This resource covers components of the hydrologic (water) cycle. Although it is geared to high school level, middle school students could grasp the content with assistance from an instructor. Specific topics include the distribution and movement of water in the Earth system, such as evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and ground water. Full description.

In this lesson, students explore the use of storm-tracking technologies, research how natural disasters are predicted, and assess the importance of these technologies. A case study of a New England snow storm and its impacts is presented for discussion, along with suggestions for retrieving information about forecasts as well as links to weather prediction and warning sites. 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.

In this activity, students play the roles of detectives investigating the loss of a city's water supply by evaporation. They will design an experiment to see whether heat or wind causes the greater loss of water, conduct the experiment, and write a report detailing their findings. Full description.

This site contains a series of interactive web exercises to practice contouring. There are also explanations of what contouring and common isopleths are. The exercises involve contouring basics; working with real data, weather maps and ocean maps; and contouring potential temperatures in the Mediterranean. Full description.

In this lesson, students will collect and graph data on air temperature, relative humidity, and dew point to observe why these variables change (or do not change) during the day. Graphs are constructed by using free downloadable software (WxScope). By making observations of qualitative and quantitative changes in these variables with time, they will understand the advantages of using dewpoint temperature ... Full description.

In this activity, students will observe how atmospheric moisture moves by advection (transport by wind) and make conclusions about why the moisture changed in different parts of Oklahoma. They will view animations of wind and dewpoint temperature data, answer questions about what they see, and determine the preferred location(s) for the advection of moisture into the state and what region, if any, ... Full description.

This lesson is designed to provide students an understanding of the extent to which radiative energy heats and cools the surface of Earth on a daily basis. Students will learn to calculate the total amount of incoming and outgoing radiation over a day. They will learn to determine how balanced the radiative system is over a particular location and try to determine whether the surface is in radiative ... Full description.

Discussion of holes in the stratospheric ozone layer usually revolves around investigations of the thickness of the layer near the South Pole. This online activity allows users to study the thickness of the ozone layer over any location on Earth to see how it has changed over time. This is done by plotting historical data from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Program, which has been in ... Full description.

This lesson has students observe and quantify their household and vehicle energy consumption; explain the relationship between energy consumption, energy production, and its influences on the greenhouse effect and global climate change; and suggest adaptation and mitigation strategies as to how he or she could reduce household and vehicle energy consumption in order to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. ... Full description.