University of Arizona
The Exotic Vacation
Students explain the concepts and vocabulary of Earth's rotation. They plan imaginary vacations based on the seasons in different locations. This is a very creative lesson plan, which students enjoy.
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Earth: The Source of Resources
Students study responsible stewardship and natural resources. In this natural resources lesson, students share their motto's about the environment with the class. Students then discuss the regulations in 'Rules and Regulations for...
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Making Hail
Fourth graders investigate the different types of precipitation and conduct a hail experiment. They identify the types of precipitation during a slideshow, and define key vocabulary terms. Next, in small groups they follow the...
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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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The Water Cycle
Fifth graders identify organisms and processes involved in three cycles: the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and the nitrogen cycle. They produce a pictorial or abstract water cycle, and appropriately place life forms onto an existing...
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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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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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Cloud and Weather Patterns
Fourth graders examine how weather patterns generally move from west to east across the United States, and how clouds are formed and are related to the water cycle. They view and discuss a PowerPoint presentation of the types of clouds,...
NASA
Development of a Model: Analyzing Elemental Abundance
How do scientists identify which elements originate from meteorites? Scholars learn about a sample of material found in a remote location, analyzing the sample to determine if it might be from Earth or not. They study elements, isotopes,...
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Earthquake Formation
Students explore earthquakes. In this natural disaster and engineer career education lesson, students identify features of the earth's surface that increase the likelihood of an earthquake. Students use visual aids to locate the earth's...
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The Coriolis Effect
Young scholars will determine the direction of Earth's rotation as viewed from the north and south if they were suspended out in space. They will model how the rotation of the Earth causes currents to be deflected in different directions...
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Weather Lesson 2
Students identify the elements that make up the earth's weather. Begin by having students pretend they are hiking along a mountain ridge. It's been sunny and warm all day, but you see a dark line of clouds moving from the west.
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Vocabulary: Multiple Meaning Words in Context
Learners use context clues to define words with multiple meanings. After extensive practice with their teacher, learners read through six sentences, they then identify a word with a multiple meaning, and determine its meaning based on...
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Creating Climographs
Students chart statistical information on graphs, interpret the information and use it to explain spatial relationships, and identify the relationship between climate and vegetation.
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What About Fighting?
What are the positive and negative consequences of violence? Elementary and middle schoolers discuss how some see violence as the answer to resolving conflicts. They identify the positive and negative aspects to using violence, and ask...
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Scarcity of Water Throughout the World
Students identify the various forms of fresh water on the earth. They observe a demonstration aand read articles that show them the importance of water conservation. They write a journal about their opinion regarding paying for water.
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Measuring the Volume of Water Discharge for a Stream or Canal
Students study how to measure and calculate the volume of water flowing down a stream or canal and use simple tools to make measurements. Next, students determine how many people cold live off the volume of water measured. Finally, they...
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Viruses and Bacteria
A series of questions about archaebacteria and eubacteria reinforce a chapter on viruses and bacteria. This activity is from chapter 18 of an unspecified textbook, but could work with your biology lecture as well. High schoolers identify...
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Sum It Up
After a review of the steps involved in writing a summary, class members read The Physics of Baseball by Sarah Ives and use a story web to identify the important details to include in their summary. Class members then choose an article...
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Mass, Volume, and Weight
Students explore mass, volume, and weight. In this science and measurement lesson, students compare volume, mass, and weight after listening to the teacher's description of each. Students explore different scales and balances and...
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Puzzle it Out
Students study the Earth's climatic system and construct a puzzle that names all of the pieces of the components involved. In this Climate lesson, students draw a picture on a puzzle piece depicting a specific component. Students then...
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Spice Up Your Life
Second graders identify major spices found in the world. They link spices with countries they are grown in and the uses for these valuable items.
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7th Grade Scientific Notation
Middle-school mathematicians identify the need for scientific notation. Learners convert large and small numbers into scientific notation. Students review the powers of ten and write them on the board in standard form and scientific...