This is a classroom activity in which students develop understanding of the rock cycle using wax crayons to model the processes that form the 3 types of rock; sedimentary, igneous & metamorphic.
Photo of the Earth & Moon created from images from the the Galileo spacecraft.
This visualization provides an informative summary of the quarterly seasonal global weather and climate using the 3-D Science on a Sphere format. These video summaries use animations of recent NOAA data and an engaging commentary to review the climate highlights of the past 4 seasons. Topics include, El Nino/La Nina, temperature trends, extreme weather, and emerging climate research.
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the basic elements of our Earth's crust: rocks, soils and minerals. They learn how we categorize rocks, soils and minerals and how they are literally the foundation for our civilization. Students also explore how engineers use rocks, soils and minerals to create the buildings, roads, vehicles, electronics, chemicals, and other objects we use to enhance our lives.
CK-12 Earth Science For High School covers the study of Earth - its minerals and energy resources, processes inside and on its surface, its past, water, weather and climate, the environment and human actions, and astronomy.
Series of videos that can be used in an Earth Science class created by Paul Anderson- Bozeman Science
CK-12 Earth Science For Middle School covers the study of Earth - its minerals and energy resources, processes inside and on its surface, its past, water, weather and climate, the environment and human actions, and astronomy.
This is a writing assignment intended to get to students to think about the relevance of Earth Science to their everyday lives. Students are asked to read a short news article, selecting 1 of 3 articles provided as choices, that discusses a specific earth science topic. Students write a 1-page report summarizing the article and use the write-up to summarize their familiarity with the topics presented. Students will re-evaluate their understanding of the article and associated earth science topic at the end of the course.
Free online Earth and Space Science Textbook by Jeffrey Bennett. Jeffrey Bennett holds a B.A. in Biophysics from the University of California at San Diego and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He specializes in mathematics and science education, writing for and speaking to audiences ranging from elementary school children to college faculty. He is a well known author of science textbooks and children's books. Promo: Are you satisfied with your textbook for Earth and Space Science? We didn’t think so. Now,
imagine an online “textbook” that
• contains everything you need to teach your course, including activities and assessments, and
resources to help you meet the needs of students with varying levels of background.
• meets all your state and NGSS standards for middle school Earth and Space Science, and can
also be used for many high school courses.
• is fully up-to-date with the latest science, all presented in an engaging and scientifically
accurate manner.
• is designed for a course that is “teacher driven” and that can be used in person, online, or
even for independent learning.
• is filled with extensive Teacher Notes that will help you both to effectively engage your
students and to understand subtleties of the science for yourself.
• is written by the award-winning author of college textbooks in four subjects (astronomy,
astrobiology, mathematics, and statistics) and of numerous science books for the public,
including 6 children’s books that have all been read from orbit on the International Space
Station for the Story Time From Space Program
• and it is completely FREE, posted to a web site online.
Now you can stop imagining, because this “textbook” is here and ready for you to use!
Explore it at www.grade8science.com, use it with your students, and share it with
others. You may send feedback direct to the author at jeff@bigkidscience.com.
This is a series of three lessons that focus on two and three dimensional thinking, modeling, and earth structure. The main goal of the lessons is to develop a sense of two- and three-dimensional models of earth's surface, pros/cons and accuracy of those models, and a sense for why accuracy (and understanding inaccuracies) is important. The lessons were developed for upper-level elementary students, and include suggestions and/or links to other related resources for scaling up to middle or high school levels.
Lesson 1: Earth Surface Models in 2- and 3-Dimensions (globes vs maps)
Lesson 2: Visualizing and Modeling Earth Structure in 2- and 3-Dimensions
Lesson 3: Understanding Wave Motion in 2- and 3-Dimensions
Rationale: Three-dimensional thinking is difficult for students from the elementary through the college level. Introducing activities that incorporate spatial models in the elementary levels helps to create a foundation for lessons in spatial awareness and modeling.
These lessons were developed as part of NSF CSEDI grant #1458184, awarded to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2014-2017, in collaboration with Abigail Christensen and Alexis Miller (UWW education students, 2016-17).
This is an indoor and outdoor activity where students understand the distance the earth is from the sun. The students understand that the earth rotates on it's axis once in a 24 hour period thus providing us with day and night.
This short video uses animated imagery from satellite remote sensing systems to illustrate that Earth is a complex, evolving body characterized by ceaseless change. Adapted from NASA, this visualization helps explain why understanding Earth as an integrated system of components and processes is essential to science education.
Learning outcomes for this activity include learning earthquake basics. The larger context of the inequity of earthquake impacts provides a social/environmental justice lens that encourages students to examine earthquake hazards with a broader perspective.
Students learn about the structure of the earth and how an earthquake happens. In one activity, students make a model of the earth including all of its layers. In a teacher-led demonstration, students learn about continental drift. In another activity, students create models demonstrating the different types of faults.
Students chose a room where they spend a significant amount of time. Next, they assess the room for earthquake hazards, create a map depicting where these hazards are located, and finally, describe what would happen during an earthquake for a given intensity.
Earthquake location is an interesting and significant aspect of seismology. Locating earthquakes is necessary for compiling useful seismicity information, calculating magnitudes, and study of fault zones, Earth structure and the earthquake process. Methods of earthquake location involve understanding of seismic waves, wave propagation, interpretation of seismograms, Earth velocity structure, triangulation, and the concepts (and mathematics) of inverse problems. Because earthquake location can be approached with relatively simple to very complex methods, it can be included in various levels of educational curricula and for "in-depth" study. Progressively developing a deep understanding of concepts, computational techniques and applications (and the capabilities, limitations and uncertainties of these applications) is a characteristic of science and an -- opportunity to "learn science by doing science." A number of methods that vary from simple to complex are available for learning about earthquake location. The methods also allow connections to other important concepts in seismology and provide a variety of approaches that address different learning styles and can be used for reinforcement and assessment.
Uses online and/or real-time data
Has minimal/no quantitative component
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This student homework and problem set has students quantitatively earthquake hazard, shaking and damage.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Students learn how engineers construct buildings to withstand damage from earthquakes by building their own structures with toothpicks and marshmallows. Students test how earthquake-proof their buildings are by testing them on an earthquake simulated in a pan of Jell-O(TM).
Students learn about factors that engineers take into consideration when designing buildings for earthquake-prone regions. Using online resources and simulations available through the Earthquakes Living Lab, students explore the consequences of subsurface ground type and building height on seismic destruction. Working in pairs, students think like engineers to apply what they have learned to sketches of their own building designs intended to withstand strong-magnitude earthquakes. A worksheet serves as a student guide for the activity.
Students learn what causes earthquakes, how we measure and locate them, and their effects and consequences. Through the online Earthquakes Living Lab, student pairs explore various types of seismic waves and the differences between shear waves and compressional waves. They conduct research using the portion of the living lab that focuses primarily on the instruments, methods and data used to measure and locate earthquakes. Using real-time U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data accessed through the living lab interface, students locate where earthquakes are occurring and how frequently. Students propose questions and analyze the real-world seismic data to find answers and form conclusions. They are asked to think critically about why earthquakes occur and how knowledge about earthquakes can be helpful to engineers. A worksheet serves as a student guide for the activity.