The whole class discusses the differences between the two clocks: digital and a clock with hands. They discuss the differences between the hour hand and minute hand. Students are taught telling time to the half hour. They are introduced...

Students gain a deeper understanding of geological time and the evolution of life on Earth. They use iMovie to tell a complex story of a discrete time period with narration and images.

Why do shadows look different in the summer than in the winter? What causes day and night? How can a sundial be used to tell time? Answer these questions and more through two engaging lessons about light and shadows. Fourth and fifth...

Students explore space science by conducting a sun experiment in class. For this time telling lesson, students discuss how the sun sits in our sky at exact times each day and how astronomy is based on our perspective of the solar system....

Third graders investigate the events of geological time using a chart called a "Clock of Eras". In this geological events lesson plan, 3rd graders compare a standard clock to a geological clock. In addition, students consider periods...

Fourth graders discover time keeping by analyzing technological advances in history.  In this time lesson, 4th graders create and complete a KWL chart based on their research of a famous timekeeping invention, such as a sundial....

What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over...

Students construct clocks and then learn how to read a clock face, tell time, and determine how much time has elapsed.

Students explore different ways geological time can be measured: comparing the time dimensions for each method, the mechanisms of each method, and the materials used.

Waxed paper, newspaper, or aluminum foil? Keeping an ice cube from melting may require one or more of these materials. Learners design a box that will provide insulation so an ice cube stays intact for at least 90 minutes.

Learners explore space science by completing a worksheet in class. In this astronomy lesson, students discuss and identify star patterns in the night sky and relate these patterns to the approximate time they appear. Learners complete an...

Students determine how to find North using a watch and their shadow. In this finding North lesson, students go outside on a sunny day and work with their shadow and a wrist watch to find out which direction that North is. They examine...

The video clip that comprises the warm up is not available, but the related article from The New York Times and the movie trailer for Aliens of the Deep are, leaving enough material to make this a fascinating activity on deep-sea...

Second graders will track the weather patterns throughout the school year. This project spans the school year and takes five minutes per day or less. Measuring, data collection, and predictions are all explored throughout this relevant...

Introduce your young meteorologists to black carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels by showing the video, "Changing Planet: Black Carbon." Viewers discover that deposition of this carbon on polar ice impacts the absorption of...

Students build sundials and observe changes in shadows over the course of one or more days. They identify patterns in the shadows and discuss how shadows may be used to tell time.

High schoolers identify and explain how various inventions and astronomers have improved our appreciation of the universe. Students identify at least two constellations in the sky and discuss how they were used in ancient times to tell...

Students design a calendar that displays time on Mars. They explore the differences between time on Earth and time on Mars while making the calendar.

Did you know scientists can tell the age of an asteroid by looking closely at its craters? This final lesson of a six-part series focuses on two asteroids, Gaspra and Ida, in order to demonstrate the concept of dating asteroids. Scholars...

How can you tell if a microorganism is helpful or detrimental to an ecosystem? Learners inspect slides or pictures of microorganisms and record their observations to...

Textbooks are heavier than a sheet of paper, so how can paper hold up a textbook? Young engineers create a structure out of paper that can support a textbook. To add another wrinkle, they must stay within budget and time constraints.

Let's hope there are no leaks. Pupils work together in groups to build a device that will keep as much water as possible in a cup. After being dropped from a height of seven feet! Time to haul out the ladder.

Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!

Students determine the percentage increase in output of solid waste in the U.S. They determine the length of time it takes for throw away items to decompose.