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Prairies,
Forests/Trees,
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Water,
Oceans,
Environment/Ecology,
Earth Day, Waste/Recycling,
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Seasons,
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Collections of
Earth Science
Lessons
Earth
Science Week Online Toolkit
Many activities aligned categorized by the Next Generation Science
Standards.
Earth and Environment Classroom Resources
From the National
Science Foundation
Earth Science Lesson Plans
From Teachnology.
Generation Genius
Lesson plans and videos, including many for earth
science.
Earth Science Lesson Plans
From
Fossils-Facts-and-Finds.
Teaching Earth Science
Links to classroom activities and lesson plans from
Geology.com. See also
Rock,
Mineral, and Rock Cycle Classroom Activities and Lesson Plans.
Earth Science Classroom Activities
From the Kentucky Geological Society.
Geology Lesson Plans
Geology Activities and Lesson Plans
Many lesson
plans from the Illinois State Museum.
Middle School (5-8) Geology
From Share My Lesson.
Education Resources Data Base
Lesson plans and other resources from the Minerals
Education Coalition.
How to Visit Glacier Virtually
Excellent online experience.
Grand Canyon National Park: Geology
for Students
Lesson
Plans on Rocks and Minerals
Several lesson plans from
Rocks and Minerals 4U.
Rocks and Minerals
A 4th-grade unit. See also
Geology: Just Touching the Surface and
The Structure of the Earth
for other 4th-grade units.
Minerals, Crystals, and Gems
Three lesson plans for grades 3-8
from the
Smithsonian.
Sandwich
Squash: How the Himalayas Were Formed
A lesson plan in which
students create and record a model of mountain formation as well
as identify major mountain building formations around the world. See
Tectonic Plate Motion,
an excellent resource.
Plate Tectonics
A 6th-grade unit. See also Shake, Rattle, and Roll.
Exploring Caves
An interdisciplinary set of materials from the USGS on caves for
grades K-3.
Cavern
Geology
Several lesson ideas from
Cave and Mine Adventures.
Some
Geological Virtual Field Trips
From the University of Georgia.
Volcano World
Many resources.
Volcano
Resources for Educators
From the USGS. See also
Alaska Volcanoes Guidebook for
Teachers
and Living with a
Volcano in your Backyard -- An Educator's Guide with Emphasis on Mount
Rainier.
Volcanoes Lesson Plans
Thirteen lesson plans from
GNS
Science
(New Zealand).
Understanding Volcanoes
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from
Discovery Education.
Fossils
Learning
From the Fossil Record
A large collection of lesson plans.
Fossil Lesson Plans
Many
lesson plans from
Fossils-Facts-and-Finds.
National Fossil Day
Man y educational activities for a variety of
subjects from the
National Parks
Service.
Fossils
A lesson plan from the National Park Service.
Fantastic Faux Fossils
A hands-on
lesson idea from
Blick
Art Supplies.
Learning about Fossils through Hands-On Science
and Literacy
Several lesson plans for a variety of grade
levels.
Make Your Own Fossils
A lesson plan from the National Park Service.
Who's on First? A Relative Dating Activity
A secondary unit involving a sequencing activity using fossil
pictures printed on "rock layer" cards.
Fossils: 2nd-Grade WebQuest
See also Getting into the Fossil Record.
Biomes
The World's Biomes
This is a really good site
with information about and pictures of the world's five basic biomes:
aquatic, deserts, forests, grass lands, and tundra.
Biomes
Lesson
For grades 3-6.
Animals and Ecology: The Earth's Biomes
An elementary-grade lesson plan.
Biome Discovery Expedition
A lesson plan for grades 3-8 from Education World.
Introduction to Biomes
A lesson plan for ages
11-16.
Elements of Biology: Biomes
A teacher's guide for grades 9-12 from Discovery
Education. See also
Unique Plants of the Biomes.
Glacier Climbing
A lesson plan from
Newton's Apple.
Deserts
Desert Lesson Plan
For kindergarten.
Desert
Habitat
A lesson plan for K-2.
Just Deserts
A cross-curricular lesson plan for grades 4-6.
World Deserts
A Teacher Guide from Core Knowledge.
What and Why of Deserts
A lesson plan for grades 6-8.
Desert Dwellers
A high school lesson plan.
Wetlands
The Fragile
Fringe
A guide for teaching about coastal Wetlands from the
USGS.
Wetlands Poster
Another activity from the USGS.
