Science and Literacy
- Snapshot Exercise A great activity to use on field trips or class outings - have students write a "snapshot" of their experience.
- The Scientist Project Students research a given scientist and then present interviews to the class.
- Using Current Event Articles in the Science Classroom Various ideas for using current event articles in your classroom.
The Solar System
- Clay Planets Using clay models to learn about the solar system
- Great Planetary Debate Students research a given body in the solar system and then defend their planet or moon in a Great Debate!
- I don't know my solar system. . .please ex-planet! An activity that leads students in researching a given planet or moon of the solar system
- Lunar Lollipops Learn the phases of the Moon!
- The Magnetometer Build your own magnetometer, use this to learn about planetary magnetic fields.
- Terrabagga Activity Use a homemade magnetometer instrument to learn about planetary magnetic fields.
- Windows to the Universe Scavenger Hunt Questions that have students explore the Space Missions, Solar System and Sun section of the Windows to the Universe site
- A
Solar System Coloring Book A ready-to-use coloring book applet!
Back to top
Atmosphere and Weather
- Combining Clouds and Art in the Classroom An interdiciplinary lesson plan combining landscape painting and cloud identification
- Create a Cloud in a Bottle A cloud activity
- Create a Tornado Create a tornado in a bottle!
- Create Your Own Fog An activity on making fog
- Create Your Own Lightning An activity on making lightning
- Create Your Own Thermometer An activity on making a thermometer starting with a straw
- Feeling the Heat Students explore the urban heat island effect by collecting and interpreting data.
- Hurricanes and Climate Students investigate maps and data to learn about the connections between hurricanes and climate.
- Introduction to Ozone Reading Activity An article to read with an accompanying worksheet for students
- Latent Heat and Clouds A hands-on exploration of latent heat and its relation to clouds...
- Let's Make Oxygen Show the presence of oxygen and how to burn steel...
- Make it Rain! A rain activity
- The NCAR Cloud Viewer Print and use to identify cloud types (760K PDF)
- Our Poetic Planet An interdisciplinary lesson plan combining observations of clouds and weather with writing poetry
- Reading Graphs with a Logarithmic Scale Read logarithmic graphs of atmospheric gases
- Shadows... Shadows and their relationship to the time of day/season
- Temperature and the Earth's Atmosphere Interpret graphs to learn how temperature varies through the atmosphere
- Three Clouds Activity One demonstration and two hands-on activities - all about clouds!
- Thunder and Lightning A simple activity
- Using the Very, Very Simple Climate Model in the Classroom
- Watch the Sky A great activity to get your students thinking about what they see in the sky
- Weather and Careers Exercise A lesson that looks at how weather affects different jobs
- Weather Crossword Puzzle A reading and puzzle exercise available at three levels
Back to top
Geology and Geography
- Geology
- Model a Moving Glacier Students make a model of glacier motion and then experiment with it.
- Dante's Peak Movie Review Have students watch and then write a movie review for this popular movie.
- The Magnetometer Build your own magnetometer, use it to learn about magnetic fields (and use it in the Magnetometer Extensions Activity!).
- Magnetometer Extensions Activity Use your homemade magnetometer to learn about sea floor spreading and finding ore deposits.
- Layers of Rock Create and investigate a model of sedimentary layers.
- Let's Take a Rock Apart! A hands-on exploration of the minerals that make up a rock...
- Pangaea Puzzle A fun activity that explains plate tectonics
- Roger the Rock Writing and artwork exercise where students create a children's book to show the rock cycle
- Thirsty Rocks Investigate porosity and permeability using sandstone.
- Making Sedimentary Rocks! Students make a model of sedimentary rock layers to understand how rocks form layers and represent ancient environments.
- Snack Tectonics Students create a tasty model that illustrates plate tectonic motions.
- Shake, Rattle and Roll An easy way to show how surface area affects weathering
- Take a Stab! Model-building activity that will help students visualize what lies below a surface
- Tetrahedron Model Students build a tetrahedron model using simple materials. Activity focuses on silica tetrahedron.
- Who's on First? A Relative Dating Activity from the Learning from the Fossil Record Module (Opens new window)
- Geography
- Geographic Regions and Backyard Geology with the USGS Tapestry Map Students investigate maps in class or online!
