This Starting Point webpage describes a ConcepTest question that asks students to review a map of tectonic plates and predict which pair of locations is moving closer together as a result of plate tectonics. The website includes the question and references and topics covered by the question. Full description.

This student activity demonstrates how foraminifera can be used to analyze climate. It contains background information and the classroom activity, which includes instructions and the required charts and graphs. Full description.

This instructor guide provides background material for a two-part activity in which students observe convective currents in water and learn that air can behave as as a fluid. Students will understand that temperature changes can cause density changes in water, learn that the same phenomenon happens in air, and understand that temperature-driven density changes will produce currents in a fluid medium. ... Full description.

In this activity, students create paper models to represent simple faults and illustrate some of the landforms associated with faulting of the Earth's crust. To make the models more realistic, some of the fault scarps are cut by gullies and are eroded in ways indicative of an arid landscape. All of the paper models show displacement on the fault by the use of arrows and by the offset of a marker bed ... Full description.

This lab activity is part of the Starting Point collection. In this short, serial basic-meteorology lab, students identify different cloud types and estimate cloud cover over a period of several days. This website details learning goals, context for the lab, and teaching notes. A list of teaching materials and links to further resources are also provided. Full description.

This educational module enables students (5-12) to experience ongoing research of University of California paleontologists studying about life in Montana 60-70 million years ago. It gives students the opportunity to experience the scientific process using real research questions and data. The teacher guide provides background information, standards, a lesson plan, discussion question, handouts, assessment ... Full description.

This informational tour offers students a basic understanding of geologic time, the evidence for events in the history of the Earth, relative and absolute dating techniques, and the significance of the Geologic Time Scale. Students move at a self-selected pace by answering questions correctly as they go. The teacher's guide contains all the details needed to use this computer activity, including handouts, ... Full description.

This computer activity provides a basic understanding of what a fossil is and the factors involved in becoming part of the fossil record. It is organized as an informational tour in two sections: one for middle school and one for high school. Students move at a self-selected pace by progressing and answering questions. A teacher's guide contains all necessary instructions as well as lesson plans, ... Full description.

In this lesson, students begin with a classroom activity in which they gain confidence in using cardinal directions. They then work together on a web activity to learn the meaning of longitude and latitude and the method of notation. Two classroom activities are included to provide additional practice and to assess the students' ability to locate specific places worldwide. By the end of this series ... Full description.

In this activity, students investigate the question "What influences fish populations in the ocean?", by exploring the role of phytoplankton in a marine food web and how physical factors in the environment affect living communities. They interview scientists and form a hypothesis, collect and analyze data, and prepare an article for a ficticious magazine. Links are provided to teachers' tips, and ... Full description.