Virginia Department of Education
Three Types of Rocks
Rock out with the second installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes. Your budding geologists make observations of given rock samples and posit classification systems for rocks. They then learn about the...
Curated OER
Weather & Climate
Sixth graders differentiate weather and climate. For 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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Sedimentation Lab Activity
Students predict how sediments in a water column will settle. In this earth science lesson, students examine the layers of sedimentation. Students are given sediments to place into a column of water and observe how they settle....
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Physics The Earth and Beyond
Fourth graders will explore our solar system. In this physics lesson students create a model of the solar system to explore the movement of Earth, the Sun, and stars.
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Weathering & Erosion
First educate, and then quiz viewers on the ins and outs of weathering and erosion. At a level appropriate for upper elementary or middle school earth scientists, these slides display animated graphics and photos. The first 22 slides...
Messenger Education
Can You Hear Me Now?—Communicating with Spacecraft
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....
NASA
States of Matter
Water, one of the basic needs of humans, is found in all three states of matter on Earth; no other planet—that we know of—possesses this quality. Here is a unit that allows learners to explore through experimentation what it...
Sea World
Endangered Species
Study different endangered species with several activities that incorporate math, science, language arts, and research strategies. A great addition to your lesson on conservation or Earth Day.
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Weather Dance
Young scholars study weather and focus on specific dance concepts. They are introduced to different ty es of clouds and how they are formed. Next, they study wind and why it occurs.
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Carbon Monoxide and Population Density
Tenth graders investigate the carbon monoxide level at a fixed latitude to determine if there is a relationship to population density. They download data sets and generate a graph, and find locations using the Earth's coordinate system....
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Understanding Latitude and Longitude
Teaching learners about latitude and longitude can get a little complicated. Present the concept by first representing it as a graph. Just like finding a location on a graph using the x and y-axis, learners will be able to locate items...
NASA
The Cycle of Matter
An educational lesson focuses on the idea of conservation of matter through a demonstration of the water cycle, a discussion of digesting food, and the path of carbon and oxygen atoms as they change form.
Curated OER
Freezing Cracks
Fourth graders examine how weather events cause weathering of the Earth's surface and how freezing water creates cracks and broken rocks over time. They observe what happens when a jar full of water is frozen overnight, and record their...
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Smooth It Out
Fourth graders describe how weather events such as hard rains and floods cause weathering of the Earth's surface and rocks. They distinguish between erosion and weathering, and comprehend that water and friction show similar results in...
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Countdown Challenge
In this countdown challenge worksheet, students find the 10 common elements from the human body, earth's crust, and ancient times and color code them. Students fill the atomic number of the elements in a given periodic table.
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Severe Weather
Ninth graders investigate the cause and effect of severe weather. In this Earth Science lesson, 9th graders use a learning contract and a rubric to develop a presentation about severe weather.
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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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Naming the Clouds
Fourth graders examine how water condenses into clouds and identify the different types of clouds using the same system devised over 200 years ago. They listen to a book about clouds, and create a Cloud Key. Next, they record their...
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Drifting Continents
In this plate tectonics worksheet, students study the continents map and complete 8 short answer questions related to them. They predict what the Earth will look like millions from now.
Messenger Education
Mission: Possible—How Can We Plan an Exploration of Another World?
An astronaut's spacesuit weighs 280 pounds and takes 45 minutes to put on — that's a serious suit! The second activity of a three-part series allows pupils to see all that goes into space exploration. Through simulations, groups analyze...
Messenger Education
Exploring Exploring
The reason people first began trading was because of their desires for objects other societies possessed. In the activity, classes discuss why exploration has been a common thread in all societies and where these desires have taken...
Curated OER
Applications of GIS
Don't be concerned that the title slide of this presentation mentions Virginia's Geospatial Extension Program; this slide show is very informative for any technology-focused curriculum when considering global information systems. It...
United Nations
Compost Monitor Training
What should go in the trash, and what can be composted? Guide your young conservationists through the process of composing their trash with a lesson about the different ways we can dispose of garbage. Using a trash bag with clean...
Curated OER
Ocean Currents and Sea Surface Temperature
Students use satellite data to explore sea surface temperature. They explore the relationship between the rotation of the Earth, the path of ocean current and air pressure centers. After studying maps of sea surface temperature and ocean...