earth activities

Here you can find suggested activities based on the National Science Education Standards. Each activity is also marked with an appropriate grade level. Also included are many general Earth science activities that are fun and educational. To access these activities, click on the activity name in the chart below. Activities Based on the National Science Education Standards Check out the latest Activity Calendar! Earth Science Related Activities Suggested Grade Level Content Standards K-4 5-8 9-12 A B C D E F G A Bit of Engineering               A Model of Three Faults         A Paste with Taste       Analyzing Hurricanes Using Web and Desktop GIS               Are You a Water Waster               Birdseed Mining       Build a Rain Gauge               Build a Weather Station         Burning Issues           Chemistry of Burning           Chocolate Rock Cycle             Climate and Temperature             Connecting With Nature           Conservation in Action             Cookie Mining           Core Sampling       Cupcake Core Sampling             Dangerous Atmosphere               Dating Popcorn       Deep-Sea Drilling               Dig Into Soil           Disaster Supplies Kit           Discovering Fossils         Earth's Hydrologic Cycle       EarthCaching         Earthquake Machine         Earthquake on the Playground         Energy Efficiency       Engineer a Satellite           Exploring 'Wild' Places with GIS             Exploring Caves (guide)       Exploring Caves (poster)       Exploring Change with GIS       Exploring Climate Change with GIS           Exploring Energy with GIS       Exploring for Petroleum         Exploring Porosity           Finding Slope         Flood           Fossil Formation         Freddy the Fish         Geologic Age       Geologic Time Scale Analogy             Geosscience and Petroleum Careers           Getting the Oil Out             GIS and Careers       Glacier Slide             Global Change       Gold Panning           Groundwater Movement       Hands-On Experiments to Test for Acid-Mine Drainage       How Can You Test Your Soil?         How Much Soil Is There?               Hurricane Tracking         Ice Core Clues           Identifying Your Watershed         Investigating Different Rock Types               Investigating Soil         Investigating Water Use in Your Home       It's About Time           Know Your Energy Costs         Land and People- Finding a Balance         Lightning               Logs of Straw           Look Up!                 Looking for Wild Elements             Magnets at the Core           Make a Thunderstorm             Make Your Own Compass             Making a Cave             Making Your Own National Park Geologic Tour                 Map-Making Basics               Mapping a Refuge       Measure for Measure           Measuring Permeabilities of Soil, Sand, and Gravel                 Mineral Identification           Model of a Normal Fault       Model of a Well           Modeling an Oil Reserve               Modeling Earthquake Waves         Modeling Oil and Gas Reservoirs               Monitoring Life in the Rocky Intertidal Ecosystem             Mud Fossils     Mystery Mollusc           Name that Natural Resource         Natural Gas Formation         Ocean Currents       Ocean Currents Change Our Earth           Oil Trap Model           Particle Size and Oil Production           Pass the Jug               Places on the Planet: Latitude and Longitude               Plant an Ozone Monitoring Garden           Products from Petroleum         Products Made from Petroleum                 Properties of Fluids in Reservoirs           Properties of Fresh Water and Sea Water           Recognizing our Dynamic Wetlands         Rock Abrasion           Rock Around the World                 Rock Art in the National Parks         Sea and Ice Salinity             Sea Level and the Terrapin           Seismic Calendar           Sinkholes in a Cup             Sky and Cloud Windows           Soil Color and Redox Chemistry               Soil Properties         Soil, Plants, and the Energy Cycle           Soil, the Forgotten Resource         Solar Cell Energy Nationwide       Splish Splash: Water's Journey to my Glass           Step by Step Weather Observations               Take the Pulse of Your Classroom               The EarthTrek Gravestone Project           The Great Ocean Conveyor           The Incredible Journey           The Mountain Blows its Top             The Slope of Land in Your Community             Third from the Sun     Tracking Dinosaurs             Traveling Nitrogen       Tropical Atlantic Aerosols         Using Energy Resources Wisely       Wash This Way             Watch Out for Landslides                 Water Filtration         Water, A Never Ending Story         What Lies Beneath the Upper Crust?           Where Growth Meets Growth         Wordsearch: Kinds of Tephra               Your Own El Niño               Your Own Greenhouse

In addition to the activities above, we have a classroom activity to accompany the USGS Global GIS CD-ROM found in the 2003 Earth Science Week Toolkit.