- Mapping Ancient Coastlines Explore bathymetric contour lines and sea level change!
- Mapping Potato Island Students make a countour map of a potato!
- Cookie Mapping In this yummy activity, students make a geologic map of a chocolate chip cookie!
- The Land Plan Challenge Students plan towns and learn how planning affects the environment and the larger community.
- Introduction to Maps This quick lesson exposes students to a variety of types of maps.
- Mapping Your Classroom Students construct a map of the desk locations.
Climate, Water, and Life
- Climate and Global Change
- Resources for Teaching about Biogeochemical Cycles A collection of resources for teaching about biogeochemical cycles including links to content, activities, podcasts, and scientist profiles.
- Plugged in to CO2 Students investigate various appliances and electronics, discovering how much energy each uses and how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is released to produce that energy.
- CO2: How Much Do You Spew? Students analyze the energy consumption of a hypothetical household to determine the amount of carbon dioxide they are adding to the atmosphere each year.
- Feeling the Heat Students explore the urban heat island effect by collecting and interpreting data.
- Hurricanes and Climate Students investigate maps and data to learn about the connections between hurricanes and climate.
- Model a Moving Glacier Students make a model of glacier motion and then experiment with it.
- Glaciers: Then and Now Students compare photographs of glaciers to observe how Alaskan glaciers have changed over the last century.
- Using the Carbon Cycle Interactive Game in the Classroom Through an online game, students learn how carbon cycles through the Earth system
- Using the Very, Very Simple Climate Model in the Classroom
- Carbon Dioxide - Sources and Sinks Experiment with the carbon cycle!
- Thermal Expansion and Sea Level Rise Discover how thermal expansion of water might affect sea level!
- Mapping Ancient Coastlines Explore bathymetric contour lines and sea level change!
- Paleoclimates and Pollen Conduct a classroom paleoclimate study!
- Making Sedimentary Rocks! Students make a model of sedimentary rock layers to understand how rocks form layers and represent ancient environments.
- The Land Plan Challenge Students plan towns and learn how planning affects the environment and the larger community.
- The Difference Between Weather and Climate Students graph weather and climate data to learn the difference
- Natural Records of Climate Change: Working With Indirect Evidence Students play a game to learn about indirect evidence, like those that record ancient climate changes.
- Living During the Little Ice Age Discover how modest climatic cooling changed life for Europeans during the Little Ice Age
- Where Have All the Glaciers Gone? compare "then and now" photographs to see how much glaciers have changed over the last century.
- Graphing Sea Ice Extent in the Arctic and Antarctic Check the pulse of the seasons, compare opposite hemispheres, and see whether long-term trends in ice cover are changing as global temperatures rise.
- Trees: Recorders of Climate Change Collect and analyse tree ring data to discover when the Little Ice Age occured.
- Blooming Thermometers A graphing activity that allows students to discover how the timing of blooming has changed as climate changed
- Sunspots and Climate Students investigate data to discover how Earth's climate is affected by changing quantities of sunspots.
- Dark Skies: Volcanic Contributions to Climate Change Discover how volcanoes can alter the Earth's climate
- The Little Ice Age Students investigate multiple pieces of data to learn about the Little Ice Age
- Looking into Surface Albedo Students investigate how color affects heat absorption.
- ACCENT Climate Change Curriculum - Solar Radiation Experiment, also available in German and Italian.
- ACCENT Climate Change Curriculum - Ocean Circulation Experiment, also available in German and Italian.
- ACCENT Climate Change Curriculum - Irradiation Experiment, also available in German and Italian.
- Water
- Build a Model Watershed
- Exploring Density of Salt and Fresh Water: Par 5 A fun activity that involves the interaction between fresh water and salt water
- Thermal Expansion and Sea Level Rise Discover how thermal expansion of water might affect sea level!
- Mapping Ancient Coastlines Explore bathymetric contour lines and sea level change!
- Graphing Sea Ice Extent in the Arctic and Antarctic Check the pulse of the seasons, compare opposite hemispheres, and see whether long-term trends in ice cover are changing as global temperatures rise.
