Young geologists get a glimpse beneath the earth's surface in this plate tectonics investigation. After first learning about the different layers of the earth and the constant movement of its plates, young...

What's it like to climb Mount Everest? An educational resource encourages an in-depth knowledge of Mount Everest's scientific missions through a variety of activities, including an analysis of maps, a KWL chart, videos, a simulation, and...

Students identify the steps in the rock cycle. They complete a K-W-L chart before the lesson plan begins. They answer questions about the stages to complete the lesson plan.

This clever activity combines elements of geography, art, literature, and storytelling. Pupils take a close look at the six geographical regions of Arkansas, and pay close attention to Crowley's Ridge - which is one of the six. In...

How can organisms light up in water? Bioluminescence is light produced in a chemical reaction that can occur in an organism's body. First, learners determine what happens to light/color as you move into the deep ocean. In groups, they...

What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them. 

Time is growing short. Teams work together to identify physical properties of rocks in order to determine the properties that would best suit their cavern shelter design.

Students utilize maps/Atlases to find key spatial information, locate U.S. National Parks, characterize the geography of a specific region, and create a National Park brochure.

Students create graphs showing the amount of snow coverage at various points of latitude and compare graphs.

How long do we have to wait? Given several days of times between eruptions of Old Faithful, learners create a graphical representation for two days. Groups combine their data to determine an appropriate wait time between eruptions.

Students plot earthquakes on a map. In this lesson on earthquakes, students will explore recent earthquake activity in California and Nevada. Students will plot fault lines and earthquake occurrences on a map.

Here is a comprehensive package in which middle schoolers learn about types of seismic waves, triangulation, and tectonic plate boundaries. Complete vocabulary, colorful maps, and a worksheet are included via links on the webpage. You...

Find out if your class agrees with Ice Age: Continental Drift ... or if it's just a fun family movie! Class members research the theory of continental drift, examine evidence of plate tectonics, connect...

Evaluating and analyzing exponential functions will help your archaeologists find the amount of Carbon 14 remaining in a plant in this real-life task centered on carbon dating. Learners will also be introduced to the concept of half-life.

The theory of keystone species in an ecosystem was first established in 1969 by Robert T. Paine. Pupils open the final lesson in a five-part series with a game guessing which member of the alpine ecosystem they are based on clues. After...

Mammals are some of the newest organisms to appear on Earth. Young scholars complete an activity that results in a timeline showing the appearance of different types of living organisms. Provided with a list that spans from prokaryotes...

Middle schoolers explore the history of the Caddo Salt Industry found in Arkansas. Along with learning about how salt deposits formed in Arkansas, learners study the process of salt production and how valuable salt is as a natural...

Third graders make alphabet cards that depict the wide variety of life forms found in the Sonoran Desert. A terrific lesson that combines language arts, visual arts, and life science all into one wonderful package. Each of the cards has...

Students build a scaled model of the solar system. In this space science instructional activity, students arrange them according to their distances from the sun. They analyze each planet's unique features such as density and relative...

After challenging themselves to correctly choose the form of erosion and length of time required for a given landform to develop, earth science class members model mechanical and chemical weathering with various lab demonstrations over...

Young geographers discover not only how to read and recognize coordinates on a map, but also gain a deeper understanding of latitude and longitude and how climate changes can vary significantly across latitudes.

Pairs work as engineering teams to design and build model bridges from drinking straws and tape. In this third segment in a series of 10, teams compete in an attempt to build the strongest bridge. To help with the design, the groups...

Seamounts in the Coral and Tasman Seas are home to more than 850 different species. Groups explore hydrothermal vents, researching the organisms found there and their energy source. They also learn about seamounts, exploring their unique...

Get your hands dirty with a set of earth science activities! Class members delve into a hard-boiled egg to find the similarities to the earth's layers, create a papier-mâché model of the earth, craft a simulation of the earth's...