Whether you are religious or not, humans can be caretakers of the Earth. Young scholars will discuss recycling, how their wasteful actions effect the Earth, and the Alaskan oil spill. They then have small group discussion and write about...

Physical or earth science pupils prepare a magnetometer by inducing magnetism into a pair of straight pins. As the pins hang from a thread, they can be used to detect the magnetic field or poles of a magnet. They could also be used as a...

Three days of erosion exploration await your elementary geologists. Learners begin by examining rivers via Google Earth, then they model water flow in sand, and finally, they identify resulting landforms. This lesson is written...

This is not revolutionary, but it is informative. Earth science viewers in grades 7-12 get carried away with wave and wind erosion. They view diagrams of how waves impact ocean shorelines. They see examples of the different types of sand...

After viewing short clips of unfortunate events, your class will consider two sides of a homeowner's court case, and then learn about the Marcellus shale deposit beneath the state of Pennsylvania and the hydraulic fracturing process. In...

After reading an article about irrigation on Canadian farms, learners participate in a discussion. They individually write an opinion paper about the surrounding issues. A lesson like this can be used in an earth science class when...

Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...

Atmosphere aces investigate the microclimates that exist within a larger area. They use a thermometer to record temperature variations and identify microclimates on a map they have drawn. This exercise helps them to understand that...

Chemosynthetic communities of cold seep areas are considered in this lesson. Working in collaborative groups, marine biology or oceanography learners research and prepare a report about oxidation-reduction reactions involved with...

Most of this lesson is spent working on the "Bathymetry Worksheet." It includes a graph of the changes in sea level over the past 150,000 years and a bathymetric map of changes in an imaginary coastline over time. Participants answer...

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...

Students explore the different parts of the Cassini spacecraft. For this space science lesson, students create a model of the spacecraft using food products. They compare and contrast their model with the real one and evaluate its...

Learners use a pipette to mix small amounts of food coloring into water. They visualize the small quantities of parts per million and parts per billion. Contrary to the title, the lesson is about liquid amounts rather than gas amounts....

Students become familiar with the variables that control Earth's solar energy supply. They explore the source and nature of solar energy, the genesis of radiation, and the structrue of the Sun, gas spectra are observed and sample...

Students examine satellite images of Earth and contrast images at different scales. In this exploring Earth from space lesson plan, students use satellite images to contrast images at different scales, calculate distances from the scale...

Students read excerpts from Annie Dillard's memoir, "An American Childhood," with the teacher. They experience opportunities to connect English, science, nature and art together from a new and unique perspective. This approach serves as...

Eighth graders study the objects in our solar system.  In this space instructional activity students identify and describe planets, then classify them as terrestrial or gaseous.

Students discuss glaciers and write a definition for a glacier as a class. After discussion, they participate in an activity that demonstrates how glaciers can cause dramatic changes and create new landforms. Groups discuss their...

Fourth graders graph the percentages of the materials that make up the Earth and complete computations based on their results.  In this topsoil lesson, 4th graders diagram the different layers of Earth's composition.

Learners work in cooperative learning groups and respond to cases involving ethical choices by students and teachers in science classrooms. They create and submit additional cases and questions for use throughout the school year.

Students conceptualize the solar system and the objects within it.  In this solar system lesson students create a presentation of their themes and objects then present it to the class.

Fourth graders research sources of fossil fuels especially oil while determining how scientists take core samples from an Earth model. They look at oil consumption and production in the US and throughout the world.

First graders investigate how the sun warms the Earth and examine the rotation of the Earth and the sun. They create an illustration of the sun, examine a solar system model, and listen to the book "The Sun: Our Nearest Star." They also...

Young scholars complete activities to learn how to use Google Earth and study Alaska. In this Google Earth lesson, students complete a Google Earth scavenger hunt to find facts about Alaska. Young scholars complete two worksheets for the...