illustrate the movement and interaction of the...

Eighth graders describe how stress builds up in the Earth's crust by the movement of tectonic plates. In groups, they relate the three types of stresses to the types of plate movements and explain how the stress causes faults to form. ...

Learners discuss major causes of earthquakes and identify famous fault lines, access and map information about ten largest earthquakes in world from 1989 to 1998, and theorize about location of these earthquakes as they relate to Earth's...

Middle schoolers experience and study how space offers expanding resources for commerce, science, technology and education. They view how advances in space can and do improve life on Earth. Each student views a geological exploration...

Learners identify and study New York State Breeding Bird Atlas maps to learn where different bird species nest and how their distributions have changed over time. They also identify how maps serve as representations of a geographic...

Students investigate the effects of ground water contamination. In this ground water contamination lesson plan, students create a mini well and simulate ground water flow through the well with a contaminate (food coloring). They make...

Using this activity, learners could review information they have covered about land forms, such as hills, mountains and plateaus. This 17 question activity could be used with upper elementary or ESL learners to test or review information...

Students investigate the invertebrate sponge. In this invertebrates lesson plan, students observe the sponge, Grantia, using a dissecting microscope. Students answer questions about their observations and view six other invertebrates....

In this plate tectonics activity, 5th graders are given notes with diagrams showing Earth's layers, the tectonic plates, evidence of Pangaea, sea-floor spreading and the types of boundaries. Students answer 5 review questions about the...

Students design a mystery box to hold an object related to the timeline of life studies. In this timeline of life lesson, student play a game with fossils and other remnants of past times and guess the era it comes from.

Students recognize that for a trout habitat to be ideal, several components must be present.  For this trout lesson, students explore what makes a healthy stream.  Students create paintings for a mural of a trout habitat....

Young scholars define and research fossils. In this fossil lesson, students access teacher assigned Internet sites to examine images of fossils. They determine the definition of a fossil and find out how fossils are formed. They also...

Students explore the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Plate Tectonics. In this history of life lesson, students explain two ways the Theory of Plate Tectonics and the Big Bang are of direct benefits to humans.