Wetlands Education for Students and Teachers
Activities, teaching guides, resources, and
more.
Wetlands Lesson Plans from Louisiana State University
Several lesson plans for grades 4 and 5.
Lesson Plans: Wetlands Ecology
Several
lesson plans from
Wetlands Live.
Wetlands LIVE
Lesson plans/educator's guides for grades 4-6,
7-8, and 9-12.
Teachers Guide to Wetland Activities
Big pdf document from Ducks Unlimited.
Wonderful
Wetlands
A 4th-grade lesson plan. See also
Wetlands are Wonderlands.
Wetland in a Pan
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Penn. State University. See
Identifying Wetlands
for a high school
lesson plan from Penn. State.
Mississippi River Wetlands
A lesson plan fro grades 6-12 for
Education World.
Prairies
Prairie Ecosystems Lesson Plans
Lesson plans and resources.
Prairie Lesson Plan
For kindregarten.
Grasslands
A 10-lesson unit for the middle grades.
See also
The Savannah Unit.
The American Prairie
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from The Discovery Education.
Life
Along a Prairie River Poster
An Educator's Guide with lesson plans and
activities from the
Oklahoma
Biological Survey.
Water:
Water Science/Table/Cycle,
Water Quality/Pollution,
Lakes/Watershed,
Rivers, Oceans
Water Science/Water Table/Water Cycle
Water Science School
Activities, pictures,
data, maps, and an interactive center from the USGS.
Water Classroom
Activities and Lesson Plans
Links to several interesting lesson
plans and resources from Geology.com.
Teachers and Students K-12
Hands-on activities from Water Environment
Federation.
Global Water
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 in which students
monitor their household water use. See
other lessons from this same source.
Water: A Never-Ending Story
|
A curriculum module intended for grades 4 and 5.
The Water Cycle
A middle school lesson
plan from the Penn. State School of Forest Resources. See also
How Much Do I Know About Water?
Water Cycle Lesson Plans
Five elementary lesson plans. See also
The Water Cycle
for a lesson plan for grades 4-7.
Water Lesson
Plans
Lesson plans for all grade levels from
the
Penn. State School of Forest Resources.
Groundwater - The Hidden Resource
A lesson plan for grades 6-8.
Water Quality
Fresh Water Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans from
Fresh Water Live.
Water Quality
Six lesson plans from Utah State University.
Water Quality
A primary-grade lesson plan from Penn State
University.
Exploring Our Growing Need for Water
A lesson plan for grades 6-8.
Contaminated Drinking Water
An elementary lesson plan.
Water Theme
Links to many lesson plans from edHelper.com. See also
Oceans
Theme.
Virginia's Water Resources--A Tool for Teachers
Lesson plans for
a variety of grade levels
USGS Current Water Data
Provides data for streamflow, water
quality, groundwater, and precipitation for all 50 states.
Operation Water Pollution
Several
lesson plans from the
Safe Drinking Water
Foundation.
Watershed/Lakes
Teaching Great Lakes Science -
Lesson Plans and Data Sets
From Michigan Sea Grant. Lesson plans can be
accessed by clicking on Explore Lessons
and Data. If you are doing an integrated unit on Lake
Superior, take a look at Fish and Fisheries,
Minnesota's Historic Shipwrecks,
Lights of
Lake Superior,
and the
Great Lakes
Commission.
Lesson 1: Watnershed Basics
Introductory iformation
and activities from NEEF. See their
Water:
Education page.
Water on the Web
This program from UMD looks really interesting. It is an interactive
curriculum designed for advanced high school and college students that
uses real lake data to explore basic science concepts through directed
study and inquiry. Click on
Curricula
to access the water science units.
Fresh Water Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans from IUPUI.
Freshwater Habitats
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Discovery Education.
Summer Home
A lesson plan in which students examine ethical
and values issues as they examine the environmental impact of building a
summer home on a small lake.
Living in a Watershed
A 4th-grade lesson plan.
Great Lakes Homepage for Kids
Lesson plans for grades 4-8.
Rivers
Rivers, Streams, and Creeks
Information from the USGS.
The Nile River
A middle school lesson plan.
A River
of Lessons!
Many lesson plans from
Education World. See also
International
Water Institute for educational resources related to
the Red River
Watershed.
USGS
Current-Water
Data
Streamflow, water quality, groundwater, and precipitation
for all 50 states.
Wildlife Along the Mississippi River
A lesson plan for grades
K-5 from Education World. See also Mississippi River Scavenger Hunt.
