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Teaching Earth Science
A Collection of Classroom Activities and Lesson Plans
Here is a list of teacher resources that can easily be modified and incorporated into the Earth science classroom.
| Rocks - Igneous, Metamorphic & Sedimentary |
Rocks and Minerals: Photos of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks that you can share via computer projection or assign as study. We also have information on minerals and their uses.
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NASA Wavelength A full spectrum of NASA resources for Earth and space science education. Activities and content for Pre-K through Higher Education plus informal education. |
 | Oceanography A collection of K-12 oceanography resources for teachers and students, from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. |
| Teach Plate Tectonics With Drawings |
Teaching Plate Tectonics: Use these easy-to-draw illustrations to teach your students about plate tectonics. Step-by-step teaching plan that can be modified for a variety of grade levels.
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Adaptive Earth Science (PDF) A large collection of Earth science activities developed by practicing teachers. Designed for easy implementation and adaptive to a variety of teaching situations. |
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Climate Kids NASA's Climate Kids website brings climate science to life with fun games, interactive features, and exciting articles. |
| Diamonds Don't Form From Coal! |
Diamonds Don't Form From Coal: Lots of students are being taught that diamonds form from coal. That is almost entirely false. A very small minority of diamonds have formed with coal as their carbon source. Most of Earth's diamonds formed deep in the mantle long before the first land plant (the source sediment of coal) existed! This article explains how diamonds form and why coal should not be considered the primary carbon source.
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SciJinks SciJinks is weather and Earth science made fun for middleschool kids. It has games, activities, videos, and "Now I get it" articles. |
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USGS Educational Resources These resources are useful for 7-12 grade science educators. USGS has complete teaching modules, structured classroom activities, and resources for many topics. |
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Small Grants for Science Teachers A two-page proposal might win $200 to $600 in science supplies for your students. Thousands of teachers win these grants every year. DonorsChoose.org. |
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Free Graph Paper and Free Maps Your students can get free printable graph paper, printable maps, printable calendars and more at WaterproofPaper.com, a website affiliated with Geology.com. |
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National Science Teachers Association An organization providing resources, professional development, education conferences, and much more! |
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Associations for Science Teachers NSTA's list of science teaching societies in U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Find professional development near you. |
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Photos of Common Rock Types Photos of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks that you can share via computer projection or assign as study. |
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The Most Difficult Rocks to Identify An experienced geologist admits that he is seriously challenged when students bring him rocks to identify. The article includes tips for dealing with student specimens that can't be identified with confidence. |
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Rock, Mineral and Fossil Kits Get a rock, mineral or fossil kit to teach your students about earth materials and how to identify them. We offer ten different kits in various sizes. |
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Geologic Time Scale This printable geologic time scale is easy to understand and is not too complex. A word document that you can print for reference or classroom use with students. |
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The Geological Society The Geological Society has compiled many teacher resources from their own material, web-based resources, and printed teaching support material. |
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Diamonds Don't Form From Coal: Many students are being taught that diamonds form from coal. Most diamonds formed before Earth's first coal seam was deposited and before the first land plant. |
| More Geology Topics |
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Gold |
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Landslides |
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Metals |
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Fossils |
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General Geology |
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Minerals |
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Plate Tectonics |
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Oil and Gas |
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Science-Teachers Science-Teachers has many types of science teaching materials like activities, worksheets, and lesson plans for upper elementary and middle school science teachers. |
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Geography4Kids This website has a great assortment of Earth science, geography, astronomy, etc. material that can be used as lesson plans and even classroom activities. |
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Illinois State Museum Illinois State Museum has a great assortment of Earth science lesson plans to help teachers explain the material to students in grades K-12. |
Find Other Topics on Geology.com:
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USGS USGS explains the Water Cycle through a clickable diagram that covers all aspects dealing with the water cycle. There are a few versions of the diagram available for teachers to use in the classroom. |
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Windows to the Universe This website offers Earth science activities, classroom journals, educational links, and a place for teachers to share information. |
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Hawai'i Space Grant Consortium Over 25 hands-on science activities that the educator can print and use along with information on science standards. |
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Exploring the Environment A great set of activities that can be used with students from grades 5 through 12. |
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Science Class Science Class has a great variety of science topics, and accompanying each topic there are multiple activities, internet resources, demonstrations, and much more. |
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NOVA A variety of Earth science activities, ideas from teachers, related resources, and student interactions for classroom use. |
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Earth & Sky A radio series that has a variety of discussions that the educator can use in the classroom. Also ideas for using the radio show in class. |
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Oil On My Shoes The Science of petroleum Geology is explained through this website. This website helps discover rocks, fossils, drilling for oil, sandstone, and much more that can easily be used by educators. |
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Discovery Education Discovery Education offers teacher resources for science, math, social studies, and more. |
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Small Grants for Science Teachers A two-page proposal might win $200 to $600 in science supplies for your students. Thousands of teachers win these grants every year. DonorsChoose.org. |
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Free Graph Paper and Free Maps Your students can get free printable graph paper, printable maps, printable calendars and more at WaterproofPaper.com, a website affiliated with Geology.com. |
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National Science Teachers Association An organization providing resources, professional development, education conferences, and much more! |
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Associations for Science Teachers NSTA's list of science teaching societies in U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Find professional development near you. |
| More Geology Topics |
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Gold |
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Landslides |
| |
Metals |
| |
Fossils |
| |
General Geology |
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Minerals |
| |
Plate Tectonics |
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Oil and Gas |