Curated OER
Floods and Flash Floods
Junior geologists, hydrologists, or meteorologists simulate what happens during the flooding of a river and demonstrate factors that contribute to flash flooding. This outstanding resource provides a vocabulary list, online resources,...
Curated OER
Build a Rain Gauge
Students use a glass container, coat hanger, measuring spoons, and more to make their own rain gauge. In this rain gauge lesson plan students measure the rain.
Curated OER
Sculptors of the Earth
Students observe evidence of erosion and various rock formations that have formed as a result of erosion and weathering. Their task is to explain how the forces of weathering and erosion contributed to sculpturing these rocks into arches...
University of California
Heating and Cooling of the Earth's Surface
Scholars collect data from heating sand and water before forming testable hypotheses about why sand heats up faster. Afterward, they develop and run experiments to test their hypotheses.
DiscoverE
Curious George Sailboat
A whole-group discussion kicks off a hands-on activity that challenges young engineers to build a sailboat using reusable materials. Participants gather recycled items to assemble their one-of-a-kind sailboat and test its ability to...
NOAA
Ocean Currents
Go with the flow! The eighth installment in a 13-part series has earth science students dive in to the world's system of ocean currents. The interactive illustrates the different types and depths of currents, how wind and gravity...
Curated OER
Pangaea Puzzle
Students explore plate tectonics and the formations of the Earth's surface and why maps are distorted. In this Earth's surface lesson students complete a lab and answer questions.
Curated OER
Toothpick Bridge Design
Eighth graders are introduced to what makes a strong, sound structure. They explore about the truss structure, the importance of the strength of the triangle and the distribution of forces along the truss. Students work in teams to...
Curated OER
Catching Some Rays
Sixth graders explore the tilt of Earth's axis. In this Earth instructional activity, 6th graders read a Greek mythology story explaining why there are seasons. Students build a sun-ray gathering tool from styrofoam, glue,...
Curated OER
Now We Teach Six Rs
Students explore recycling. In this ecology lesson, students sort classroom garbage into items that can be reused, reduced, or recycled. Students brainstorm ideas for reusing items and discuss ways to celebrate Earth Day at home.
Curated OER
Sedimentary Size and Structures
Students interpret the Earth's history from models. In this investigative lesson students create sedimentary deposit models.
Curated OER
Henry Builds A Cabin
Students listen to the book "Henry Builds a Cabin." They design a cabin using Lego pieces based on information from the story.
Curated OER
Environment and the Earth
Students were involved in environmental service learning and they gathered information from academic buildings for a database. The data allowed them to use an establish baseline data on light use, recycling, and water fixtures in five...
Curated OER
Historic Earth Science Innovations
Learners research the demands or limitations on Earth scientists. In groups, they design and build a model that would be useful to them in the lab or field. They share their model and their ideas behind it to the class and answer any...
Curated OER
Build An Earthquake City
Students work together to build an earthquake city. They simulate the shaking during an earthquake to discover if their structure is built well enough. They discover how engineers complete these types of tests to develop better...
Curated OER
Universal Proportions: Earth and Moon
Students create scale models of Earth, the Moon, and the distances within the universe. Working in groups, they construct their models of Earth and the Moon on a scale of 50:1 and calculate how far apart to place their models. They...
Curated OER
A Model of Earth's Tectonic Plates
Students build a model of the Earth showing tectonic plate boundaries. The pattern for the model is provided in the instructional activity. This is a very useful hands-on component for a instructional activity about geology or earthquakes.
Curated OER
Mountain Building
Teacher prepares four layers of Plasticine stacking layers on top of each other to create a model of how rocks within the earth can be folded creating anticlines and synclines below the surface and mountains and valleys on the surface.
Curated OER
Hover Above the Earth
Fourth graders build a balloon hovercraft, take direct measurements, answer critical questions, and make calculations using the data gathered in order to see the concept of acceleration as a change in velocity. They use a worksheet...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Build a Charge Detector
Young scholars examine how electrical force takes place between two objects by building an electroscope. They apply the electroscope to determine an objects' charge intensity and to see what factors influence electric force.
Curated OER
How Much Energy Does the Earth Receive from the Sun?
Students explore energy. In this science instructional activity, students conduct an experiment in which they measure how much energy is produced by the sun. Students build a calorimeter to measure the amount of energy.
Curated OER
Build an Ice Cap
Learners research Earth science by conducting an experiment in class. In this ice-cap lesson plan, students identify what an ice cap is and create a biome using a box which measures 1 ft. x 1 ft. Learners participate in an animal...
Science Matters
Up and Down Fault Blocks
The Sierra Mountains in Nevada and the Tetons in Wyoming originally formed as fault block mountains. In order to visualize these fault blocks, pupils use construction paper to create layers of earth. They cut the paper models and form...
Urbana School District
Magnetism
The compass was first used in 206 B.C., but we didn't discover magnetic poles until 1263 A.D. Presentation begins with the history of magnetism before continuing on to magnetic fields, magnetic forces, electromagnets, currents,...