This on-line project is part of the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) program, which has developed internet activities for the elementary, middle, and high school level student. This project involves comparing the water quality of local rivers, streams, lakes or ponds with other fresh water sources around the world. The focus is to assess the quality of water based on physical ... Full description.

The goal of the PALEOMAP Project is to illustrate 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. In the section on Earth history you can select any time period, read about that period, and see the plate distribution during that period. There is also a section on climate history where you can ... Full description.

This Classroom Connectors lesson plan teaches students that adaptations help organisms survive and that adaptation is related to the fitness of an organism. This site provides goals, objectives, an outline, time needed, materials, activities, and closure ideas for the lesson. Classroom Connectors address content with an activity approach while incorporating themes necessary to raise the activity to ... Full description.

This short Why Files piece is about a recent discovery concerning the Tyrannosaurus rex. It presents evidence, based on biomechanics, that suggests that this dinosaur was not a fast runner, as once thought. Full description.

This lesson plan is part of the DiscoverySchool.com lesson plan library for grades 6-8. It discusses the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex, and whether or not it was a scavenger or a predator. After researching many physical aspects of this dinosaur, students explain their views on this topic to show what they have learned. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, discussion questions, evaluation ideas, ... Full description.

This lesson plan is part of the DiscoverySchool.com lesson plan library for grades 6-8. It focuses on island formation through water level changes, coral growth, or volcanism. Through class demonstrations, worksheets, and research, students learn the different ways islands form as well as how different lifeforms develop on the islands. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, discussion questions, ... Full description.

This lesson plan is part of the DiscoverySchool.com lesson plan library for grades 6-8. It focuses on the Mesozoic era of Earth's history, when the dinosaurs were alive. Students divide into groups to research one of the three periods of this time, and create a habitat mural for that time period. At the end, comparisons are made between the three time periods to discover how dinosaurs evolved during ... Full description.

This lesson plan is part of the DiscoverySchool.com lesson plan library for grades 6-8. It focuses on adaptations that desert animals must make in order to survive in the harsh desert environment. Each student studies a certain creature and reports on specific adaptations it has made, and then a game is played to introduce students to these concepts. Included are objectives, materials, procedures, ... Full description.

This lesson plan is part of the DiscoverySchool.com lesson plan library for grades 6-8. Students conduct research by sampling organisms in a nearby freshwater habitat to determine how an organism's behavior and adaptation relate to its habitat, and how freshwater habitats have different characteristics depending on whether water is still or moving. Included are objectives, materials, procedures, discussion ... Full description.

This Classroom Connectors lesson plan teaches students to identify ways in which plants and animals are affected by and respond to various environmental stimuli, including light, water, and gravity. 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 ... Full description.