Content Standards Legend

A = Earth and Space Science K-4 Properties of earth materials Objects in the sky Changes in earth and sky 5-8 Structure of the earth system Earth's history Earth in the solar system 9-12 Energy in the earth system Geochemical cycles Origin and evolution of the earth system Origin and evolution of the universe Back to the Top

B = Physical Science K-4 Properties of objects and materials Position and motion of objects Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism 5-8 Properties and changes of properties in matter Motions and forces Transfer of energy 9-12 Structure of atoms Structure and properties of matter Chemical reactions Motions and forces Conservation of energy and increase in disorder Interactions of energy and matter Back to the Top

C = Life Science K-4 The characteristics of organisms Life cycles of organisms Organisms and environments 5-8 Structure and function in living systems Reproduction and heredity Regulation and behavior Populations and ecosystems Diversity and adaptations of organisms 9-12 The cell Molecular basis of heredity Biological evolution Interdependence of organisms Matter, energy, and organization in living systems Behavior of organisms Back to the Top

D = Science and Technology K-4 Abilities of technological design Understanding about science and technology Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans 5-8 Abilities of technological design Understandings about science and technology 9-12 Abilities of technological design Understandings about science and technology Back to the Top

E = Science in Personal and Social Perspectives K-4 Personal health Characteristics and changes in populations Types of resources Changes in environments Science and technology in local challenges 5-8 Personal health Populations, resources, and environments Natural hazards Risks and benefits Science and technology in society 9-12 Personal and community health Population growth Natural resources Environmental quality Natural and human-induced hazards Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges Back to the Top

F = History and Nature of Science K-4 Science as a human endeavor 5-8 Science as a human endeavor Nature of science History of science 9-12 Science as a human endeavor Nature of scientific knowledge Historical perspectives Back to the Top

G = Science as Inquiry K-4 Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Understanding about scientific inquiry 5-8 Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Understandings about scientific inquiry 9-12 Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry Understandings about scientific inquiry Back to the Top The National Science Education Standards The National Science Education Standards provide a vision of science literacy for all students in our nation's schools. The content standards of NSES outline what students ought to know, understand, and be able to do at various stages of their K-12 education. Inquiry should play a central role in developing students' understandings. The Standards are a call for action from individuals and organizations at all levels of the system. Thus, standards for science teaching, professional development of science teachers, assessment, science education programs, and science education systems are incorporated into the Standards as well. Responsibility for providing the support necessary to attain science literacy falls on everyone involved in the science education system. The K-4 Earth science standards target students' understandings of properties of Earth materials, objects in the sky, and changes in the Earth and sky. Science lessons for students at these grade levels should focus on observing the objects and materials in their environment; distinguishing one from another; noting their properties, patterns, and changes; and developing explanations of how things became what they are. Activities include observing changes in weather and in the positions of objects in the day and night sky, as well as examining the properties of Earth materials, such as soil, rocks, water, and fossils. In grades 5-8, students build upon understandings gained through observation in earlier grades to develop an understanding of the Earth and solar system as a set of closely related systems. The rock and water cycles provide an opportunity to examine interactions between the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Earth history can be examined to gather evidence about the CO-evolution of Earth's main features: the distribution of land and sea, crustal features, atmospheric composition, global climate, and populations within the biosphere. The study of earthquakes and volcanoes provides evidence necessary to better understand the nature and features of the dynamic geosphere. Students should also begin to construct mental models that explain the visual and physical relationships among objects within the solar system. Earth and space science standards within grades 9-12 continue the system's approach by focusing on matter, energy, crustal dynamics, geochemical processes, and the expanded time scales needed to understand changes within the Earth system. Students in these grades should engage in examinations of the energy sources and processes which drive geochemical cycles within and on the planet. They are also ready to comprehend more abstract and long-term phenomena, including explanations for plate tectonics, the evolution of life, and the solar system.