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 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.

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.

The purpose of this activity is to observe the type and cover of clouds including contrails. Students observe which of ten types of clouds and how many of three types of contrails are visible and how much of the sky is covered by clouds (other than contrails) and how much is covered by contrails. Intended outcomes are that students learn how to make estimates from observations and how to categorize ... 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.

Materials presented here outline basic concepts related to groundwater, answering questions like "What is groundwater?" and "What is an aquifer?" More detailed topics include groundwater quality, sources of contamination, engineering problems presented by groundwater, and safeguards to the groundwater supply. A bibliography and links to other water-related sites are included. A French translation ... Full description.

This site presents a good overall introduction to hurricane science at the elementary level. Topics include: Weather Instruments, Killer Storms, Surviviors, and Inside a Hurricane. Each section has activites and/or simple explanations of the topic. Full description.

This is a comprehensive site that looks at many components of dams, including construction, destruction, and other issues. Access is organized into three levels by grade level. Information on cracks, case histories of the building and problems associated with some well known dams, and some real and imagined scenarios are included. Full description.

This is a well constructed curriculum module dealing with the water cycle. In this module, students first carry out a number of activities that demonstrate the concepts of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and soil moisture and runoff. The students then construct a terrarium as a way to observe the water cycle as a whole. Immediately following this, students use the Internet to acquire real ... Full description.

This site offers activities for direct student interaction, for educators to use in the classroom and for experimentation at home. Student and educator activities focus on basic issues of groundwater, the water cycle, global water distribution, conservation and vocabulary. At home activities touch on aquifers, biodegradability and compost. Additional games, teaching tools and information on events ... Full description.