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Lesson Plans & Activities

Peer-reviewed, classroom-ready NGSS-aligned lesson plans, activities, data puzzles, virtual field trips, and design challenges covering environmental hazards, climate change, mental health, Earth systems, community resilience, and more.  

Lesson Plans & Activities

Hurricane Tracks shows global tropical cyclones from 1950 - 2020. The majority of this activity is in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Eastern pacific, Southwest Asia, and in the Indian Ocean.
Hurricane Tracks

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.

 In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
NOAA Science On a Sphere Data Lens logo overlaid on a world map showing Earth's vegetation and land use. The text reads “Exploring Earth’s Visual Stories
The Age of the Seafloor. The image demonstrates that the seafloor tends to be the youngest in the middle of each ocean, and the oldest near the coasts of the continents.
Age of the Seafloor

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.

 In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
NOAA Science On a Sphere Data Lens logo overlaid on a world map showing Earth's vegetation and land use. The text reads “Exploring Earth’s Visual Stories
The National Risk Index Map demonstrates natural hazard risk data across the United States by county. Most of central US is in blue and demonstrates lowered hazard risk. Most coastal regions and counties with major cities are red and more at risk.
National Risk Index - County-level Hazards

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.

 In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.
Lesson
High School
NOAA Science On a Sphere Data Lens logo overlaid on a world map showing Earth's vegetation and land use. The text reads “Exploring Earth’s Visual Stories
Satellite analysis of global historical precipitation data colored to represent the departure from normal based on the precipitation totals higher than the 1981-2010 average. The graph shows that North America, most of South America, Southern Africa, and Europe are receiving less precipitation than usual. It also shows more precipitation than normal in Latin America and parts of Africa. All of Southeast Asia and Australia are receiving significantly more moisture than usual.
Precipitation Departure - LA Fires

This Data Lens is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of Data Lens lessons.

 In this short activity, students will strengthen their critical thinking skills by carefully observing the data, forming ideas, and backing them up with evidence.
Lesson
High School
NOAA Science On a Sphere Data Lens logo overlaid on a world map showing Earth's vegetation and land use. The text reads “Exploring Earth’s Visual Stories
A man with a white beard and black zip-up sweatshirt who is a wildfire survivor speaks about his experience
Voices of Resilience: Collecting Stories of Survivors

This lesson is best used as part of the HEART Force curricular unit, but it can also be used as part of a unit on natural hazards. 

 Students collect stories from community members about their experiences with hazards.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
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Lines of plants turning yellowish-green above dry and cracked brown dirt
Adapting to Extremes: Exploring the Science of Drought in Colorado

This lesson is best taught at the beginning of a HEART Force unit, but it can also act as a stand-alone lesson to introduce students to drought in Colorado.

 Humans have been affected by severe drought throughout history; in this lesson students explore this concept by analyzing environmental data to classify patterns and practice communicating their findings.
Lesson
High School
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Nine people in hard hats standing and kneeling around scientific equipment which are large white cubes with the label 'WINDCUBE'. In the background there is an open field and mountain ridge.
Data Puzzle: Windstorms on the Front Range

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 Although strong windstorms are a common weather event at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, a record-breaking windy spring soon after the Marshall Fire disaster had the public feeling on-edge. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze data on the number of windstorms and the number of red flag warnings to investigate the question, “Is it getting windier on the Front Range as the climate warms?”
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo
Cartoon image of green pine trees with orange fire shapes over them with dead brown brush at the bottom and a dark grayish blue sky
Data Puzzle: Wildfire, Drought, and the Future of Forests

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 Wildfires are burning more and more of the forests across the western United States. In this Data Puzzle, Data Puzzle, students analyze post-fire forest recovery datasets as they gather evidence to construct explanatory models for the following question, "How do climate conditions impact the recovery of forests after a wildfire?"
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo
Flood waters from Hurrican Dolly overtake a suburb
Social Vulnerability to Natural Hazards

This is the third of four lessons in the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit. This lesson can also be used in the HEART Force Curriculum. 

 In the third lesson of the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit, students learn about social factors that might make one group more vulnerable to a hazard than another.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
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A picture of a recently burned area by Highway 175
Lake County Cascading Hazards Unit

The unit has four lessons in total. 

