Scholars build a simple filtration system to remove impurities from muddy water and rate the filtered water to a grade of clarity scale. The focus is on teamwork and problem solving. This instructional activity would be effective in your...

It's time to break the ice! If you are doing all of the lessons in the unit, children have already seen that increasing heat increases the rate of evaporation, but is the opposite true? Does decreasing temperature cause more condensation...

Middle schoolers model Earth's revolution round the sun by walking a mini-globe around a lamp. You will assess whether or not they tilt and rotate the planet properly and that the revolution is counterclockwise. Discussion beforehand...

Second in a three-part lesson on rivers, this lesson focuses on the flooding that occurs in riparian locations. First, learners take a look at facts about the Amazon River. They read online materials and fill in a worksheet as they...

Access local temperature data online, graph averages, and critique it. Learners listen to a scenario where weather and climate are confused, and then answer questions to differentiate the two. The lesson itself is compact, but there is a...

Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, island arcs, mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanoes ... there are so many features associated with plate tectonics. The 14th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography...

Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an...

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...

Ecosystem, human body system, weather system. We hear the word system a lot, but what does it really mean? In the activity, pairs or groups of learners discuss how a bicycle is a system and then analyze objects in their classroom and...

Bring this lesson on hubris to your short story unit. After reading Jack London's "To Build a Fire," young readers discuss the role of hubris in the protagonist's death. The lesson has connections to other short stories, such as "The...

Forests, through sequestration, capture excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and store it, aiding in climate change. The third installment in a four-part series on how climate impacts forests explores carbon sequestration....

Scholars collect data from heating sand and water before forming testable hypotheses about why sand heats up faster. Afterward, they develop and run experiments to test their hypotheses.

In the study of wind energy, scholars build a small windmill and observe how it transfers wind into mechanical energy. Learners will make connections to the previous lesson with concepts such as the creation of wind...

What impact do humans have on greenhouse gas emissions? What are the natural causes of these gasses? Thanks to the carbon cycle, carbon dioxide eats away at the earth's atmosphere with the intensified help of humans. Young scientists...

The last activity in the series of four has individuals determine steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprints and then analyze their schools' recycling programs. Through a sustainability audit, they identify how and where their...

How big is your footprint? Activity three culminates the series by having groups complete carbon footprint audits with people in their schools and/or around the districts. Groups then gather their data, create a presentation including...

You'll find everything but the kitchen sink here ... or just a carbon sink. In the activity, pairs or groups of middle school learners go outside and measure a tree's circumference and height to estimate its carbon storage potential and...

The most important chemical process on Earth is photosynthesis. Scholars explore the changes in the gases in our atmosphere as life on Earth developed. They create a model of photosynthesis and consider simple questions.

When you take a simple task and create an exceptionally difficult way to complete it, it is known as a Rube Goldberg machine. These machines are filled with many types of energy transfers and energy transformations. Here, pupils...

Did you know there are at least 12 different energy sources? Scholars apply their knowledge about the different types of energy as they sort energy sources by renewable and nonrenewable. Then they pick one from each section to...

Here's a stat for your pupils: 18 percent of the human body is carbon! Part 10 in the series of 12 takes pairs on an adventure through the carbon cycle. After a class reading about carbon, pairs read and choose their own adventure...

Observe the water cycle from the comfort of your classroom with this excellent earth science experiment. Working collaboratively, young scientists first create terrariums complete with hills, plants, lakes, and an...

How do magnetic fields differ? Allow scholars to see the difference between 2-D and 3-D magnetic fields. They construct models of both and observe how they are similar and different. It is the fifth installment of an 18-part unit.

Even though volcanoes look alike, they can be very different based on the types of lava that erupts from their surface. Learn about strata volcanoes, shield volcanoes, and the varying viscosity of lava with an engaging hands-on...