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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

Cascading hazards
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
Cartoon graphic of young people embracing with a speech bubble that says "Earn the We are Water Patch!" and the We are Water logo
Watershed Stewardship Patch Activity

Earn a We Are Water Patch by becoming familiar with your local watershed!

 We can be good watershed stewards by taking positive actions that will help to ensure the watershed’s healthy functions. In this activity, students learn how to be good watershed stewards and become familiar with their local watershed through observation, positive action, and community engagement.
Scout Patch/Badge
STEAM Activity
Action Project
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Cartoon graphic of young people embracing with a speech bubble that says "¡Obtén el Parche de Somos el Agua!" and the Somos el agua logo
Actividad del parche sé protector de la cuenca | Watershed Stewardship Patch Activity

Earn a We Are Water Patch by becoming familiar with your local watershed!

 We can be good watershed stewards by taking positive actions that will help to ensure the watershed’s healthy functions. In this activity, students learn how to be good watershed stewards and become familiar with their local watershed through observation, positive action, and community engagement.
Scout Patch/Badge
STEAM Activity
Action Project
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Photo of Earth's magnetic field
Geomagnetism: Earth's Magnetic Field

In two lessons, designed for grades 6-12, students will explore how Earth’s magnetic field protects us from harmful space weather that can damage communications systems, disrupt navigation systems, and overwhelm the electric grid. 

 In two lessons, designed for grades 6-12, students will explore how Earth’s magnetic field protects us from harmful space weather that can damage communications systems, disrupt navigation systems, and overwhelm the electric grid.
Unit
STEAM Activity
Middle School
High School
CrowdMag App Logo
Cartoon graphic of a camera with the text "Stop Motion Animation Workshop"
Stop Motion Animation

Learn how to create a short (<1 minute) stop-motion animation of a story!

 This short sequence of tutorials is designed to be completed in two sessions. Each part is about 1.5 – 2 hours long. You may want to leave time between sessions for students to make their pieces. Depending on how intricate their story is, they may need more time for cutting out shapes, making “characters,” etc.
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Action Project
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
University/College
Out-of-school/Non-formal
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
GeoMag_Space
Geomagnetism Challenge

This lesson is centered around a data challenge using the CrowdMag application. The challenge includes live webinars, asynchronous videos, lesson plans, and the chance to win a raffle! The lessons and asynchronous videos can be used as stand-alone resources. 

 Individuals and classrooms are invited to join the GeoMag Data Challenge! Explore the power of community/citizen science, Earth's magnetic field, and data collection with us.
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Middle School
High School
Out-of-school/Non-formal
CrowdMag App Logo
Aerial view of a Waffle Garden which includes segments of gardens dedicated to different plants as well as roads
Waffle Garden Take & Make Kit

This Take & Make Kit will help you understand ancient Indigenous agricultural techniques, including science and math skills that are still effective in modern times!

 Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest, including the Diné (Navajo), A:shiwi (Zuni), Zia Pueblo, and Laguna Pueblo, have been using a time-tested agricultural method known as a waffle garden to successfully grow crops in the semi-arid environment for generations. In this activity student's will reflect upon and learn about Indigenous relationships with water and the land to help them understand diverse methods of using water in dry climates.
STEAM Activity
Action Project
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Out-of-school/Non-formal
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Aerial view of a Waffle Garden which includes segments of gardens dedicated to different plants as well as roads
Un jardín de forma de wafle | Waffle Garden Take & Make Kit

This Take & Make Kit will help you understand ancient Indigenous agricultural techniques, including science and math skills that are still effective in modern times!

 La gente indígena del suroeste de los Estados Unidos, incluyendo los Diné (Navajo), A:shiwi (Zuni), Zia Pueblo y Laguna Pueblo, han utilizado durante generaciones un método agrícola de probada eficacia conocido como Un jardín de forma de wafle para cultivar con éxito en el entorno semiárido. En esta actividad, los estudiantes reflexionarán y aprenderán sobre las relaciones indígenas con el agua y la tierra para ayudarlos a comprender diversos métodos de uso del agua en climas secos.
STEAM Activity
Action Project
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Out-of-school/Non-formal
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Cartoon graphic of a young girl and boy dressed as superheros and the text "BE A WATER ECOSYSTEM HERO! Battle Water Pollution in a collaborative game and get outside to Find a Pollinator"
Be a Water Ecosystem Hero Take & Make Kit

This Take & Make Kit will help you become a water ecosystem hero that can battle water pollution, protect our rivers, and recognize pollinators in your local environment! 