- The Land Plan Challenge Students plan towns and learn how planning affects the environment and the larger community.
- ACCENT Climate Change Curriculum - Ocean Circulation Experiment, also available in German and Italian.
- Life
- Food Chain Checkers Model dynamics of a simple food chain (1.8MB PDF)
- Growing Penguins Timeline Students make a timeline of Adelie penguin development
- The Evidence of Evolution Exploratour An in-depth examination of the science of evolution
- The Traveling Nitrogen Game Become a nitrogen atom and travel through the cycle!
- Using the Carbon Cycle Interactive Game in the Classroom Through an online game, students learn how carbon cycles through the Earth system
- Carbon Dioxide - Sources and Sinks Experiment with the carbon cycle!
- Polishing the Petoskey Students will wear away and then polish a Petoskey stone...
- Adaptation Investigation Investigate how shape and structure of beaks affects the type of food that birds are able to eat.
Back to top
Sun and Spaceweather
- Graphing Sunspot Cycles Helps your students determine sunspot number cycles and make predictions in the near future.
- Plotting Sunspot Activity A comprehensive activity that will help your students understand sunspots
- Solar Concentration Game A great game to be played on the internet!
- Sun-Earth Flip Books A fun, easy way to learn about the Sun...
- Tracking an Active Sunspot Region An activity that will help your students understand how a single sunspot moves across the Sun
- Ulysses Solar Word Search Game A different game for each level! The words chosen are ones that have to do with the Ulysses solar mission.
- Exploring the Dynamic Nature of the Sun Compare and contrast pictures of the Sun.
- The Magnetic Sun A variation of our magnetometer extensions activity to explore the magentic fields of sunspots
- Sunspots and Climate Discover how spots on the Sun influence climate on the Earth
- ACCENT Climate Change Curriculum - Solar Radiation Experiment, also available in German and Italian.
Back to top
Physics and Chemistry
- Printable Activity Page about Magnetism Includes a wordsearch, connect-the-dots and coloring activity.
- The Magnetometer Build your own magnetometer, use it to learn about magnetic fields (and use it in the Magnetometer Extensions Activity!).
- Magnetic Levitation Learn basic concepts of magnetism and forces via magnetic levitation.
- Is Air a Fluid? Discover how gases can flow!
- Diving Raisins An activity dealing with density
- Floating Golf Ball A demonstration dealing with density
- Frozen Film A hands-on activity dealing with light interference
- Par 5 An exercise dealing with the density of fresh water and salt water
- Spectral Surprise A model that displays the rainbow colors of the spectrum
- Spectral Surprise Extensions including a Electromagnetic Spectrum power point presentation and a student worksheet
- Tetrahedron Model Students build a tetrahedron model using simple materials. Activity focuses on silica tetrahedron.
- Weightlessness Demonstration Uses everyday materials!
Back to top
Special Curriculum from NASA
These activities do not appear in the normal Windows to the Universe format. They are full units (many lasting more than a week) that NASA has offered that may be helpful in the classroom.
Charting the Planets Using charts to discover planet characteristics
Galileo Curriculum Module Activities based on the Jupiter Galileo mission including many puzzles, math activities, questions and answers
- Contents, Crossword Puzzle
- What do you know already?
- Volume Calculation Exercise
- Planet Structure & Interior
- Jupiter's Monstrous Magnetosphere
- Catch a Wave
- What does the Galileo Spacecraft Look Like?
- Jupiter's Weather Forecast
- The Moons of Jupiter
- Data Handling Techniques
- Hearing Galileo's Whisper Across the Solar System
- Answer Key
Space Based Astronomy Teacher's Guide Activities, experiments, and readings dealing with NASA's space based astronomy
- Contents
- The Atmospheric Filter
- The Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Collecting Electromagnetic Radiation
- Down to Earth
The Whole World in Your Hands Activities dealing with hydrology, scientific observation and data gathering
- Acknowledgements
- Filling in the Gaps/Math Excursion
- Soda Bottle Hydrology Activity
- How When Affects What
- Cover Mapping Land
- ACCESSING AN EOSDIS DAAC/Technology Excursion
Back to top