Curated OER
The Greenhouse Effect
Why does it get so hot inside of our cars in the summertime? The greenhouse effect! Lab groups experiment to see what happens to an ice cube enclosed in a jar and placed in sunlight as compared to an ice cube outside of the jar. They...
Curated OER
Geology of Connecticut
Learners examine the geology of Connecticut, including plate tectonics, glaciation, and fossil formation.
After reviewing past lessons, they write essays about what life may have been like in the Mesozoic Period. Following a field...
Curated OER
Biochemical Cycles
When learning about several different processes at a time, it can be difficult to differentiate between them. In the resource found here, you can see what your kids know about some of Earth's systems including the carbon, hydrologic,...
Curated OER
Biosphere
There is so much to learn about the different cycles, processes, and parts of the biosphere. Using a pretest as a formative assessment to see what your budding ecologists already know is a great way to figure out which important areas...
Green Learning
Build Your Own Biogas Generator
Where this is not exactly a lesson plan, it is a terrific outline of how to generate biogas from an animal manure sample. If you are up for the challenge, the generator can be built by your class as a concluding project at the end of an...
Curated OER
Electricity
Focusing on what electricity is and where it comes from, the information here is accessible to young scientists. The basics of how electricity is made and its uses as a power supply are given with clear illustrations. Some examples...
Curated OER
Climate Shifts
Eight slides of information related to shifts in the climate make up this presentation. The vocabulary and concepts displayed are geared toward high school meteorology learners. Content is not cohesive from slide to slide, but the...
Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 4: Metabolism of Urban Ecosystems
Cities are compared to living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Fourth in a five-part series of lessons, this one focuses on the flow of materials through a city. Links to interesting websites and images make your delivery of...
Curated OER
Calculating Your Foodometer
Middle schoolers explore environmental issues by completing a food production class activity. In this carbon footprint lesson, students discuss the types of foods they eat, where they come from and what types of methods are used to...
Curated OER
Human Impact Starts with?
What kind of effects do humans have on their environment? Review key anthropogenic vocabulary with a fill-in-the-blank handout. You may wish to use this as an ongoing glossary, review before a test, or even create a crossword puzzle or...
Discovery Education
Submarines and Aircraft Carriers: The Science of Nuclear Power
As physics masters view this presentation, they learn how nuclear power is used in submarines. They use Google Maps to plot a course through the ocean and calculate the time required for surfacing and traveling. They learn about fission,...
Curated OER
Power and Auroras
In this power and auroras worksheet, students read about the relationship between power, work and energy and how the power of auroras are measured by the light they produce. Students use a data chart of the Great Aurora of 2003 to answer...
Curated OER
How Solar Cells Work: Converting Sunlight to Electricity
Students examine how to convert sunlight to electricity. In this renewable energy sources lesson plan students explain how solar cells are used and use a voltmeter to measure the energy produced by a solar panel.
Curated OER
Understanding the Conservation of Energy
In this conservation of energy instructional activity, learners read about the law of conservation of energy and about energy distribution. They answer three critical thinking questions about what the law of conservation of energy means...
Curated OER
Climate Change: Is there a Controversy
Students explore climate changes. In this climate changes instructional activity, students research what causes changes. Students search the Internet, summarize reports they find and create a poster with the information.
Curated OER
Sea Level Trends ~ Ocean Front Property: An "Immerging" Market
Young oceanographers take a look at sea level data from several cities over a few centuries. They use the data to fuel a discussion about what kind of changes are taking place and the impact they are having on the coastal ecosystems....
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
How big is your footprint? Activity three culminates the series by having groups complete carbon footprint audits with people in their schools and/or around the districts. Groups then gather their data, create a presentation including...
Curated OER
Ethanol
Pupils explore how to fuel cars with corn and then test different items to explore the process of fermentation.
Curated OER
Wind Power and Your Community
Students acquire knowledge about hydropower, diesel power, wind power, and how they are currently used in the north. They share what they have learned through a jigsaw activity.
Curated OER
Waves : An Alternative Energy Source
Students evaluate the feasibility of wave energy as an alternative source of energy. In this alternative energy source lesson students are introduced to renewable and nonrenewable energy and study energy production.
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Electricity
In this electricity worksheet, students review what makes up electricity by filling in the blanks of 18 statements with terms from a word bank. Students then complete a crossword puzzle by placing 12 terms into the puzzle.
Curated OER
Summarizing
Students analyze and summarize the main aspects of a news story. They find the "Who, What, Where, When and Why in a particular news story.In addition, they answer six questions over a particular story and then write a news story from...
Curated OER
Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
Fifth graders identify renewable vs. non-renewable resources and comprehend why conservation of resources is important. They are asked what they think the words natural and resource mean. Pupils then put the words together to define...
Curated OER
World Geography: Climate Change Round Table
Learners are able to explain the suspected causes of relatively recent climate changes, specifically the observed global warming. They discuss how unusual or extreme global warming disrupts the balance of the earth's geo-spheres.