Materials presented here outline basic concepts related to groundwater, answering questions like "What is groundwater?" and "What is an aquifer?" More detailed topics include groundwater quality, sources of contamination, engineering problems presented by groundwater, and safeguards to the groundwater supply. A bibliography and links to other water-related sites are included. A French translation ... Full description.

These activities explain the management of ground water resources using a balanced approach, focusing on interdependencies in the environment. All activities can be performed using readily available materials. Fact sheets, reference materials, and a glossary of terms are provided. The activities cover such topics as groundwater basics, movement of water in aquifers, recharge and discharge, how a well ... Full description.

Scientists have studied the physical properties of clouds and have developed instruments onboard satellites to characterize the types of clouds they see below. Some satellites have instruments that allow them to measure rainfall as well. For this lesson, students will hypothesize what types of clouds they believe will create the most precipitation (rainfall) over Nashville, TN. Students use the Live ... Full description.

The purpose of this resource is to further students' understanding of the causes of seasonal change using visualizations to compare the effects of incoming solar energy in the two hemispheres. The class reviews global visualizations of incoming sunlight and surface temperature and discusses seasonal change. Students use the visualizations to support inquiry on the differences in seasonal change in ... Full description.

Discovering Plate Boundaries is based on 5 world maps containing earthquake, volcano, topography, satellite gravity, and seafloor age data. The novel aspect of the exercise is the "jigsaw" manner in which student groups access the maps and use them to discover, classify, and describe plate boundary types. The exercise is based only on observation and description, which makes it useful at a wide variety ... Full description.

This Classroom Connectors lesson plan discusses the continuous movement of water from Earth to air and back to Earth. Students list areas of the Earth where water circulates, explain evaporation and condensation, list the steps of the water cycle and explain what happens in each step. The site provides goals, objectives, an outline, time required, materials, activities, and closure ideas for the lesson. ... Full description.

This Classroom Connectors lesson plan discusses the steps of the water cycle, factors which affect runoff, underground water, and stalactities and stalagmites. The site provides goals, objectives, an outline, time required, materials, activities, and closure ideas for the lesson. The Classroom Connectors address content with an activity approach while incorporating themes necessary to raise the activity ... Full description.

This site describes the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which stretches across six states including New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia and also the District of Columbia. Also included in the Bay watershed are several subwatersheds, smaller systems that drain into the streams and rivers that flow into the Chesapeake. More than 64,000 square miles of land drain into the ... Full description.

In this activity, students will become familier with the rock cycle. During the first part of the lesson, students work in small groups, each group having a copy of the rock cycle on a sheet of paper and a selection of small-scale samples and photographs that represent the products of the rock cycle. The students lay out their samples and photographs next to what they consider to be the correct boxes ... Full description.

In this activity, students will examine temperature data obtained from the cooperative observing network, determine its accuracy, and investigate the impact of data reporting interval on the climate record. Each student will analyze hourly air temperature data for a 24-hour period (prepared by the teacher), calculate mean daily temperature by using maximum ad minimum temperature only and again by ... Full description.