ARKive
Human Impact on the Environment
Study the ways that humans have impacted the environment, particularly the spread of plastic waste. After watching a short film about the Laysan albatross population, learners complete a worksheet and research other ways that plastic...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Pesky Plastics: The Problem with Plastic
What can happen to the environment if plastic continues to pollute it? Learners read about the implications of plastic on health, water, and nature in a two-page reading passage. After they finish reading, they work on six comprehension...
Colorado State University
What Is Energy?
Don't let the energy of your classroom falter! Explore the scientific definition of energy through play. A hands-on lesson focuses on the change of energy from one form to another.
PHET
Measuring the Interplanetary Magnetic Field
Scientists need to figure out how to measure interplanetary magnetic fields, but the magnetic field of the spacecraft is interfering with their readings. Scholars attempt to solve the problem that has perplexed NASA scientists for years.
Curated OER
Lunar Learning
Students learn about the phases of the moon. In this moon phases lesson plan, students learn about what causes the moon to look different to us everyday and how the Earth and Sun's position determine what phase the moon is in.
Curated OER
Physical Changes and the Water Cycle - Three
Third graders observe and reproduce the water cycle in their very own classroom. A simple, yet very effective, demonstration on how water evaporates is observed by the young scientists. They make observations and sketches in their...
Curated OER
Cloudy vs. Clear
Students analyze line plots. In this weather lesson using real NASA data, students discuss how weather affects the way the Earth is heated by comparing different line plots.
Curated OER
Earth Kids: Kindergarteners Taking Care of the Earth
Students explore a variety of ways of how to care for the environment in the nine lessons of this unit. They observe how to be responsible "Earth Kids."
Curated OER
Earth: The Water Planet
Students elicit data on the water cycle, ocean topography, and island formation in this six lesson unit. The ocean floor and the properties of water are examined through a variety of discussions and hands-on experiments.
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
First graders examine different types of rocks and minerals. They create models of the rocks and minerals they find interesting. They discuss and explain three ways in which the earth changes.
Curated OER
Motion of the Sun and Earth: Using a Playground Model to Explore Rotation and Revolution
Students experience the rotation of the Earth and the Sun and the Earth's revolution around the Sun, using a playground mode.
Curated OER
Investigating the Earth-Moon-Sun System
Eighth graders research Native American legends involving the sun, moon, and stars and compare them to the origin of present day knowledge. They create a written report and make an oral presentation of their findings to the class.
Curated OER
Heating the Earth
Middle schoolers explore how the angle of sunlight affects the Earth's temperature and seasons and then apply this understanding to their local situation.
Curated OER
Earth and Space Science: Exploring Earthquakes
Students explore earthquakes. In this earthquake instructional activity, students research earthquakes and identify where they take place. Students use map skills to track down earthquake locations. There are internet sites suggested in...
Curated OER
Earth's Rotation
Students explore the Earth and its rotation. Volunteers model the sun-Earth system to demonstrate that the Earth rotates around the sun. In groups, students simulate "traveling" around the sun and discuss when it is night and day.
Curated OER
Beyond the Earth Part II
Students explore the solar system. In this solar system lesson, students use Internet and print resources to research a component of the solar system. Students create travel brochures based on their research findings.
Curated OER
How Big is the Sun? Exploring the Size and Scale of the Sun, Earth and Moon
Learners explore the relative sizes of the Sun, Earth and Moon as they make an impressive large-scale model for classroom use throughout the unit.
Curated OER
Beyond The Earth Part I
Students explore the solar system. In this space science lesson, students take notes on the solar system provided by their instructors. Students then collaborate to design a computer-generated drawing of the solar system.
Curated OER
The Earth's Rain Forests
Students study the importance of the world's rain forests. In this rain forest lesson, students read about the role of the rain forests in the world's environment. Students then write a formal letter to a member of Congress or Senate...
Curated OER
Darwin Day
For this Darwin Day worksheet, students read or listen to a tape passage about Charles Darwin, then match phrases, fill in the blanks, choose words, unscramble words and sentences, put sentences in order, write discussion questions and...
BrainPOP
Migration Activities for Kids
For as long as there has been life on earth, animals, including humans, have used migration as a means of survival. This collection of activities supports young scientists as they learn about this behavioral adaptation, encouraging them...
Curated OER
Day Six: Floater What Ifs
Students observe earth science by examining results from an experiment. In this buoyancy lesson, students practice floating different items in two different liquids and identify why certain objects will float and others sink. Students...
Curated OER
Splish-Splash: Daily Use of Water
Learners explore the daily use of water in Kenya and Ghana. In this Peace Corps lesson, students compare similarities and differences between water use by people in Kenya and Ghana and their own communities as they create books that...
Curated OER
Science: Gravity, Mass, and Weight
Third graders discover the interrelationship between weight, mass, and gravity by conducting several simple experiments. After individually weighing objects, they graph the weights on worksheets. Extensions include making flip books...