Curated OER
Just How DO Those Plates Move?
Students experiment with water, temperature and paper to explore how convection currents occur and how they are used to explain the movement of the Earth's plates.
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Convection in a Pan
Students watch a demonstration using a plastic bag and a hair dryer to create a hot air balloon. After the demonstration, they discuss the results and whether or not hot water behaves the in the same manner as hot air. They conduct...
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Weather Versus Climate
Students differentiate weather and climate. In this earth science lesson plan, students investigate the climate of a zone they chose. They create a presentation and share their findings with the class.
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Weather & Climate
Sixth graders differentiate weather and climate. In this earth science lesson, 6th graders complete a KWL chart about the two. They complete a worksheet by identifying whether a certain statement describes weather or climate.
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Mr. and Mrs. Cress Head
Students explore Earth science by completing a plant art project. In this botany lesson, students utilize tights and soil to create a furry, grassy puppet style animal from cress seeds. Students cut off the excess cress after several...
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Water Happenings
Fifth graders observe how water changes phase through a teacher-led demo. In this earth science lesson, 5th graders relate the demo to the water cycle. They draw and label each stage of the cycle.
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Volcanoes and Urban Planning
Students analyze satellite image data of Volcan Villarica. In this earth science lesson, students identify dangerous areas surrounding the volcano. They propose a new safe location for the town.
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Ozone and Temperature Data Analysis, South Pole Antarctica
Students discuss the layers of the atmosphere, and the history of the ozone hole. They discuss the chemistry of the ozone formation. Students compare seasonal data collected with ozonesondes. They compare Antarctic and Arctic ozone hole...
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Earth's Warming Climate: Are We Responsible
Students examine the atmospheric data for CO2. In this web-based atmospheric lesson, student follow instructions to examine and plot on-line scientific data about the CO2 levels in our atmosphere and analyze the changes found in the data.
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Earth's Journey Around the Sun
Sixth graders examine how the angle of the sun's rays is a factor in determining the seasons. They watch a teacher demonstration of the concepts and write a paragraph demonstrating their understanding.
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Aerosol Lesson: Language Arts
Students construct a model of a volcano. They read "NASA Facts Atmospheric Aerosols" and discuss the impacts of volcanic eruptions. They write informative essays about how aerosols impact the Earth.
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How Do Atmospheres Affet Planetary Temperatures?
Students perform a literature search and use reputable research resources in order to find the surface temperature of different planets in our solar system. They speculate about the observed and unobserved factors. Then brainstorming is...
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How the Amount of Solar Energy Absorbed by the Earth is Dependent Upon the Earth's Position
Students investigate the angle of light and how it faces the earth. They conduct a series of investigations with the following two objectives. Students determine if the angle of light is a factor in the absorption of heat. They correlate...
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Graphing Data - Temperature
Seventh graders measure and record temperature over a given time period. They compare the recorded temperatures to the 40-year recorded normal average temperatures for the same area. Students display and interpret their findings in a graph.
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Temperature and Daily Life: Mexico City and Indianapolis
Students compare the effect of temperature on daily life of a citizen in Mexico City, Mexico with that of a citizen of Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Global Warming
Students read information about global warming and make their own greenhouse. In this global warming lesson, students read several pages of global warming and climate information. Students then make their own greenhouse and answer...
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Deep Ocean Currents
Students observe the interactions of different temperatures of water using colored ice and a thermometer and then compare the results with global ocean current solar heating. They identify where floating ice would be found in the ocean,...
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The Rifting of Pangaea and the Gettysburg Battlefield
Eleventh graders analyze and interpret an animated model of Earth’s rifting processes. For this Earth Science lesson, 11th graders connect Earth’s rifting processes with the Earth’s surface in the Gettysburg battlefield. Students apply...
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Water Cycle in a Box
Fourth graders investigate how the water cycle is vital for all living things to survive on Earth. They observe the teacher set up a simulation of the water cycle using a Plastic Earth Simulator, desk lamp, and water, and make...
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Winter Season
Students recognize the relationship between Earth's tilt and the Winter season. In this Winter lesson, students work in pairs to complete make frost and design snow goggles. Students experiment a hand lens to study the frost created....
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Glacier Dynamics
Students create flubber glaciers. In this glacier dynamics lesson, students experiment factors that may affect glacier speed. Factors include slope, ice temperature, and basal conditions. Students develop hypothesis, conduct experiment,...
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Season Tiles: Ceramics Lesson
Each color holds its own feeling and these feelings are used to describe the four seasons. Youngsters create a color palate based on the four seasons, assigning various colors to each season. They each create four clay tiles, painting...
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Dinnertime for Animals
Is a deer an herbivore? What about a spider? Experiment with the food chain in an interactive science experiment. After listing the herbivores from a selection of animals, third and fourth graders compare the skulls and teeth of...
PBS
NOVA Cloud Lab Lesson Plan
A sign that washed away from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 beached itself 3,595 miles away in France. This artifact and others from around the world help scientists understand water currents and the far-reaching impact of hurricanes. Scholars...