Geology rocks — literally! A geology chapter offers eleven activities at four different levels. Scholars enjoy completing hands-on experiments before applying critical thinking skills following a share, process, generalize, apply,...

Young scholars complete a narrative paper and a drawing depicting how the formation of oil and natural gas taken from the Earth's crust were once plants and animals millions of years ago. For this oil and natural gas lesson plan,...

Students identify the characteristics of places. In this communities lesson plan, students discuss what they observe when they travel and construct a list of places in their neighborhood. Students use a Landscape Picture Map to circle...

Students make a model of the Earth's crust out of foam in order to better explain the make-up of the Earth's layers. They add continents and oceans.

The pre-lab portion of the lesson introduces emerging geologists to the various layers that make up Earth. After completing a sheet on the identification of the layers, class members simulate plate boundaries and their...

What causes earthquakes? Second graders learn about stresses from plate movement with a set of hands-on activities. After tracing fault lines on a map with yarn, class members create a paper plate model of Earth to show its layers...

Lead your class in exploring their local communities as well as the general environment. As they determine continental distributions by investigating minerals, rocks, and fossils located in their local region, pupils construct...

Scholars generate and collect pure oxygen through a decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide in the fourth lesson of an 11-part series. Then, they complete six investigations into the properties of oxygen.   

With Earth Day quickly approaching, as well as many science fairs, why not challenge your class to investigate geothermal energy or other renewable energy resources? There are five driving questions explored in depth here, as well as...

Explore Earth and her amazing layers with this lesson plan on planetary change. Learners will research the ways in which Earth's layers cause change. They will complete a "Tectonic Puzzle" and use a worksheet to answer questions about...

Young geologists explore volcanoes with a series of engaging geology activities. First, they learn the difference between magma and lava before coloring and labeling the parts of a volcano. During the lab, individuals watch a...

Give young geologists an up close and personal look at volcanoes with a series of hands-on earth science lessons. Whether they are investigating the properties of igneous rocks, building their own volcanoes, or making...

Turn your 6th graders into expert geologists with this PowerPoint on plate tectonics. The attached 13 slides include informative facts about the Earth's crust, as well as colorful diagrams. This presentation is great to use as a guide...

Students study the makeup of the earth, including the core, the mantle and the crust. They compare the temperatures and thicknesses of each layer. In pairs, they make a model of a cross-section of the earth out of modeling clay.

Have your class supplement their knowledge on the Himalaya mountain range. In a brief handout, they read about the land masses that collided to form the Himalayas and other mountain ranges. It  also touches briefly on the Earth's...

Learners view cut-away images of the planets' interiors, comparing and contrasting them with the Earth's in written form. Students also classify each planet as "terrestrial" or "Jovian". The Planet Interiors applet on the CSA website...

Students investigate how changes occur on the surface of the earth through erosion and glaciation. They observe what happens to salt and iron after they interact with water and vinegar, and analyze what occurs when water is sprinkled on...

In this ocean learning exercise, students are given a map of the world and they predict the amount of water that covers the Earth's surface. They count the total number of squares on the given map that represent the water and they land...

The tectonic processes that have resulted in the formation of the Marianas Arc, and the Marianas Trench are explored. Groups of pupils access websites that give them a wealth of information about these formations. Each group must prepare...

What is the difference between a shield volcano and a cinder cone volcano? How does the flow of lava influence the type of rock that's formed? A presentation on different aspects of volcanoes answers these questions for middle...

Examine earthquake intensities and ways to measure an earthquake through the comparison of the Mercalli and Richter scales. After completing the pre-lab worksheet, fourth graders compare high and low intensity quakes by testing...

After learning about P waves and S waves, fifth graders view the intensity of earthquakes by examining seismographs and images of earthquake damage. Young scientists then forecasting future quakes by analyzing data about...

Students explore climate changes. In this climate changes lesson, students research what causes changes. Students search the Internet, summarize reports they find and create a poster with the information.