You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...

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...

If you are a geology teacher in the state of Virginia, then this resource is right up your alley! It examines the five geologic provinces of Virginia: The Coastal Plain, The Piedmont, The Blue Ridge Mountains, The Valley and Ridge...

Young scholars make observations through 3-D visualizations. They explore scientific and geologic processes through the use of 3-D pictures.

Students investigate the concepts related to volcanoes and focus upon Mt. St. Helens. They define the difference between an active and dormant volcano. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order...

Young scholars construct a fault model using the Fault Model Sheet imbedded in this plan. They create a 3 dimensional model of the Earth, and use dashed lines to illustrate where the fault lies. A discussion of faults follows the...

Three class periods are required to carry out this science lesson on glacial movement, the Great Lakes basin, and the lock system that allows travel on the lakes. It is an ambitious undertaking as your class experiments with a glacier...

An interesting lesson on different types of soils is here for you. In it, learners discuss what soil is, and consider three piles of soil - clay, sand, and loam. During the rest of the lesson, third graders discover all sorts of...

Opening with background information on copper use and mining, this activity assesses junior geologists' reading comprehension. A map activity is available, but the map is not. There is a useful set of vocabulary matching cards and a...

If your class is studying volcanoes, this could be a useful source of information. In three pages of text and diagrams, this resource discusses the six kinds of volcanic eruptions and three kinds of volcano cones. The fourth page of this...

Students are provided with drawings of planet surfaces in order to investigate different types of planetary terrain. They make observations for each planet and discuss the characteristics observed. The lesson includes background...

Students describe the changes undergone by rocks during the rock cycle and develop an understanding of the interconnectedness of the rock cycle.

Students research about earthquakes that took place within a certain distance from their place. In this geology lesson, students explain why earthquakes occur. They analyze patterns of different earthquakes using a computer program.

Students study minerals and their physical properties.  In this mineral lesson students use technology to investigate minerals and their properties. 

Students investigate the concept of how earthquakes occur and the after effects of how they effect landforms. They conduct research it using a variety of resources and measure the varying intensities of how earthquakes effect the...

Students investigate the concept of earthquakes and the different types of magnitudes. They research the Richter scale and how it is used to measure the intensities of earthquakes. Students then apply the concept by completing a...

Students, after observing the elements of a local watershed, explore the need to protect watersheds as water resources for the future. They examine the factors involved with a watershed: geology, ecology, and the effect of man's...

Students combine information from several field labs to construct an overall geologic history of the local region. They are able to use published reports of the geologic history as they compile their own version.

Students place events in sequence and assign relative times to each event. They gain an understanding of relative and numerical time and become familiar with the methods used by scientists to develop the Geologic Time Scale.

Learners count the number of varves (annual layers of sediment) in shale billets, taken from the Green River Formation in Wyoming. The count is then extended to reflect the entire 260 meters of sediments where the billets originated.

Learners are taken on a simulated "voyage" backward in time, to the beginning of our planet. They "witness" that beginning, the origin of life, and a number of key events from then to the present.

High schoolers go on an imaginary fossil hunt. They follow a script read by the teacher, students "find" (remove from envelope) paper "fossils" of some unknown creature. They attempt to reconstruct fossil pieces into an animal.

Unique in content, this Jeopardy-style game quizzes participants on the geology of the state of Virginia. Categories include provinces, east or west, under the surface, once alive, and fun facts. Other than teachers of upper elementary...

Here is a lesson that rocks! Young scientists choose a rock and list words that describe it. They estimate the mass of their rocks and rank them within a group. They measure their rocks for volume and write a story that somehow includes...