Curated OER
Sea Ice and Satellites
Students study satellites and satellite images using Google Earth. In this satellite instructional activity, students discuss satellites and how they work. Students watch a demonstration of how satellites work and learn what they are...
Curated OER
Earth Pockets
Students identify the Earth's natural resources. In this Earth science lesson, students read the book The Great Kapok Tree and discuss types of natural resources. Students use categories such as wood, paper, and trees and list items that...
Curated OER
Seasonal cycles
Students understand that the rotation of the Earth is responsible for the seasons. In this seasonal cycles lesson, students learn how the rotation of the Earth affects the seasons. Students answer questions about the rotation, the...
Curated OER
Cooler in the Shadows
Students explore Earth science by creating a scale model in class. In this shadow lesson, students research the impact the sun has on Earth shadows and complete a space science worksheet. Students create models of the Sun and Earth and...
Curated OER
IS THE SUN OUR HEATER?
Students explore and discover how the sun provides heat to the earth, depending on the surface as well as the angle of the sun's rays.
Curated OER
Heat Absorption and Radiation
Students experiment with the concepts of absorption and reflection of radiant energy.
Curated OER
Water on Planetary Surfaces
In this water on planetary surfaces worksheet, students read about the Galileo spacecraft and the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. They read about the energy needed to keep the water in a liquid state on Europa. Students solve 4...
Curated OER
The Future of Arctic Sea Ice
High schoolers research about the importance of sea ice to world climate and sea organisms. In this earth science lesson, students create a model of present and future Arctic sea ice communities. They discuss how ice melting affects...
Curated OER
Glaciers As Indicators of Global Climate Change
Students research about glacial ice melting on the four major spheres of the Earth. In this earth science lesson, students explain how this process relates to global warming. They create a presentation and share their findings with the...
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
Global Warming in a Jar
This well-organized lab activity introduces earth science pupils to the greenhouse effect. They will set up two experiments to monitor temperatures in an open jar, a closed jar, and a closed jar containing water. Ideally, you would have...
Center Science Education
Looking Into Surface Albedo
How does the color of a surface affect the heating of the earth? Middle school science classes experiment with color and surface albedo to determine the relationship. The website has tabs for an overview, teacher's instructions,...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (Part III), The Geology of Coal
Do not overlook this set of lessons just because your school does not have a data analysis system. There is plenty of material here to administer a complete mini unit on the formation, distribution, and properties of coal. Since it...
Curated OER
A Comparison of Cloud Coverage Over Africa
Students use a NASA satellite data to contrast amounts of cloud coverage over different climate regions in Africa. They explore how Earth's major air circulations affect global weather patterns, and relate to local weather patterns.
Midnight Martian
Moon Globe
Not just a simple globe of the moon, this interactive version allows you to choose lighting according to the location of the sun, views from different positions on Earth, and more! Satellite images and topographic data have been combined...
Curated OER
Effects of the Sun on Our Planet (Grades 9-12)
Students examine the Earth's magnetosphere and observe the effects of the sun's energy on it. They discover the difference between true north and magnetic north. They also explore how solar cells convert solar energy to electricity.
Curated OER
Our Solar System
Students study the Earth and Solar System through a variety of activities. They compile a coloring book show the characteristics of the Sun and nine planets.
Curated OER
Solar Cooking
Students create brochures focusing on one area of climate change that interests them. This lesson ends with a creative project building Earth Day solar cookers and having a class cookout.
Curated OER
The Earth, Sun Mood and Stars Unit (Planets too!)
Fifth graders prepare five activities to do then show their energy saving skills. In this investigative lesson students create five projects then participate in an energy saving demonstration.
Curated OER
"I, Robot"
Seventh graders define vocabulary and discuss the characters in a movie. In this solar station lesson students explore robots on the Internet.
Curated OER
What is Climate?
In this climate worksheet, students review the components that make up climate including temperature and precipitation. This worksheet has 8 true or false and 2 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Transforming Energy
Sixth graders study about alternate energy sources and discuss with their neighbor how alternative energy sources affect environmental conditions so that an entire species could be affected.
Arbor Day Foundation
Trees are Terrific...Inside and Out!
Trees are the star of a three-step unit celebrating Arbor Day. Step one takes an in-depth look into the structure of a tree, the process of photosynthesis, and the benefits of the leafy giants. Step two challenges scholars to create a...
Curated OER
Our Sun and the Four Seasons
Students discover the relationship between the sun and Earth. In this weather lesson plan, students examine the effect of the sun on the Earth's seasons. Students complete a weather activity using props to simulate the sun and Earth's...
Curated OER
Environmental Issues
In this environmental issues activity, students are given 10 current topics that are problems in our environment today. They complete sentences about each topic by filling in the blanks with the appropriate terms. Some of the issues...