+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planetary Place Value

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Third graders explore place value to the ten thousands place. This incredibly thorough, 24-page instructional activity has learners construct, order, and compare numbers to 9,999. This three-day instructional activity includes reteaching...
+
Activity
It's About Time

What Drives the Plates?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
It's getting hot in here! Lead your emerging geoscientists on a thrilling journey as they calculate liquid densities to determine forces that stimulate thermal plates from within the earth's crust. They explore effects of temperature on...
+
Unit Plan
Association of American Geographers

Project GeoSTART

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Investigate the fascinating, yet terrifying phenomenon of hurricanes from the safety of your classroom using this earth science unit. Focusing on developing young scientists' spacial thinking skills, these lessons engage learners in...
+
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Measure the Solar Diameter

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed Standards
Scientists could measure the diameter of the sun before they knew its distance. Scholars construct a simple mirror box to measure the diameter for themselves. They compare this measurement with the official size, listed in a textbook,...
+
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Can You Hear Me Now?—Communicating with Spacecraft

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Radio signals transmitted to Pluto take five hours to reach their destination! In these two activities, young scientists explore data communication in space. In activity one, pupils learn how data is gathered and sent back to Earth....
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Erosion

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students design and conduct an open-ended investigation using a variety of earth materials to answer a questions posed by the teacher: How does the erosion of sand compare with the erosion of gravel? After producing evidence that...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Finding Magnetic Fields of Earth

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders, in groups, create paper bag "globes", complete with magnetic poles. They use compasses to determine and label various locations (N. and S. Poles, Prime Meridian, Equator, etc.) and finish it by drawing in the continents...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water--Where Has It Gone?: Earth Day

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students consider the plight of water as they consider water use and distribution. Students listen to an excerpt from The Well and consider...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What on Earth is in the Earth?

For Teachers K
Students explore the physical properties of sand, soil, and rocks and sort, classify, compare, and contrast the materials found in the soil. The differences between the living and non-living parts of the soil is discussed.
+
Unit Plan
1
1
Core Knowledge Foundation

Weather or Not, Seasons Change

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Embark on a year long investigation of the seasons with this 10-lesson earth science unit. After being introduced to different types of weather and the tools used to measure it, young scientists perform fun hands-on activities that teach...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density of Rocks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Given a variety of rocks, junior geologists calculate densities and correlate them to Earth's layers. As a simulation of continental crust, they experiment with how materials of differing density float in water. Finally, they compare the...
+
Unit Plan
University of Kansas

Newspaper in the Classroom

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planet Earth: Almost 6 Billion Served

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the global population explosion, by comparing India's and China's population control efforts and results. They interpret the UN's Human Development Report, and conduct research on another highly-populated country.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers differentiate weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, students compare weather and climate in different regions of the world. They interpret weather graphs and compare isotherm lines of northern and southern...
+
PPT
Curated OER

Weather and Climate

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
It's hot today, but is that the weather or the climate? This colorful presentation isolates both concepts to allow for better understanding by covering the positioning of the planet, making comparisons of land versus water, and looking...
+
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Grow Rock Candy

For Students 6th - 12th
The best way to study crystals is to make your own! A hands-on lesson shows learners how to make their own rock candy from household materials. While they watch the crystals grow, they discover their structure and can even eat their...
+
Lesson Plan
Centers for Ocean Sciences

Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
+
Lesson Plan
NASA

Rain Gauge Activity

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Complete teacher narrative and presentation slides for teaching about Earth's water make up the bulk of this lesson. Embedded within the slide show, you will find videos about the water cycle, keeping track of the limited supply of fresh...
+
Lesson Plan
NASA

Stellar Fingerprints and Doppler Red Shifts

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scientists observe the spectra of elements and compare that to the Doppler effect. Hook scholars from the beginning all the way to the extension activities in this 5E-format lesson. 
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Characteristics of Materials

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students describe and compare common properties of various classroom materials. In this science/matter activity, students observe common classroom items and the materials they are made of to complete a list of common properties.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing and Ordering Integers

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Young scholars compare and order integers on an umber line. For this algebra lesson, students differentiate between positive and negative numbers. They plot point in the correct order on a number line.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Planet Mars

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders gain knowledge about Mars and Earth. For this compare and contrast lesson, 5th graders use visual representations of the solar system to observe the characteristics of the planets. Students read fiction and nonfiction...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roman Archy

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders use Google Earth to examine Roman architecture. In this ancient Rome instructional activity, 3rd graders visit the noted URLs to look at examples of Roman architecture. Students work in teams to examine data about the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Apples and Apple Activities

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars investigate apples. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read a book about apples then compare and contrast, make graphs, distinguish between fact and fiction and work in groups. Young scholars work in groups to...