What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...

Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.

Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...

How do scientists know what the Earth was like in the past? This second installment of a six-part series focuses on paleoclimates and provides an overview of how geologists determine information about past climates using fossil...

Sometimes scientists learn more from unexpected findings than from routine analysis! Junior oceanographers dive deep to explore hydrothermal vent communities in the fourth lesson in a series of five. Scholars examine data and look for...

Students create their own fossils in an activity using plaster of paris and a variety of objects which can be fossils, e.g. chicken bones, twigs, shells, etc. After making their fossils, they allow them to dry and discuss time and its...

Students conduct a hands-on activity to investigate salt concentrations in water and how salt remain after water evaporates. They can also do a Saltwater Painting to once again observe the evaporation. process.

Young scholars visit the Hydrology Study Site, conduct a visual survey to discover info about local land use and water quality, and document their findings by mapping the water body. They use this investigation to raise questions for...

Students follow the appropriate sampling protocol and take two measurements of a local water source. These measurements are Transparency and Temperature. This info about local land use and/or water chemistry issues may require further...

Students investigate how to draw topographic contours and read topographic maps.They examine the topography of San Francisco and contrast the elevation of different points within San Francisco.

Students explore the information depicted on topographic maps. They construct a 3-D topographic map of a local area. They go on a field trip to the depicted area and compare the 'real world' with their models.

Sixth graders measure distances on a map using string and a ruler. They complete mathematical word problems about measurement.

Students compare and constrast a wide variety of minerals and rocks. They test them for streak, luster, color and other characteristics. They view an exhibit and compare their answers to them.

Practice reading comprehension by approaching oceanography through 2 pages of informational text. The text compares the ocean floor to the Grand Canyon to gives learners perspective, and gives a brief coverage of the earth's crust and...

Most of this lesson plan 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...

By counting differences in amino acids, biology stars examine the relationships between different primates. With information gleaned, they map out a phylogenic tree and discover common ancestry. You will need to create printable versions...

Sixth graders identify and classify changes in their lives. During the second lesson students record observations of Blue Palo Verde seed pods and predict changes over time leading to further investigations.

Eleventh graders compare the artistic values of Terry Evans' photography with LandSAT images and other images made for purely scientific, government and commercial purposes. They consider the artistic choices made in aerial photography.

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...

Groups of two to four work together to design, construct, and experiment with a boat. Each boat must include all of the major parts of a real ship, be less than 12 inches long, and be able to carry a load up twice its own weight in calm...

Taconite is a rock that is used as a source of iron. Earth science explorers examine a piece up-close and discuss whether they think it is more cost effective to ship it by boat or by truck. They write letters to their state...

Students examine the most common characteristics of clay and sand, and to understand how the properties of these materials affect the erosion of the landscape and the formation of the many landforms. They explore clay and sand through...

Ninth graders will identify/understand the differences between soil and dirt. They will classify soil color accurately and use Munsell notation to describe it (Munsell books provided).Students will classify soil texture using the feel...

Fifth graders, while in the computer lab, investigate and study the composition and level of organization of objects and organisms and utilize technology to collect and store information collected. They explore, research and examine a...