In this lesson plan students learn about ocean waves. They will begin by learning the components of a wave and will then discuss the meaning of wave height and wavelength. A demonstration will spark discussion about how to make waves, and an activity with the National Geographic Wave Simulator will allow students to experiment with creating waves of varying sizes. Full description.

Students participate in two interactive exercises designed to help the user learn about river processes like discharge, flooding, and flood frequency. Each activity requires a person to make careful observations and measurements, do simple calculations, and answer questions about his or her work. A Certificate of Completion is available for printing at the end of each activity. Full description.

This resource provides information on isostasy and the effects of glaciation on the Earth's lithosphere. The descriptions and scientific illustrations demonstrate how glaciers and the growth of continental ice sheets can put pressure on the Earth's crust, causing local and regional-scale depressions of the lithosphere. As the ice thins or decays, this pressure is released, resulting in an isostatic ... Full description.

This USGS site contains very useful descriptions about many aspects of ground water. The major topics include Ground Water, How Ground Water Occurs, Quality of Ground Water, Appraising the Nation's Ground-Water Resources, and a Glossary. This is a non-technical site, designed for use by the general public. Several charts and diagrams are also included in this site. Full description.

This computer-based lesson provides information on ocean currents, circulation and atmospheric influences. Several sections cover "drift" studies, including the famous Nike Tennis Shoe study. Each segment provides relevant information and gives students questions to answer. Incorrect responses result in more information. This unit is part of an on-line course in general oceanography offered at San ... Full description.

In this lesson plan students learn about the varying sizes of ocean waves, what causes the variation, and where to find giant waves. Students will learn the parts of a wave, and discuss wave height, wavelength, and wave period. They will experiment with creating waves on the National Geographic Wave Simulator and discuss how geography affects waves. Full description.

This lesson plan provides instruction to teachers for creating a glacier in the classroom to demonstrate how glaciation affects landforms. Learning objectives include student understanding that as glaciers move, they create a variety of patterns on landforms by a process called glacial scraping, that the scraping patterns left by a glacier depend on how the glacier moved over the landform, and that ... Full description.

In this lesson plan students will speculate on various scenarios of future world climates if the greenhouse effect increases. Upon completing this lesson, students should be familiar with carbon dioxide (CO2) and theories about its role in the greenhouse effect; the global conference that was held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 to set international limits on CO2 emissions; leading producers of CO2 emissions; ... Full description.

This lesson plan will explore the hydrologic cycle and the journey water makes to our glass. Upon completing this lesson, students should know and understand the components of the hydrosphere of Earth, especially the surface and subsurface features, and should be able to prepare a diagram to illustrate the path of their drinking water from the place of precipitation to the tap. Full description.

This activity prepares you to launch an investigation of the relationship between precipitation and streamflow for a local watershed. It can enrich a study of the water cycle. Following the step-by-step instructions in a case study you will locate, download, format, and finally graph one year of Web-based data for these two variables. The graph highlights the details of this often complex precipitation-streamflow ... Full description.