This easy but effective lesson uses NASA CERES satellite percent coverage surface data along with a world map and asks students to locate landmasses and bodies of water at Earth's Equator. Students will map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates. Using the microset of satellite data included with the lesson to investigate surface characteristics, students will apply percentage to determine ... Full description.

Corals feed on algae that thrive in the sunlit water surrounding a reef. However, when water temperatures get too warm, the algae food source dies and corals turn a whitish color. Through scientific observation, it has been determined that coral bleaching may occur when sea surface temperature (SST) exceeds 30C or 86F for a week or longer. During late 2005, a major coral bleaching event occurred when ... Full description.

This page is part of a larger USGS project called Water Science for Schools. This section covers different water-use topics and categories of water-use. A Spanish translation is available. Full description.

The Adventure of Echo the Bat is an interactive web site that introduces students to remote sensing and biodiversity from a constructivist approach. It includes a teacher's guide with classroom activities that provide a structure to integrate the adventure into the classroom. The activities introduce basic concepts of remote sensing, including visible light and the electromagnetic spectrum. After ... Full description.

This series of activities demonstrates effects of rising levels of greenhouse gases. Specifically, it shows how: an increase of heat-trapping gases atmosphere raises temperatures; higher temperatures affect the water cycle; and rising sea levels could affect coastal areas as a result of glacial and polar ice. Designed to teach through scientific inquiry, the activities seek to stimulate thought about ... Full description.

In this Web-based, interactive story, Tutangiaq (Too-tang-geye-ack - nicknamed 2T), a Canada Goose, flies across Alaska looking for his family. As he flies, he tells students about the 49th state. Students learn several facts about the state, including how Alaska was purchased from the Russians,. They can also compare the size of Alaska to other states. 2T takes a flight across the volcanic chain ... Full description.

This is an interactive computer game which illustrates how human actions affect water quality within a community. Players take on the role of a city planner, and must make choices about recreational, agricultural, industrial, and residential development projects. The choices made by players will determine how much of a negative impact the project will have on the water and habitat within the community. ... Full description.

Set of six interdisciplinary lesson plans from the Smithsonian, complementing their online "Ocean Planet" exhibit. Topics include: ocean bottom features and seafloor mapping; marine habitats and biodiversity; consumer goods from the ocean; oil spills impacts and solutions; causes of marine strandings; ocean-inspired vocabulary. Units contain: background; instructions for the teacher; maps, data and ... Full description.

This lithograph provides a full-disk view of Earth photographed by Apollo 17 astronauts, Dec. 7, 1972. The accompanying text describes the view seen in the photograph and the circumstances in which it was taken. Suggestions for activities in which the photograph can be used are also provided. Full description.

This product is the teacher?s guide to a program that allows educators to borrow lunar samples. It provides activities to support lessons on lunar exploration, geology and history. Full description.