Curated OER
The Greenhouse Effect
Students complete a group experiment which simulates the greenhouse effect as well as compare the climate on Earth to the climate on Venus following a class discussion on the greenhouse effect.
Curated OER
Every Breath You Take
Students explore the nature of the air we breathe by observing petri dishes that have accumulated particulate matter from the atmosphere. Students make mathematical calculations and inferences about the effect of this matter on...
Curated OER
Meterology -- Atmosphere
Fourth graders discover how weather predictions are made. They list the responsibilities of a meteorologist. They identify weather instruments and state their functions.
Curated OER
What's Hiding in the Air?
Fifth graders conduct experiments to study the effects of invisible air pollutants including one with a bean plant. They examine methods of invisible air pollutants.
Curated OER
Creating and Analyzing Graphs of Tropospheric Ozone
Students create and analyze graphs using archived atmospheric data to compare the ozone levels of selected regions around the world.
Curated OER
You've Got to See It to Believe It!
Fifth graders examine smog and particulate matter as two major visible air pollutants. They discover how the pollutants formed and how engineers work on visible air pollution. They design an advertisement for a hybrid vehicle.
Curated OER
The Weather Classroom: Atmosphere
Students explore the planets and their atmospheres online. They write the story of "Goldilocks and the Nine Planets" to explain how each planet's atmosphere differs from Earth's. They design a viable life form.
Curated OER
Learning Lesson: Atmospheric Collisions
Learners participate in a demonstration showing how rain drops grow by coalescence. They use ping pong balls and put them in an air stream. They end the instructional activity discussing flash flood safety.
Curated OER
Detecting Magnetic Materials in "Martian" Soil
Pupils simulate some of the Pathfinder experiments by devising methods of collecting and measuring magnetic substances in pseudo-Martian soil. The efficiency of each of the methods used to collect materials is evaluated in this...
Curated OER
Mission Planning: Earth/Mars Comparisons
Students compare and contrast conditions on Mars to those on our own planet, specifically, their local or regional environments. The physical characteristics, the atmosphere, and other astronomical data is considered.
Curated OER
The Air Up There!
Young scholars create a model of a column of air and discover one of the reasons why low and high pressure systems exist and why low pressure is often associated with bad weather.
Curated OER
Acid Rain
Students write paragraphs and color illustrations about acid rain. They color in where gases come from, where they mix, and where they return. They discuss where acids form in the atmosphere and list manmade sources of gases.
Curated OER
Clean Air
Students observe gas molecules in the atmosphere absorbing the light that goes through them.
Curated OER
Alaska's Physical Systems and History
Middle schoolers read about Alaska's physical systems and determine how Alaska's physical makeup has impacted its history. They create timelines of their particular physical system.
Curated OER
How's the Air Up There?
Students experiment with soda cans and water to discover why air pressure is greater closer to Earth's surface.
Curated OER
Out Of Sight Air; Weather
Fourth graders conduct an experiment to get them thinking about the invisibility of air, and to prove that air has weight.
Curated OER
Atmosphere Molecules
Students use foam packing pieces to represent molecular positioning inside the four layers of earth's atmosphere. This lesson help students visualize that molecules become thinner as one ascends higher in the atmosphere.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Lesson: Weather and Wind
Here's an engaging activity to incorporate dance into your science lessons on weather! Learners study wind, and various weather patterns, then create their own dance to illustrate what they have learned. Provides links to more...
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Scattering Concepts
A collection of several pages explaining the principles which underlie Rayleigh scattering of light.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Prisms
This physics department site explains how prisms work and their purpose in the dispersion of light. Explains the angle of deviation and includes an interactive form in which visitors calculate the angle of deviation and receive immediate...
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: Climate and Weather
Eight hands-on lessons module in which students explore climate and weather. Inquiry-based investigations include observing weather, weather reporting, weather maps, weather satellites, causes of weather, and climate change.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Above the Clouds: Telescopes on Mauna Kea
This video segment adapted from First Light explains why the highest peak in the Pacific, Mauna Kea, is an ideal site for astronomical observations. Featured are new telescope technologies that allow astronomers to explore the universe...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Atmospheric Oxygen
In this feature, adapted from Interactive NOVA: Earth, students explore the relationship between oxygen concentration and the well-being of various organisms by simulating a change in oxygen levels and observing what happens.
Stanford University
The Daily Martian Weather Report
Brought to you by the Mars Global Surveyor Radio Science Team. Photos, charts and weather reports on the Martian atmosphere. Includes an education outreach program for students and teachers.