Mississippi River
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from the
Discovery Education.
Hudson River Lesson Plans
Elementary-grade lesson plans for a
variety of subjects.
Rivers through Time
A lesson plans for grades 3-4 from
ChicagoRiver.org.
Major Rivers: A Texas Water Education Program
Lesson plans for
grades 4 and 5.
Blue Beads of the Missouri River
A lesson plan for grades 5-8.
A River Can't Defend Itself in Court: the Role of the Riverkeeper
A high school lesson plan from the Penn State
School of Forest Resources.
Life in a Forest Stream
A middle school lesson plan from the
above source. See also
Stream
and Speed of a Forest Stream.
Estuary Education Resources
From NOAA.
Oceans/Marine
Biomes: Freshwater and Seawater
A lesson plan for grades
6-8 from Discovery Education. See also
Acquatic Habitats
for another middle-grade
lesson plan from Discovery Education.
The Bridge Ocean
Sciences Lesson Collections
Links to collections of lessons
dealing with oceans. See also
Oceans Theme Page.
Ocean Explorer Deep East Lesson Plans
Downloadable lesson plans
for grades 5-12.
The World Ocean
A lesson plan from National Geographic for
grades 9-12.
Ocean Lesson Plans
From Pinterest.
Hands-On Lesson and Activities about Oceans
Many elementary lesson plans.
Under the Deep Blue Sea
A high-quality K-2 lesson plan exploring oceans and ocean life
See also
Ocean Planet: Fact Sheets.
Hot, Cold, Fresh and Salty
A lesson plan
for grades 9-12 investigating the effects
of the layering of warm and cold water and water that is more or less
saline than the normal.
NASA
Oceanography
Studying oceans from space. See the index on the
left side.
Contrasts in Blue: Life on the Caribbean Coral Reef and the Rocky Coast
of Maine
Three high-quality lesson plans for grades 3-8 from the
Smithsonian.
Introduction to Coral Reefs
From the
Smithsonian.
Coral Reef Ecosystems
Lesson plans and activities from NOAA.
Seaworld Classroom Activities
Several lesson plans for a variety of grade levels.
Forestry/Trees -
Click on a topic:
forestry,
trees,
leaves,
tree rings
Forestry
Sustainable Forestry
A lesson plan from the
Penn State School of Forest Resources. See their
From the Woods Series.
Leaf's K-12 Forestry Lesson Guides
Unit based lessons from U W Stevens Point.
Lesson Plans for
Forest-Minded Teachers
Many lesson plans in pdf format for a
variety of grade levels from the Idaho Forest
Products Commission.
Forestry/Natural Resources Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans organized by grade level.
LEAF Wisconsin K-12 Forestry Lesson Guides
Lesson plans for all
grade levels from
University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.
Biomes: Forests and Seeds
A middle-grade lesson plan from
Discovery Education in which students learn how seasonal changes affect
life in a temperate forest.
Deforestation
Lesson Plan
for 3rd-grade.
Trees
Planting a Tree
A primary-grade lesson plan. See also
Activity: Plant a Tree.
Me As a Tree
A lesson plan with several activities.
Parts of a Tree
A kindergarten lesson plan.
See also
Trees and Their Parts.
Seasons of Trees
An elementary-grade
lesson plan from the above site.
National Tree Day
Lesson plans from
Planet Ark.
See also
National Tree Day (Canada).
Uses of a Tree
A lesson plan for K-5..
How Does Your Tree Measure Up?
See also
Forest Measurements.
Leaves
What Tree Is That?
A tree identification field guide.
Leaf Activities for Young Learners
From Project Learning Tree.
Tree
Identification
From the UW Extension. See also
How Appropriate is that Tree?
Mystery Tree Challenge
An activity for grades 4-12. See also
Identifying Trees Using their Leaves in the
Summer.
Tree and Leaf Identification - Part 1
A
3rd-grade lesson plan. See Parts
2
and
3.
Leaf ID and Leaf Bingo
Another 3rd-grade lesson
plan from the above source. See also
What Can a Leaf Be?
Find Out Why Leaves Change Color
An
activity from Education.com. See also
Leaf Chromatography.
Add Color -- and Learning -- to Your Fall Lesson Plans!
Many
ideas to celebrate fall and its colors from Education World. See also
Photosynthesis Fall's Most Valuable Lesson
for more ideas from
Education World.
