The Earth and the Compass

Exactly what do groundhogs know about weather? Not as much as your science students will after completing these lessons and activities that cover everything from the earth's rotation and the creation of shadows, to cloud...

Scholars build a compass using a needle, cork, magnet, and a water-filled cup in order to locate the magnetic north and south.

Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Take a virtual trip with a geography lesson that uses longitude and latitude, the position of the sun, an astronomy app, and a classroom globe.

What do we use to determine the exact locations on the earth? Your kids can learn all about compass roses and latitude and longitude. Test understanding with the five reading comprehension questions included on the page.

Don't lift another finger, this physical and environmental science unit has everything you need to begin teaching your class about energy. Starting with a look at the greenhouse effect, these lessons and activities take young scientists...

Young geologists piece together the puzzle of plate tectonics in an earth science lesson. Given a physical map of the world, they search for land formations that indicate the location of different types of plate boundaries.

Have your class create their own compass. Using a needle, a container of water and a magnet, have learners explore magnetism. They will love making this useful tool and it will reinforce the fact that Earth has a magnetic field.

Learners build their own compass following a given procedure. In this technology lesson plan, students explain how a compass is used in navigation. They trace the history of its development.

Who needs a compass to find cardinal directions? Just place a stick in the ground and record the movement of its shadow over the course of a day. Then, measure the shadow lengths in order to determine a north-south line. A simple...

Students explain why compass angles need to be corrected for regional magnetic variation. They observe the difference between magnetic and true north. Each student measures the angle of variation for a town in a different state.