In this lesson, students explore the importance of albedo (or reflectivity) to penguins and the surfaces they inhabit and learn how penguin colonies may be mapped using satellites.

This activity leads to understanding common landslide hazards in the area and how they relate to weather patterns and/or local geology.

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This introductory unit is designed to provide stand-alone introduction to geophysical imaging of the shallow subsurface, motivate students to become invested in the topic, provide career context for these scientific subjects, and build enthusiasm for the following units. The shallow seismic refraction module (Measuring Depth to Bedrock using Seismic Refraction) is designed to fill the need to expose students to geophysical concepts and surrounding earth science principles so that students begin to know why geophysics is important to geoscience and how these concepts are related to future careers and day-to-day life.

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This activity is a field investigation where students will make observations on a chosen location every two weeks for the period of one school year. They will record their observations using a digital camera and a nature journal.

Este curso é um produto educacional de uma Pesquisa desenvolvida no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Rede Nacional para o Ensino das Ciências Ambientais (PROFCIAMB), da Universidade Estadual de Maringá, e tem como objetivo fornecer conhecimentos que auxiliem no ensino de questões ambientais para crianças, principalmente as que estão vivenciando a primeira infância.

[Translation of summary: This course is an educational product of a research developed in the Graduate Program in the National Network for the Teaching of Environmental Sciences (PROFCIAMB), at the State University of Maringá, and aims to provide knowledge that helps in teaching environmental issues to children , especially those who are experiencing early childhood.]

This video on phenology of plants and bees discusses the MODIS satellite finding that springtime greening is happening one half-day earlier each year and correlates this to bee pollination field studies.

After watching video clips from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie, students explore the use of Punnett squares to predict genetic trait inheritance. The objective of this lesson is to articulate concepts related to genetics through direct immersive interaction based on the theme, The Science Behind Harry Potter. Students' interest is piqued by the use of popular culture in the classroom.

This activity is a 3 part lab activity where students create a model of an area in a community. The students test how dirty water flows through their models observing where water is filtered or not. Using what was learned by the models, students will draw a community scene that has man made areas alongside areas that benefit groundwater filtration.

Students use geochemical tools used to track the presence of marine (salmon) derived nutrients in the terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems of creeks where salmon spawn. They also explore pros and cons of hatchery-raised salmon.

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Students understand the growing impact of waste and waste disposal on our environment and economy, and examines solutions to these issues through exploration of waste as a resource and the implementation of zero-waste manufacturing/building practices.

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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.

To inform and empower the public on the complex issue of climate change, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has created a Climate Portal, an online home for timely, science-based information about the causes and consequences of climate change—and what can be done to address it. Whether you are new to climate change or ready for a deeper exploration, the MIT Climate Portal offers a virtual place to ground your knowledge and ask your questions of experts. It also highlights MIT’s latest climate change research and initiatives for action.
The MIT Climate Portal is managed by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, with support from the MIT Office of the Vice President for Research.

This in class activity allows students to calculate rates of change from graphs of glacial-interglacial temperatures and CO2 and modern temperatures and CO2.

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Unit 1 introduces foundational concepts in geoscience, emergency management, and political science that are critical for developing a systems thinking approach and for achieving the learning objectives in the storm module. More specifically, within Unit 1, students acquire a vocabulary related to storm systems and risk, engage in practical exercises on event probability and frequency, and complete written activities and oral presentations that reinforce these concepts, using their own community and two case studies as examples. The activities include: a pre-and post-Unit survey on natural hazard risk, an optional concept map exercise to identify associations of risk in major storms, an exercise on probability and frequency of natural hazards in general and major storms in particular, an exercise using hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA) and the HVA's findings, and a synthesis assignment that requires analysis of an assigned hazard mitigation plan (HMP) and development of a proposal to improve mitigation plans.

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This optional homework asks students to investigate some of the impacts of previous mines, mining, and/or mineral resources processing on the surrounding environment and human health. Many of the sites were operated prior to significant changes in the U.S. regulation of mines that was instituted in the late 1960s. Through the investigation of an Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) National Priority List (NPL) website (aka Superfund), students will explore not only the impacts but also the amount of time, effort, and resources it takes to remediate the sites. This background can be referred to in later parts of the module when discussing mining in other countries where the regulations are not as stringent as those in the United States.

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Students use what they have learned in the previous units to link the above-ground part of the rock cycle (driven by the hydrologic cycle, energy from the Sun, and gravity) to the below-ground part of the rock cycle driven by Earth's internal heat energy. This unit is focused on group thinking: interpreting a rock cycle diagram and the role of the hydrologic cycle, identifying energy transfers (including sources and sinks), and describing hypothetical rock material transfer pathways. Students also make connections between erosion and plate tectonics through analysis of a reading, "How Erosion Builds Mountains."

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In this activity students synthesize ideas from lecture, reading, and viewing two PBS NOVA videos on hurricanes.

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This design-based subject provides a first course in energy and thermo-sciences with applications to sustainable energy-efficient architecture and building technology. No previous experience with subject matter is assumed. After taking this subject, students will understand introductory thermodynamics and heat transfer, know the leading order factors in building energy use, and have creatively employed their understanding of energy fundamentals and knowledge of building energy use in innovative building design projects. This year, the focus will be on design projects that will complement the new NSTAR/MIT campus efficiency program.

This activity is an indoor/outdoor activity that incorporates both literacy and scientific observation to make an ABC book based on Antler, Bear, Canoe by Betsy Bowen.

This multimodal text set is designed to help middle school learners work toward mastering the grade-level moderately complex Anchor Text “Heat Waves in Missouri (Is it getting hotter, or is it just me?)”, adapted from a published study that models summer heat stress in the St. Louis region during future climates (Steinweg and Gutowski, 2015).