 Student's work together to protect a river from water pollution in a collaborative board game, search for evidence of pollinators in their backyard, and learn about the connections between water, pollution and pollinators.
Game
eBook
STEAM Activity
Elementary School
Middle School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Cartoon graphic of a young girl and boy dressed as superheros and the text "¡SÉ UN HÉROE DEL ECOSISTEMA DEL AGUA! Combate la contaminación del agua jugando en equipo y sal de casa para Buscar un Polinizador"
Sé un héroe del ecosistema del agua | Be a Water Ecosystem Hero Take & Make Kit

This Take & Make Kit will help you become a water ecosystem hero that can battle water pollution, protect our rivers, and recognize pollinators in your local environment! 

 Combate la contaminación del agua jugando en equipo y sal de casa para buscar un polinizador.
Game
eBook
STEAM Activity
Elementary School
Middle School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Cartoon graphic of a young girl with a magnifying glass and the text "Be a Water Detective! All Weather Geological Field Book"
Be a Water Detective Take & Make Kit

This Take & Make Kit will help you become a water detective so that you can tell the story of water in your community!

 Student's use tools to make observations about how water shapes the surface of our planet and how water supports and is impacted by the life that calls Earth home. Through these observations, water detectives are able tell meaningful stories about water.
STEAM Activity
Action Project
Elementary School
Middle School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
"¡Sé un detective del agua! LIBRO DE CAMPO TODO-TIEMPO GEOLÓGICO"
Sé un detective del agua | Be a Water Detective Take & Make Kit

This Take & Make Kit will help you become a water detective so that you can tell the story of water in your community!

 Ser un detective del agua significa ser un buen observador. Los y las detectives del agua se fijan no solo en cómo el agua cambia la superficie de nuestro planeta, pero también en cómo el agua soporta la vida terrestre y es en turno afectada a su por los seres vivos que llaman a la Tierra su hogar.
eBook
STEAM Activity
Action Project
Elementary School
Middle School
We are Water with birds and a sun: connecting communities
Student engaging with Polargram station at Fiske Planetarium wearing an orange snowsuit standing in front of a green screen
Drifting North Polar Planetarium
In this MS/HS lesson, students will be transported to the Arctic with the MOSAiC expedition, The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Arctic Climate, in an immersive classroom and field trip experience.
Lesson
Unit
STEAM Activity
Middle School
High School
Mosaic logo
Polar landscape
Sea Ice, The Character

Sea Ice, The Character is one of four activities in the The Drifting North Polar Planetarium Experience that invites students to explore what it was like to participate in the MOSAiC expedition to the North Pole.

 In this activity, student's will compare and contrast the different structures of freshwater ice and seawater ice with a hands-on lab. Learning about what makes sea ice so unique in the Arctic will be guided by the driving questions: How does saltwater sea ice differ from freshwater ice? What is sea ice like in the Arctic? and Why is sea ice important in the Arctic?
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Middle School
High School
Alpine tundra vegetation with large boulder with snowy mountain range in the background
Exploring the Arctic

This is the first activity of a three-part curriculum about Arctic climate; the activities may be used independently or in sequence.

 This activity introduces students to the Arctic and Arctic climate. Through a virtual exploration of the geography of the Arctic students become familiar with the region. They are then introduced to meteorological parameters that Arctic research teams use.
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Middle School
High School
University/College
Compass
Creating a Compass from a Magnet

Project EXTREMES lessons were intended to stand alone, but this lesson can be included in a unit on the Earth’s interior.

 In this lesson, students create a compass and apply their reasoning about magnetism to how compasses work to help us navigate around the globe while utilizing the Earth’s magnetic field. 
Lesson
STEAM Activity
Elementary School
Middle School
Extremes
Illustration of two people high-fiving in a work environment

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