Curated OER
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Students compare the weathering of different-sized materials. Comparisons are made and data analyzed to reach conclusions about the process of weathering. Applications can be made for the higher grades.
Curated OER
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Students compare the weathering of materials. in this weathering lesson, students experiment with the chemical and physical weathering of different materials. Students use salt and water as an example of how weathering occurs.
Curated OER
Learning Lesson: Analyzing a Weather Map
Learners use weather maps to locate warm and cold fronts. They discover the different types of weather associated with these fronts. They also observe the weather in their local area.
Curated OER
Dew Point
Fourth graders investigate saturation conditions and measure the dew point. They conduct an experiment, record data on a worksheet, and measure the dew point in the experiment.
Curated OER
Fourth Grade Science Quiz
In this science instructional activity, 4th graders take a multiple choice quiz about the weather, moon, electricity, and more. Students complete 15 questions total.
Curated OER
Trail Mix
Third graders, given the price of different ingredients, make a trail mix of five different items without exceeding their budget of five dollars. They choose between pretzels, M&M's, twizzlers, popcorn, etc,. Each student practices...
Curated OER
Bush Fires
Students consider the effectiveness of backburning operations. In this current events instructional activity, students analyze a photograph of firemen fighting bush fires in efforts to determine what was taking place when the photograph...
Curated OER
Wonders of Weather
Young scholars understand the destructive force of a tornado. They learn the role of a thunderstorm in the creation of a tornado.
Curated OER
Counting on Measurement
First graders explore measurement. They measure by counting non-standard units. Students use a variety of non-standard units to predict and measure volume of various containers using rice.
Curated OER
Nasa's Return To Flight: Testing In
Young scholars explain basic components of the space shuttle stack and the chemical fuel makeup and storage used on the external tank of space shuttle. They discuss findings of Columbia mission accident. and the safety improvements that...
Curated OER
Queen Elizabeth II Addresses United Nations
Learners examine an article that discusses Queen Elizabeth's address to the United Nations General Assembly. In this lesson, students complete several assignments that are centered around the topic of the article, including vocabulary,...
Curated OER
The Great Cover Up!
Students use non-standard measurement tools such as body parts, beans and counters to find the area of shapes drawn on the floor. They continue to determine the area of other objects in the classroom.
Curated OER
Rain Making - Understanding the Formation of Rain
Students read and conduct and experiment to learn about rain formation. In this water forms activity, students read about the formation of rain and its purposes. Students then complete a rain experiment activity.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: How Does the Temperature of the Great Lakes Change Over Time?
This activity allows learners to use water surface temperature, bathymetric data, and weather data to look at trends in the water temperature of the Great Lakes.
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Smartgraphs: Graphs Tell a Story
Students match a word story to the correct set of graphs involving temperature change over time.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Temperature: Using a Thermometer
In this activity, students will record the high/low temperature daily throughout the school year and observe the change over time (phenology). They will analyze the data monthly and make predictions about the temperature.
King's Centre for Visualization in Science
Explaining Climate Change: Lesson 2: Is Climate Change Happening?
This is the second lesson in a series of learning modules on the topic of climate change. It examines what climate change is, how it relates to greenhouse gas concentrations over time, and temperature trends. Includes comprehension...
US Geological Survey
U.s. Geological Survey: Greenhouse Gases [Pdf]
Lesson plan in which students observe and contrast thermal properties of three major greenhouse gases. Using simple, readily available materials, students collect temperature change over time for dry air, water-saturated air, carbon...
New York Times
New York Times: How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?
[Free Registration/Login Required] This New York Times interactive lets you type in name of your hometown (or any town) and the year of your birth. It will then show you the number of increased days the temperature there has been over...
NASA
Nasa: Sea Surface Temperature Trends of the Gulf Stream
Students investigate changes in the surface temperatures of the Gulf Stream over the course of the seasons using data collected by NASA's satellites. The data is inputted into a spreadsheet and graphed.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Works Best in a Radiator?
Students learn the importance of heat transfer and heat conductance. Using hot plates, student groups measure the temperature change of a liquid over a set time period and use the gathered data to calculate the heat transfer that occurs....
National Earth Science Teachers Association
Windows to the Universe: Feeling the Heat
In this activity students learn about the urban heat island effect by investigating which areas of their schoolyard have higher temperatures. Then they analyze data about how the number of heat waves in an urban area has increased over...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Much Heat Will It Hold?
Students relate thermal energy to heat capacity by comparing the heat capacities of different materials and graphing the change in temperature over time for a specific material. Students learn why heat capacity is an important property...
NOAA
Noaa: Estuaries 101 Curriculum: Chemistry in an Estuary
This activity introduces students to the complex chemistry of estuarine water. Students investigate how chemical and physical water quality factors-pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and salinity-change and interact over varying time...