 This unit builds an understanding of five natural hazards and their connections in the context of place-based community resilience.
Unit
Middle School
High School
Logo with the words "CLIMATE MENTAL HEALTH" in an arch. "CLIMATE" is in blue, "MENTAL" in red, and "HEALTH" in green. In the center, a person sits on top of a globe holding a green sign with a red heart. On the left, another person holds a protest sign that reads "There is no planet B." On the right, a person sits cross-legged reading a book. Another small figure holds a megaphone
A blue infographic titled “Easy + Free Steps to Get [Ready]” shows three preparedness tips with icons
Take Action

Actions that will help families prepare for the next disaster can take a few minutes, and make a big difference when the time comes. Students will create a social media post or a short video to share what they are doing to prepare and encourage their friends to be prepared too.

 In the last lesson of the Lake County unit, students develop ideas to increase resilience to hazards in their community.
Lesson
Action Project
Middle School
High School
A four-panel infographic shows the cycle of drought, vegetation growth, fire, and debris flows in California
Cascading Hazards

This is the second of four lessons in the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit. 

 In the second lesson of the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit, students dig into local stories and datasets, and learn about the connections between natural hazards.
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Middle School
High School
A home being rebuilt after the Valley Fire as part of the Hope City project in Lake County. Photo Credit: Lake County News
ReVisioning Hazards

This is the first lesson in the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit, but can be used for any introduction to natural hazards curriculum. 

 In the first lesson of the Lake County Cascading Hazards Unit, students read a poem written by a local fire survivor, and utilize a visualization practice to build personal resilience.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
Wildfire Resilience Gameboard with Letters A-S in Boxes with different topics
HEART Force Wildfire Resilience Game

This lesson is best used after the wildfire hazard lesson in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and recover from a hypothetical wildfire in their own community. 

 In this scenario-based role-play game, students play the role of community members planning for wildfire resilience in their community. After a wildfire occurs, they see how resilience and recovery efforts pan out in their hometown based on their planning efforts.
Game
Middle School
High School
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A QGIS interface showing a detailed map of Greenland. The map uses a color gradient to display ice sheet surface elevation, with darker blues in the lower coastal regions and lighter colors toward the higher central ice cap. The Processing Toolbox is open on the right side with the "Surface volume report" tool highlighted, and the Layers panel on the left lists various geospatial data sources. Toolbars with icons for navigation, editing, and analysis functions appear along the top of the screen
From Greenland to our Coasts: Exploring Sea Level Change with QGreenland

This unit consists of 3 lessons, each tied to NGSS life science standards

 In this unit, students will explore how the Greenland Ice Sheet is changing and why that affects coastal communities worldwide. Students will view authentic Greenland geospatial data and learn how to create flood maps to assess local risk in QGIS.
Unit
Geospatial resource
High School
Out-of-school/Non-formal
QGreenland logo featuring the word ‘QGreenland’ in bold lettering with a stylized map outline of Greenland, symbolizing access to open Greenland science data.
Modern Event Preparedness - Drought via Flickr. Dry dirt with dark cracks in it surrounded by dry grass.
High School Drought Unit

This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the High School Drought curriculum.

 The HEART Force curriculum builds an understanding of fire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
Unit
High School
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Homes Flooded in Minot, N.D. by U.S. Army Corps. Brown muddy waters flooded a suburb, leaving the tops of green trees and gray or brown roofs visible
High School Flood Unit

This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the High School Flood curriculum. 

 The HEART Force curriculum builds an understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
Unit
High School
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The Spring Creek Fire breaks over La Veta Pass, July by Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Red wildfire with smoke coming up from it in the dark.
High School Wildfire Unit

This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the High School Wildfire curriculum. 

 The HEART Force Curriculum builds an understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
Unit
High School
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Aerial images of Lake Mead show the dramatic decline in water levels (~143 feet) from 2001 to 2015. Image from the National Park Service. First photo shows water up to top of dam, and second shows blue water much lower exposing orangish-gray rock on side of dam.
Data Puzzle: Megadrought in the Colorado River Basin

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 Much of the western United States is experiencing drought conditions. In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic climate data to construct explanatory models for the following question, "What is causing the megadrought in the Colorado River Basin?"
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo
A herd of elk moves towards a pine forest at the base of a mountain range.
Data Puzzle: Megafire - Rare Occurrences or the New Normal?

