Students examine the relationship between the products they use and energy use. Using the internet, they identify the role that manufacturing plays in using energy and the emissions that change the climate. They discover the steps to...

Students investigate the geological characteristics of the ocean environment and create a labeled drawing of the ocean floor's geography. Students view videos and conduct Internet research about the ocean's floor and then create their...

Students reflect upon the concepts of seasons. The concepts are taught using a variety of different teaching approaches. A activities lead to a reflection that will help students to make a cognitive transfer of information form...

Students explore the Proterozoic Era. In this geologic time periods lesson, students examine the clock of eras charts and listen to a lecture regarding the era.

Students read information about the ancient origins of art and archaeology with a focus on the Malian culture. In this art origins lesson plan, students read background information for the topic and compare ancient and contemporary...

Students examine the expressive and descriptive language used in the books "Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets" and "Planet of the Robots." In pairs they take notes about each other's physical appearance and conduct interviews, identify the...

Sixth graders calculate a light day, light hour, and light minute from the standard of a light year. After establishing the distances, a one meter scale is created to demonstrate the distance between the sun and the planets of our solar...

Pupils investigate various aspects of the planet Mars. They examine a core sample that is simulated to make observations. Then compare the known sample with one that is unknown and differentiate between the two. Students hypothesize how...

Students identify and describe the steps in the water cycle. They discover the sun as the source of the cycle. They work together to create their own water cycle model.

Humans can have a big impact on the environment, specifically the influence they have on the carbon cycle. First, the class will define and discuss each of the earths four major spheres, the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and...

Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...

Fourth graders gather data and simulate a Mars spacecraft mission using multi-sensory observations.

Ninth graders design a proposal for a Martian colony to be presented to a group of their peers. They review their knowledge of Mars. Students evaluate for themselves which of their classmates proposal best fits their criteria.

Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons, was discovered in 1978. Lesson is a walk through of how to solve for the phases of Charon. It uses two different points on Pluto and takes into account the tilt of the pole, the rotational axis, and...

Students work in pairs to construct a simple stereoscope.

Students study different inventors and inventions.  In this invention introduction lesson students pretend that they are an inventor and come up with their own invention.  

Students solve problems with proportions. In this proportions lesson, students solve word problems as they learn about how to set up formulas for solving proportions. Students then solve problems using proportions.

If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily...

Very specific diameters are given for blowing up three different balloons to represent, in scale, the moon, Earth, and Mars. In groups of three, amateur astronomers explore scale measurements and distance in space.

Twelfth graders use this game to find minerals given rocks and outcrops in a plausible (but not real) geologic setting. They play without outside encouragement for hours as the world is fun to explore and the scoring system encourages...

Students explore extreme earth phenomenons. In this savage planet activity, students explore and report on various types of severe weather and earth phenomenons using the Internet, a word processor, or other multimedia device.

Students explore a variety of animals that live on our planet. The shapes, sizes, colors, movements, and coverings of the animals are observed. The similarities and differences in the animals are grouped according to common traits.

Students study orbits and ellipses and see the differences between orbits and comets.  In this investigative activity students do an activity that shows them what objects are more like comets and fill out a worksheet. 

Ninth graders discover how statistics are used to interpret results of scientific experiments. Students write hypotheses and test the hypotheses by collecting data and organizing the data. Students graph their data to produce a visual....