This collection of lessons and web resources is aimed at classroom teachers, their students and students' families.
On this page
Lessons and activities
Online activities
Learning Zone
For educators, students (grades K–12) and the general public
This site by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research includes lesson plans, games, activities, videos, apps and more to learn about atmospheric and Earth system sciences.
Teaching Climate and Energy
For educators (grades K–12)
Brought to you by the NSF-supported Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network, this site provides teaching materials and other resources in English and Spanish on climate and energy.
IRIS Education
For educators and students (grades K–12)
This site, offered by the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), provides educational resources for learning about earthquakes. It includes animations, visualizations, video lectures, images, fact sheets, posters and professional development links.
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) Resources
For educators (grades K–12)
Site offers Earth sciences lessons, activities, lab investigations and field trip ideas for K-12 educators. The material is organized by grade level and topic, with teaching strategies and educator's toolbox for visualizations, simulations and videos.
UNAVCO Education
For educators and students (grades K–12)
This website offers resources, including animations, videos, interactive tools, demonstrations and educator packet requests, for educators to teach students about geodesy.
GLOBE Learning Activities
For educators and students (grades K–12)
Explore free activities to help students learn about the atmosphere, biosphere, Earth as a system, hydrosphere and pedosphere.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
For educators and students (grades K–12)
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution offers teacher workshops, classroom activities and online resources to learn about oceanography.
Rockd
For educators, students (grades K–12) and the general public
Whether you are a professional geoscientist or curious about the rocks around you and the stories they tell, this app allows you to explore and learn about the geologic record, contribute your observations, and log your journey through the geologic record.
Digital Atlas of Ancient Life
For educators, students (grades K–12) and the general public
This app is designed to help individuals identify fossil species and explore the diversity and history of life on Earth.
Printables
Snapshot Safari activity
For educators and students
Explore the many unique habitats that make up the continent of Africa, as well as the animals that live there.
Water Versus Land
For educators and students (grades K–5)
Explore different bodies of water and landforms.
The Water Cycle
For educators and students (grades 3–6)
Learn about the ways that water moves on Earth.
Ancient Animal Puzzle
For educators and students (grades 3–7)
Learn how fossils form and what we can learn from fossils.
Plate Tectonics Puzzle
For educators and students (grades 3–8)
Learn about the Earth's tectonic plates, which fit together like puzzle pieces.
Gravity on Earth
For educators and students (grades 9–12)
Construct a 3D globe and learn about gravity and how it varies worldwide.
What's in a Rock? worksheet
For educators and students (grades K–3)
Learn about different types of rocks.
Educational booklets
For educators and students (grades K–12)
Download these books to learn about the atmosphere, Earth and the ocean.
Videos
The Water Cycle
This video uses animation, graphics and video clips to illustrate each part of the "flow" and "storage" processes in the hydrologic cycle.
What Do and Don’t We Know About Megathrust Earthquakes?
On this edition of "Ask a Scientist," University of Iowa Professor William D. Barnhart answers this question.
Studying the Ocean
Lisa Clough, the head of the NSF Oceans Section, explains what can be learned from studying the Earth's oceans.
Human Water Cycle: Wastewater
Wastewater is what gets flushed down the toilet, rinsed down the drain and produced by places such as factories, workplaces and homes. Kartik Chandran at Columbia University is changing the perception of wastewater by treating it more efficiently and creating energy from resources found in it.
Images
Credit: (University of Rochester illustration / Michael Osadciw)
Credit: Victor Gensini, Northern Illinois University
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Correa Lab/Rice University
