How has the level of carbon dioxide changed over recent years, and what is contributing it? Groups work together to research and present their findings in a creative way. Also built into the lesson plan is a visit to a sustainable house,...

What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a lesson plan about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne...

Explore Native American gardening traditions with a lesson on companion planting. Based on the concept that certain crops grow better when planted near other specific crops, kids research the gardening method with background links and by...

Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a instructional activity about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather...

Young scholars investigate Earth and its resources. In this Earth, space, and nature lesson plan, students collaborate to design presentations on the Earth, its cycles, and how humans have impacted the planet. Images, diagrams, and...

Use the Internet, write an expository text, and have young scholars share their knowledge of the planets in our solar system. They compose an expository writing piece and publish it to a web page.

The scale of the solar system is difficult to grasp without some sort of concrete visual; with some register tape and different-sized stickers, teach astronomers of any age just how spread out our solar system really is. Try to use...

Pluto, although no longer considered a planet, has five moons. Pluto's moon, Charon, is the focus of a resource that describes how the moon is viewed from the surface of Pluto. Photos help individuals see how Charon would look at...

Thoroughly written, this plan walks you through every detail of having your high school astronomers design scale models of the solar system. Complete instructions on building to scale, lesson procedures, and associated worksheets are all...

Students consider alternative decisions and consequences. For this decision making lesson, students role-play in a social problem. They look for a realistic solution based on advantages and disadvantages.

Scientists are always sorting and classifying objects based on their characteristics. In a hands-on learning activity, young space explorers work together to categorize solar system cards based on their properties. It is up to the...

Students study plots and use a Live Access Server to generate plots.  For this temperature lesson students examine the process of incoming and outgoing radiation. 

Oceans absorb half of the carbon dioxide and 80 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Scholars learn how and why the oceans store heat more effectively than land and how they help mitigate global warming. Pupils...

What are the key indicators that show scientists that our planet is in the fastest warming trend ever? Learners go on a WebQuest to examine the evidence for themselves. Following several links to NASA sites, kids see how the global...

Using meters as years, your class works together to map out the geologic time scale on a football field. Plenty of background information is included in this lesson plan as well as several resource links and a student worksheet. Your...

Students use data to determine if the climate in Portland has changed over the years.  For this weather lesson students complete line graphs and study long wave radiation. 

Space scientists use water displacement to determine the mass of a cubic centimeter mini meteorite, and then use it as a small-scale representative of an asteroid. They figure out the orbital velocity of an asteroid. Then they use a...

Off they go — launching rockets is fun. The lesson plan contains templates to build paper rockets that can be launched from a PVC pipe launcher. Individuals or groups build the rockets and determine the shapes for their fins. Included...

Here is an interactive book lesson through which learners explore the facts and stories about comets. The plan is comprehensive, providing background information, standards met, vocabulary, assessment ideas, and more. Though the content...

In this clock construction lesson, students use a pencil, compass, and sun clock diagram to construct a homemade sun clock. A very interesting lesson on combining images with text.

Students study sea surface height and temperature and other characteristics of an El Nino.  For this ocean impacts lesson students examine the factors that influence an El Nino or La Nina. 

What causes Earth's seasons? Find out through a series of anticipatory questions, an easy yet powerful activity representing the sun-Earth system, a diagram to label, and follow-up questions. Dispel the misconceptions about Earth being...

A passage about an astronomy lesson may leave readers starstruck. Fifth graders read about a class's exploration into the makeup of the galaxy and its constellations before answering six questions about the terms and vocabulary...

Sixth graders keep track of the amount of paper they consume on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. The goal of the lesson is to have them all find ways to reduce the amount they use. Everyone creates recycled paper from old newspapers...