This data puzzle is a stand-alone lesson that is part of a larger collection of data puzzles.

 Megafires have been a hot topic in the news over the past few years, but are they a new phenomenon? In this Data Puzzle, students analyze authentic wildfire data to construct explanatory models for the follow question, "How and why has the number of megafires have changed over time?"
Lesson
Data Puzzle Resource
Middle School
High School
Data Puzzles Logo
Cartoon image of green pine trees with orange fire shapes over them with dead brown brush at the bottom and a dark grayish blue sky
The Future of Forests

This storyline unit consists of 9 lessons, each tied to NGSS life science standards

 In this middle school unit supported by NASA, students engage with online interactives, authentic datasets, and citizen science protocols to construct models and explanations for the unit driving question, "How do landscapes recover after a wildfire?"
Unit
Middle School
High School
HEART Force logo
HEART Force Curriculum Overview

This unit consists of several lessons and can take anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks to teach, depending on which lesson teacher choose to incorporate.

 The HEART Force curriculum builds understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
Unit
Middle School
High School
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Hazard Mitigation Planning Meeting. A group of nine adults gather around a wooden table littered with papers while discussing mitigation strategies. In the background is yellow walls with wooden shelves and drawers with plants and books on them
Communicate Existing Plans

This is a guide that can be used for a pathway for the Community Resilience Expo. 

 In this sub-unit, students will learn more about their community’s resilience plans, choose a specific topic to focus on, and develop a product to communicate the plan to their peers and/or their community.
Lesson
Design Challenge
Action Project
Middle School
High School
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Gray smoke rises from the Black Forest with blue sky in the background
Adapting to Extremes: Exploring the Science of Wildfire in Colorado

This lesson is best used as part of the HEART Force curricular unit, but it can also act as a stand-alone lesson to introduce students to wildfire in Colorado.

 Students build an understanding of wildfire in Colorado using multiple data sources in a jigsaw format.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
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Flood game community map with labeled Zones A, B, and C
HEART Force Flood Response Game

This lesson is best used after the Colorado Flood lessons in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and respond to a hypothetical flood in their own community.

 This interactive game has students work in three “zone response teams” to solve community challenges that arise during the course of an extreme flooding event by using available individual and community resources.
Game
Middle School
High School
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Illustrated poster for a bilingual wildfire response game titled El Reto del Incendio del Lago Hourglass / The Hourglass Lake Fire Challenge. The scene shows a wildfire burning through a forest near mountains at sunset. A helicopter drops water on the flames while birds fly across the sky. In the foreground, two officials stand beside a rescue truck and a “Road Closed” sign blocks access. The text at the top reads: “Limited resources, critical choices: A bilingual wildfire response game / Recursos limitados
Hourglass Lake Fire Challenge - El reto del incendio del lago Hourglass

This lesson is best used after the wildfire hazard lesson in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and respond to a hypothetical wildfire in their own community. 

 In this interactive game, students work in three “zone response teams” to solve community challenges that arise during the course of a wildfire event by using available individual and community resources.
Game
Middle School
High School
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A colorful children’s drawing titled “Welcome to Healthy Village” shows houses promoting eco-friendly themes: Solar Energy, Recycle & Reuse, Clean Water, Organic Farming, Cotton Farm, Organic Kitchen, Wind Energy, and Electric Gym. A river runs through the village with trees, mountains, and birds in the background, and people engaging in related activities. The caption reads, “America’s future starts with healthy children because they are the path to a better world
Envisioning a Resilient Future

We suggest teaching this lesson to introduce the HEART Force Unit.

 In this lesson, students create a vision for the future of their community and identify what resources are most important to them as a starting point for resilience planning.
Lesson
Middle School
High School
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Colorado Mountains covered in snow in the background with orange and yellow trees in the foreground on rolling hills
The Vocabulary of Hazards

We suggest teaching this lesson to introduce the unit as it will benefit students in their understanding of natural hazards throughout the entire HEART Force Unit.

 This lesson uses a matching game to build students' understanding and familiarity with different terms used in the world of resiliency planning.
Lesson
Game
Middle School
High School
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Illustration of two people high-fiving in a work environment

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