The Miracle
of Fall
Information on fall color. Click on
Fall Education
for teaching activities related to the seasons and fall foliage.
Tree Rings
It's All in the Rings
A lesson plan for grades
7-12. See also
About
Tree Rings
for an excellent resource.
Tree Rings: Living Records of Climate
A lesson plan from the EPA.
Tree Rings
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 from the National
Park Service.
Tree Ring Art
A lesson plan from Crayola.
Dendrochronology: The Study of Tree Rings
A lesson plan from the Mayne Island Conservancy
(Canada). See also
A Guide to Dendrochronology for Teachers.
Rain
Forest
Rain Bird Rain Forest Teaching Curriculum
Curriculum materials and activities for all grade levels.
Rainforest
Alliance Curriculum
Click on the grade level you teach on the
left side to find the lesson plans.
Rain Forest Animals
A teacher's guide from Newton's Apple.
Teaching Science Through Picture Books: A Rainforest Lesson
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 from Read-Write-Think.
Rainforest
An
elementary-grade lesson plan from A to Z Teacher Stuff. See
Virtual Rainforest for an online tour.
Rainforests
An Internet-based middle-grade or high school lesson plan from
Discovery Education.
It's Goin' Down; The Rain Forest
A
4-lesson unit from Learning to Give.
Amazon deforestation
A lesson plan from
the BBC.
Amazon Rainforest
WebQuest
See also
Zoom Rainforest WebQuest.
Environment/Ecology
Environmental Education Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans from the N.Y. Department of
Environmental Conservation.
Environmental Quality in the 21st Century
Eleven units from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.
The Environment and Ecosystem
A lesson plan from
Discovery
Education. See also
Elements Of Biology: Ecosystems: Organisms And Their Environments.
Project WILD
An activity
based, K-12 environmental education program from the Council for
Environmental Education. Click on "Project WILD Activity Guides" for
information on the K-12 or Aquatic programs.
Ecology
Lesson Plans
From the
Biology Corner. See
Activities
and Lesson Plans
for more ecology lessons.
Ecology Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans from NGSS Life Science.
Exploring
Earth's Ecosystems
A lesson plan for grade 6.
The Grand Canyon
A middle-grade lesson plan from The Discovery Channel School that
explores how the damming of a river can have both positive and negative
effects on the ecology of an area.
Habitat Hunt
Elementary or middle-grade activities for
teaching about wildlife habitat and ecology.
Earth Day Lesson Plans
Earth Day Lesson Plans
From Education World.
Poster My Wall
Use this page to create cool, free Earth Day posters for
your classroom.
A Brief History of Earth Day
A lesson plan from KQED Learning.
Earth Day
Information, activities, project resources and ideas
from the EPA.
Earth Day
2022
Information, posters, banners from
earthday.org.
A to Z
Teacher Stuff: Environment - Earth Day
This site contains links to thematic
units, lesson plans, and resources.
A "No-Prep Earth Day Lesson"
For upper elementary and middle school.
Celebrate Earth Day
An activity from Read-Write-Think.
Earth Day
Lesson plans and units from the
Donns.
The Earth and Me: Forever Friends
A kindergarten unit.
Pollution
Causes of
Pollution
A lesson plan for grades K-3.
Air Pollution: What Can You Do?
A 3rd-grade lesson plan.
Reading and Writing About Pollution to Understand Cause and Effect
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 from Read-Write-Think.
Air Pollution and Asthma
A high school lesson plan.
Sources and Kinds of Pollution
A 5th-grade lesson plan.
Acid Rain: Where Have All the Rainbows Gone
A high school lesson
plan from Penn State..
Water Pollution
Demonstration
From the USDA. See also
Water Pollution Lesson Plan,
Water Pollution Graphing,
and
EnviroScape Water Pollution Lesson Plan.
For other lesson plans on
water and water quality,
click here.
What's in My Water, and How Did It Get There?
A high school
lesson plan. See also
Water Quality Survey for another high school lesson plan.
Pollution Solutions
A lesson plan for grades 4-6.
Waste/Recycling
Trash a Pizza!
A lesson plan for grades K-6 in which students create a
pizza pie graph of landfill components.
Recycling Lesson Plan
For second grade.
Trash
Talkin'
A lesson plan for for grades 3-5.
The Landfill
A secondary lesson plan in which students examine values and ethical
issues as they discuss the risks a landfill may pose to a community.
Scroll down to find the lesson.
Five
Lessons Teach Students to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
From Education World.
