This Amazing Space lesson is an interactive card game which helps students learn the properties of comets, asteroids, and the Sun and planets. As students answer questions correctly about the solar system, they collect cards. Background information is provided for teachers. Full description.

Ocean Planet's six lesson plans are adapted from several themes in the Smithsonian Institution exhibition created to share with the public what recent research has revealed about the oceans and to encourage ocean conservation. "Sea Secrets" explores ocean geography; "Sea Connections" looks at the plants and animals that live in different marine ecosystems. "Ocean Market" identifies and values many ... Full description.

In this investigation, students examine Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. After becoming familiar with a bathymetric/topographic map of the area, students select a transect along the seafloor to study some of the geological, biological, and physical features that are present. In this activity students use a bathymetric/topographic map as a tool for recognizing geobiological features of the sanctuary, ... Full description.

This interactive site features games, animations, and teachers' materials intended to introduce younger students to climate change. There is information about what climate change is, the difference between weather and climate, and the greenhouse effect. There are also materials on the climate system, ancient climates, and how scientists investigate climate. Other topics include discussions of whether ... Full description.

The PALEOMAP Project illustrates the plate tectonic development of the ocean basins and continents, as well as the changing distribution of land and sea during the past 1100 million years. The reconstruction of paleoclimates is also discussed. Maps are viewed as animations where the time component can be user-manipulated. Included are a variety of background materials which supplement the animations. ... Full description.

This activity teaches students how bathymetric maps (topographic maps of underwater landforms) are made by using sonar. Students use a simulated sonar exercise to map something they cannot see and then see how close they were to the actual shape. They produce a bathymetric map and answer questions about this process. Full description.

This is a series of interactive modules that explore the history of life on Earth, while focusing on the processes of science. Each module contains suggested lesson plans and an extensive teacher's guide. In addition, each module has a suggested grade level and an adaptable grade level. Full description.

In this lesson, students learn the order of the planets, research their main characteristics, and explore the basic structure of our solar system. Students will also be able to explain why we could not live on other planets without special equipment. They will demonstrate their knowledge, using an online learning tool. This site provides an overview of the lesson, detailed procedures for the teacher, ... Full description.

This National Park Service resource contains information pages about cave safety and biology, how caves and speleothems form (stalactites and stalagmites), a glossary of karst and cave terms, and specific information about Round Spring Caverns in Missouri. The site also contains a number of K-12 classroom activities where learners apply both critical thinking skills and hands-on methodologies that ... Full description.

This website provides students with an introduction to the history of life and how it resulted in today's biodiversity. There are three tiers of difficulty available for different grade levels. During this tour students learn about geologic time, fossils, ancestral relationships, cladograms, variation, natural selection, and extinction. Students learn that life has been around for a very long time ... Full description.