Students explore plate tectonics and the formations of the Earth's surface and why maps are distorted.  In this Earth's surface lesson plan students complete a lab and answer questions. 

Students discuss and define the term "scientific theory." They work in small groups to draft an overview of one theory including details about the theory's evidence and significance.

Young scholars investigate the celestial sphere and circumpolar motion. In this science lesson, students view an applet, The Celestial Sphere and Circumpolar Motion. Young scholars discuss the Earth's rotation and stellar movement.

Students use the Internet to investigate earthquakes and plate tectonics. In this plate tectonics lesson plan, students complete a web quest with multiple links and activity types relating to earthquakes and volcanoes. They connect the...

Students construct an experiment to test the rigidity of compressed air and its strength. In this earth science lesson, students are divided into groups, and by putting their thumb over the end of a straw, use the compressed air strength...

Young scholars develop problem-solving, observation, and critical-thinking skills. In this early childhood lesson, students explore the topic of the sun as they notice shadows and light.

Transform your class into young geologists as they learn about six different branches of geology. Using the included geology career descriptions and picture cards, learners work in small groups deciding which tools and locations fit...

You can lower your ecological footprint by recycling! Lesson four in this series of five has individuals, through the use of a computer, calculate their ecological footprints. Through discussions and analysis they determine how many...

It's time to get those creative juices flowing! This second lesson in a series of five continues allowing pupils to design their own planets. It the same format as the first, but, this time, allows students to alter greenhouse gases...

Students investigate air by participating in a class experiment. In this matter measurement lesson, students identify air as a gas which consists of mass. Students utilize a windsock or balloon to measure oxygen and explore it's true...

Why don't we just capture carbon dioxide in the air and store it somewhere else? A hands-on lesson allows scholars to explore a complex concept. First, they will create a carbonated beverage, and then they will determine...

Climate models mathematically represent the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land, sun, surface, and ice. Part two in the series of four lessons looks at the role greenhouse gases play in keeping Earth warm and has participants...

Unplugging from technology for one day per week will decrease your carbon footprint—are you up to the challenge? Part two in a series of three allows individuals to explore their personal carbon footprints. By first taking a quiz at home...

Take the old baking soda and vinegar volcano to the next level by using it to study repeated lava flows over time, examine geologic features on Earth and Mars, and speculate about some of the formations on Mars. 

A slide show serves as the backdrop for a instructional activity on the moisture in Earth's atmosphere. Through it, mini meteorologists learn about the attributes of the atmosphere and actually use data-collecting weather tools to make...

High schoolers explore igneous rocks by observing rock samples and considering cooling rates and composition. The third installment of a five-part geology series culminates in an activity where learners use igneous rock...

There are so many things to discover about the sun! Pupils discuss their knowledge of the sun, explore its features, apply their knowledge by labeling photographs, and then reflect on their learning by working in groups to draw and label...

Between the time scientists discovered Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet, it did not even make one full revolution around the sun. In two activities, scholars investigate scale models and their properties. Pupils find that it...

Clever! Use a clip from the 1997 film, Volcano, to get your chemistry class knee-deep in heat concepts related to lava. In the movie scene, lava flow is stopped in the nick of time. Your class must use calculations to determine if this...

Historians believe the first vertical water wheel was invented in Rome during the Augustan Age. The sixth activity in the series of 10 has scholars experiment with designing their own water wheels. Through testing various pastas and...

See the water filtration system up close with a fun science experiment. Young scientists work for several class periods to design a water filter using household objects, and then decide which filter material would be most effective...

There is 30 percent more carbon in the atmosphere today than there was 150 years ago. The first lesson in the four-part series teaches classes about the carbon cycle. Over two to three days, classes make a model of the cycle,...

Scientists use ice core samples to obtain temperatures of the earth from 400,000 years ago! The third of five lessons instructs pupils to interpret historical climate data to see changes over time. In part I, participants interpret...

While this is not the traditional, step-by-step lesson plan, it is chock-full of material that you can easily incorporate into your earth history unit. Its main purpose is to serve as a guide to using a three-part film, The Day the...