We Must Recycle
A lesson plan for grades 2-4.
What Will Decompose?
A lesson plan for grades 2-3 requiring students to think critically.
Reduce, Reuse,
and Recycle
A lesson plan for grades
K-2. See also
11 Reduce, Reuse, and recycle Ideas for Every Subject.
Recycling
A middle-grade lesson plan from Discovery Education.
Inventing Beyond Recycling
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 from PBS.
Microbe Zoo
Discover
the many worlds of microbes.
Climate/Weather
The
Weather Channel
Forecasts, radar, information on climate, etc.
Weather Education
Many resources from NOAA.
Weather Maps
A K-5 lesson plan from Discovery Education.
Weather Watch
A Teacher's Guide with four lesson plan s for
different grade levels from Scholastic.
Wisconsin Weather Stories
Site includes several lesson plans
as well as weather stories and resources.
Keep Your Eye on the Sky - Clouds and Weather
A lesson plan for grades 5-8 from NOAA. See their
entire lesson plan library.
Weather Forecasting
A middle-grade lesson plans. See also
How to Use Weather Maps to Make a Forecast.
Water Cycle and Weather
An elementary unit.
The Force of Wind
A lesson plan adaptable to a variety of grade levels.
See also
What's in the Wind.
Why Is the Sky Blue?
A middle school activity. See also
Why the Sky is
Blue? for information from NASA
How Do Clouds Form?
A K-5 lesson plan. See also
What Are Clouds Made
Of?
Stormy Weather
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 exploring the
causes of lightning. See also
Lightning! Classroom Activity.
Rainbow
Unit/Theme
Activities from Teaching Heart
Acid Rain
Lesson Plan and Information
A
lesson plan for grades 6-8 from the National Park Service.
Sun and Solar Science
A collection of multi-disciplinary activities.
Ocean Imacts on an El
Nino Event
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 from
My NASA Data. See also
El Nino Lesson.
The Ocean and Weather: El Niqo and La Niqa
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from
National Geographic.
Online Guide to Meteorology
A a collection of web-based instructional modules appropriate for
high school students.
Seasons
Four Seasons
A lesson plan for grades K-3. See also
Earth's Seasons
and The Reason for the Seasons.
The Seasons
An elementary lesson plan.
Awesome Autumn
Lesson ideas from Education World.
A
Blizzard of Winter Lessons
Lesson ideas on winter, snow, and winter weather from Education
World.
Let It
Snow!
An lesson plan from Teacher Vsision.
Spring Has Spring
Lesson ideas from Education World.
Summer Fun Lesson Plans and Activities
Climate Change Lesson Plans
Climate Change Live
Many lesson plans for all grade levels.
Global Climate Change
Lesson plans from the EPA.
Teaching
Climate Change
Several lesson plans from NASA. See also
Climate Change Inquiry Lab.
Climate Change Resources for Educators and Students
From the EPA.
Climate Change and Currents
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 from NOAA.
Global Warming
Lesson plans from PBS.
Global Warming
A unit for
grades 7-12 in which students study global climate changes, discuss and
debate the current arguments for and against global warming and the
Greenhouse Effect, investigate the possibility of global warming and the
Greenhouse Effect, and present their findings in the form of research
reports.
Lessons on
Global Warming: Evidence and Research
Lesson plans from the NY Times.|
Prehistoric Climate Change and Why It Matters Today
From the Smithsonian.
Disasters
Natural Disasters: Nature's Fury
An elaborate unit for grades
6-12 from the
Library of Congress.
Exploring Cause and Effect Using Expository Texts About Natural
Disasters
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 from
Read-Write-Think.
The Tornado Project Online
Great site for accessing
information about tornados.
Tornado!
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 From The Discovery
Channel School.
Hurricanes
A
4th-grade lesson plan. See also
Hurricane Season (from NEA).
Hurricane Katrina" A Problem-Based Learning Module
A lesson plan for grades 6-12. See also
Images of Katrina and
Hurricane Katrina: You Be the Reporter.
Surfing for Earthquakes and Volcanoes
A brief unit for grades
6-8.
Landslides!
A lesson plan for grades 6-8.
Avalanche!
A lesson plan for grade 6-8.
A Study of Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics
An Internet-based junior high school lesson plan. For
another
lesson plan, see
Earthquakes: Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future.
A
Model of Three Faults
An activity for grades 7-12 from the USGS.
Tsunami
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Discovery Education.
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