Curated OER
Are We Falling Apart? Exploding Volcanoes
Students research and demonstrate volcanic activity. In this volcanism instructional activity, students research the types of volcanoes and define related terms using the Internet. They demonstrate volcanic activity with water, corn...
Curated OER
Are You Ready to Shake
Learners examine earthquakes and tsunamis. In this Earth science lesson plan, students investigate the causes and hazards associated with earthquakes and tsunamis.
Curated OER
Mystery of the Megaplume
Read through the extensive background information and then lead your geology or physical oceanography class through an investigation of actual temperature anomaly data from the Juan de Fuca ridge. They translate the data onto a plot,...
Curated OER
Earth's Plate Tectonics
Students identify the different layers of the Earth. In this earth science lesson plan, students create a model of the crusts and continents. They explain how plates movement cause earthquakes and volcanoes.
Curated OER
Volcanoes
Students investigate the processes and characteristics of volcanoes. They watch real-life videos of volcanoes and identify the physical features and eruption types, create a notebook of volcano characteristics, and identify volcano...
NOAA
Mid-Ocean Ridges Interactive
Your class will be on top of their game when it comes to mid-ocean ridges! The second installment in a 13-part series focuses on the 65,000-km underwater ridge system that spans our globe. Junior oceanographers practice placing the...
Curated OER
Pangea All Lands
Students demonstrate how the earth's land masses were once one huge land mass known as Pangea. They fit continents together forming one large land mass. Describe the processes that cause plate movement.
K-State Research and Extensions
The Crusty Earth
Geology rocks — literally! A geology chapter offers eleven activities at four different levels. Scholars enjoy completing hands-on experiments before applying critical thinking skills following a share, process, generalize, apply, and...
Curated OER
Terrestrial Ecosystem Response to Climate Change
An extensive investigation of the Earth's climate changes awaits your environmental science classes. This top-notch presentation begins by looking at the history of Earth's climate and then predicts the impact on each major terrestrial...
Curated OER
A Model of Earth's Tectonic Plates
High schoolers 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...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 9
Here's a workshop for teachers that rocks the academic world! Using earthquakes as a medium for instruction, educators learn about crosscutting engineering with science. Fun, hands-on, collaborative exercises encourage participants to...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 2
Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...
NOAA
The Oceanographic Yo-yo
How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...
Curated OER
Converging Earthquake!
Students identify the fault lines and tectonic plates on the map. In this earth science lesson plan, students simulate landscape formation using robots. They take a quiz at the end of the lesson plan to demonstrate mastery.
Curated OER
GED Vocabulary: Earth and Space Science-Earth's Crust and The Solar System
In this earth and space science worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle given 9 clues and a word bank on topics such as sea floor spreading, tectonic plates, faults, lava and the big bang theory.
Curated OER
Solid Earth Socratic Questions
Students participate in a whole class discussion to relate what they know about earthquakes to the processes of plate tectonics. They respond to prompts that lead them to conclusions about the layers of the earth.
Curated OER
Plate Patterns
Students read about a volcano and use the latitude and longitude information to plot and describe the volcano on the map. They discuss patterns seen on the map. In addition, they color code a map according to zones, plates, etc.
Curated OER
What Causes Earthquakes?
In this earthquakes learning exercise, students will read information about how different myths and legends have been created to describe the cause of earthquakes. Students will use this information to complete 3 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Moving Continents
In this moving continents worksheet, students review the different types of plate boundaries, what causes earthquakes, and where volcanoes are formed. This worksheet has 10 fill in the blank and 9 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Volcanoes Word Search
In this earth science worksheet, students find the words that are associated with the concept of a volcano and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Hazards: Sixth Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Sixth graders explore the damage associated with an earthquake by designing a structure that can withstand earthquake intensities on a shaker board. They then view tips for preparing for an earthquake, and what to do after an earthquake...
Curated OER
Volcanoes: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities
In the pre-lab, kindergarteners mimic the movements of the eruption of a volcano and discover various volcanoes around the United States. Then, pupils sort different types of volcanic rocks in the lab before learning how volcanoes grow...
Curated OER
Hazards: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities
The last unit in the series allows kindergarteners to see the dangers and hazards associated with each of the natural disasters learned so far in the series—earthquakes and volcanoes. They listen to sounds associated with the disasters.
Curated OER
Earthquakes: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities
Beginning with a pre-lab, kindergarteners trace the letters in the word earthquake and discuss what happens in an earthquake. The lab portion allows young scientists realize that earthquakes trigger shaking of different intensities...