Curated OER
What's the Connection Between Convection and Inversion?
Ninth graders observe a simulation demonstrating the difference between convection and inversion. They explain where and when convection and inversion layers occur and how each impacts air quality, and by connection, human health.
Curated OER
Lake Effect
Fourth graders explore some of the effects Great Salt Lake has on Utah's local weather/temperature moderation, lake effect storms, and temperature inversions. They observe the differences of specific heat between soil and water and...
Curated OER
Land and Sea Breezes
In this specific heat worksheet, students read about the land and sea breezes along the coast and how the specific heat of the air cause the differences in land and sea air creating breezes. Students answer three critical thinking...
Curated OER
Heat Energy - Energy Transfer
Here's a great selection of slides for a class being introduced to heat transfer. Types of materials that are good conductors or insulators are covered and the diagrams that accompany the information should make understanding more...
Curated OER
Ocean Temperatures
Students list data collected by marine buoys and the different kinds of moored buoys. They describe how data is transmitted worldwide. They explain the difference between near shore and offshore air and water temperatures.
Curated OER
The Air Up There
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the average daily weather patterns. They collect data over a five day period and then write a summary of the observations made from it. Students record the mean and graph it on a simple...
Curated OER
It's Getting Hot in Here
Discover the environmental and economic impact of global warming. After reading an article, emerging environmentalists identify how different countries are responding to the Kyoto Protocol. They research emission laws and write a news...
Curated OER
Understanding Thunderstorms
In this thunderstorm worksheet, learners read about thunder and lightning and the forces behind both. They also read about the timing difference between thunder and lightning. Students answer three critical thinking questions about...
Curated OER
Weather or Not
Hypothetical meteorologists' quotes help young earth scientists become acclimated to weather vocabulary. The terms are all related to air masses and forms of precipitation. This is a fun way to discover if your learners are truly...
Curated OER
The Great Ocean Conveyor
Young scholars investigate water density. In this water density instructional activity, students conduct an experiment with food coloring, water and salt to see how the salt effects bodies of water.
Curated OER
El Niño ~ The Return of El Niño
El Niño sure creates a stir when it comes around! Why not stir up your earth science class with this data analysis activity that examines the temperature and precipitation over the 2002-2003 water year. A tracking chart is provided...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
You know climate change is happening when you see a bee take off its yellow jacket. Part four in a series of five lessons explores all factors affecting climate change: temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and carbon dioxide. By...
Council for Economic Education
GDP Data: Is the Economy Healthy?
Does the economy needs a check-up? Scholars analyze the gross domestic product (GDP) to determine the overall health of the current economy. They use a short video clip as well as economic data to determine the current growth of the...
Curated OER
Learning Lesson: Ups and Downs
Students use the internet to find the air temperatures in their area. They create a graph based on the data. They analyze the data and examine tips for avoiding extreme weather.
Curated OER
Teaching about Diel Temperature Variation
Students explore temperature variation in lakes and deal with the data.
Curated OER
Geographic Effects on Precipitation, Water Vapor and Temperature
Students investigate the factors affecting climate using Live Access Server. In this geography lesson, students graph atmospheric data using Excel spreadsheet. They compare and contrast temperature, precipitation and water vapor of two...
Curated OER
Convection Currents
Students explain and understand the circulation of air in the atmosphere. They identify that energy can be carried from one place to another by heat flow or by waves, including water, light and sound waves, or by moving objects. ...
Mr. E. Science
Climate and Climate Change
What factors make up climate? How does longitude and latitude affect climate? What is causing Earth's climate to change? These questions are the topic of a presentation that explains characteristics of climate and climate change.
University of Connecticut
Weather Vs. Whether
Monarch butterfly populations have decreased by 90 percent over the past 20 years due to misuse and ineffectiveness of some pesticides. Given the challenge to increase pesticide safety and effectiveness, the class, through discussion,...
Curated OER
Drifting Continents
Students, through teacher-led demonstration, explore the idea of continental drift. They complete a worksheet involving the calculation of continental drift over time.
Curated OER
What Is Energy? Short Demos
Students engage in three short, hands-on, in-class demos which expand students' understand of energy. First, using peanuts and heat, students see how the human body burns food to make energy. Then, they create paper snake mobiles to...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a lesson that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and what they think...
Curated OER
Ocean Influences on Climate Lesson Plan
Students brainstorm about the geographical factors that contribute to climate. They examine the impact of ocean currents on coastal temperatures.
Curated OER
Strange Winter Weather Affects Nature, People
Young scholars react to a series of statements about the weather, then read a news article about the affect of unusual winter weather on people and animals. In this meteorology and current events instructional activity, the teacher...