Here is another in the interesting series of lessons that use the special State Quarters as a learning tool. This one uses the North Dakota State Quarter. During this lesson, your class learns about the different patterns of erosion, and...

Four fabulous activities immerse amateur astronomers into measuring objects that we cannot handle. The experiences are applied to NASA's Space Interferometry Mission, which will take measurements of planets around stars other than our...

Students explore using energy from the sun for heating and cooking as they build and compare the performance of four solar cooker designs. This excellent two-day instructional activity has groups of students build and test a variety of...

Students calculate acceleration due to gravity with the measurements of the period of a pendulum or measurements of the time for an object to fall from different heights. They observe and measure the effect of air resistance on the...

Young ecologists investigate some of the many ways that human activities adversely affect the environment. After identifying the main types of pollution (air, water, soil), 3rd graders fill in a Venn Diagram by pasting cut-out pictures...

Here's a great geology lesson for 3rd graders on weathering and erosion of soil. After a class discussion on how nature can "move a mountain," learners take a look at how a modern phenoma called acid rain can also cause weathering and...

Third graders practice making predictions about weather from conditions they observe on weather instruments and weather reports. Learners are introduced to the most basic weather reporting instruments: the thermometer, the wind vane, the...

Students study the flow of water in the environment.  In this water cycle lesson students evaluate the consequences of changes in the water cycle using data. 

Students determine the volume of water they displace. For this earth science lesson, students calculate the total water displaced by the world's population. They evaluate whether or not this value is enough to raise the sea level...

Young scholars explore how science and technology interact. They discuss important inventions, discoveries and technologies. They research a specific technological advance, or invention, and prepare a presentation that includes the...

Learners describe how plate tectonics contribute to the development of volcanoes. In this earth science lesson, students examine the map of Hawaii and explore the physical and biological environment there. They write a story about an...

Learners explore the concept of bituminous coal and the role it plays within our world.  In this economic and earth science lesson, students discover and model the extraction methods with hands-on activities.  Learners also...

Students examine hydrothermal vents. In this ocean lesson, students identify changes in physical and chemical properties of sea water caused by hydrothermal vents.

Young scholars examine a coastal ocean. In this physical science/earth science instructional activity, students generate a list of questions about how researchers study the ocean. In addition, young scholars investigate, through research...

In this weathering worksheet, students investigate the effects of water and acid on limestone. They form a hypothesis for both and experiment to find the results.

Students study Africa's diverse landscape and investigate how these features impact the available water supply, food sources, and population distribution of the continent. They compare topographical features and their affect on each...

Third graders identify basic physical and behavioral characteristics of birds and how they adapt to their environments. To organize and share scientific information with peers. They discuss similarities and differences among birds....

Students classify different types of rocks. In this earth science lesson, students test different rock samples and construct a chart to record observations. They create a concept map that answers essential questions.

Learners examine how water changes state, from a liquid to a solid.  In this water lesson students study the water cycle and how temperature and pressure effect it. 

Students identify patterns and relationships from data that is collected and solve variables.  In this investigative activity students study ocean productivity, the nitrogen cycle and phytoplankton then answer questions.

Students research news articles relating to global climate change. In this earth science lesson, students create a news broadcast using the information they gathered. They present this in class and each student gives their peer...

Young scholars use topographic maps to identify parts of rivers. In addition, they discover gradient and predict changes in the channels caused by variations in water flow. Other activities include sketching a river model with a new...

Students explore ethics. In this science ethics lesson, students examine science lab classroom ethics as they consider various scenarios that encourage authentic student discussion and the formulation of guidelines and principles.

Students monitor the weather, clouds, and sky. In this weather lesson, students create a sky and cloud window to focus their sky observations. They write observations in a notebook and include the date, time, cloud cover, types of...