Unit Plan
Association of American Geographers

Project GeoSTART

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Investigate the fascinating, yet terrifying phenomenon of hurricanes from the safety of your classroom using this earth science unit. Focusing on developing young scientists' spacial thinking skills, these lessons engage...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Nine Planets

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
A solid lesson on teaching the nine planets in our solar system is here for you. In it, young scientists learn the correct order of the planets, and they choose one of the planets to do a research report on. They must come up with five...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Greenhouse Gas Modeling Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Why are greenhouse gases called greenhouse gases? Young Earth scientists learn about greenhouse gases though experimentation in the second installment of a 3-part series. They use lamps to model radiant energy as well...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Albedo, Reflectivity, and Absorption

For Teachers 5th - 6th
What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Cooling with Sunshades

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Messenger's sun shade measures 8 ft x 6 ft and will have temperatures reaching 700 degree Fahrenheit on the outside while maintaining a cool 70 degrees underneath. In the third activity of four, groups discuss the basic properties of...
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

My Angle on Cooling—Effect of Distance and Inclination

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
When exploring Mars, spacecrafts are exposed to 5-11 times more sunlight than when near Earth. Groups of pupils complete a hands-on activity to explore how distance and angle of the sun affect temperature. Through discussions, they then...
PPT
Port Jefferson School District

Water and Climate

For Teachers 5th - 9th Standards
Dive into a lesson on the hydrosphere with this Powerpoint presentation. Building on prior knowledge of the water cycle, young scientists learn what happens to water after it falls as precipitation and explore the...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Rock On! Featuring the Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Trio!

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.
Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Distance = Rate x Time

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Every year, the moon moves 3.8 cm farther from Earth. In the 11th part of 22, classes use the distance formula. They determine the distance to the moon based upon given data and then graph Galileo spacecraft data to determine its movement.
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Clarke's Dream

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
How does satellite TV keep a steady stream when the earth and the satellite are constantly moving? Scholars use a simulator to adjust the radius of orbit of a satellite around the earth. They view graphs of acceleration and time period...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get the Picture!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Astronomers practice downloading data from a high-energy satellite and translate the data into colored or shaded pixels. As a hands-on activity, they use pennies to simulate high-energy satellite data and they convert their penny...
PPT
Mr. E. Science

Erosion and Deposition

For Students 6th - 8th
Get an in-depth look into erosion and deposition with a 23-slide presentation that details how gravity, water, waves, wind, and glaciers cause changes to the Earth's surface. Each slide consists of detailed images equipped with labels,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Learners analyze the impact of climate variability and change utilizing a broad span of topics over a wide range of grade levels. This three lesson unit is easily adapted for the various instructional levels listed.
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Fizzy Balloons - C02 in School

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Carbon dioxide is a very important gas; it is present in the air, used in cooking, and supports plant and animal life. Scholars investigate the properties of carbon dioxide with three different activities. They experience a color change,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Closer look at Oil and Energy Consumption

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Upper graders analyze basic concepts about the consumption, importation and exportation of the worlds oil production. They create several graphs to organize the data and draw conclusions about the overall use of oil in the world.
Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

The Amazing Red Planet

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Introduce your class to Mars with a resource that provides information about its size, location, length of day, length of year, number of moons, and average temperature. Also includes is information about the lans for past...
Activity
Newspaper Association of America

Cereal Bowl Science and Other Investigations with the Newspaper

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...
Interactive
Weber State University

The Sun and the Seasons

For Students 9th - 12th
Why is there more daylight in June than in December if you live above the equator? How does the angle of sunlight shift throughout the year? Answer these questions and more with an interactive article about the sun, its path through the...
Graphic
PBS

The Planets of the Solar System

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Launch a lesson that's sure to capture middle schoolers' interest! Exploration enthusiasts examine the planets of our solar system using an activity from PBS's Space series. The resource includes images and information for each planet,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Land Around Us - Lesson 3

For Teachers 1st - 5th
While the content of this instructional activity is more specific to the first grade, the directions given to work on a PowerPoint are well written. These directions could be used by anyone, with any content. Younger learners may need...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Models of the Solar System

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students make several models of the solar system to learn the positions of the planets in the solar system as well as relative distances and sizes. Creation of these models will help them identify the planets by size, shape, color,...
Activity
NASA

Exploring the Colors of Mars

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Minerals on Mars are not that different than those on Earth. Using mineralogy concepts and satellite images, individuals use color to highlight the different surface minerals on Mars when creating a model of the planet. They enhance...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Origin of Life

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this origin of life worksheet, learners write answers to five questions. They describe characteristics of the first life forms and how scientists believe oxygen accumulated in the Earth's atmosphere.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lunar Learning

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students learn about the phases of the moon. In this moon phases instructional activity, students learn about what causes the moon to look different to us everyday and how the Earth and Sun's position determine what phase the moon is in.

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