Students are introduced to classification through progressive activities. Initially, the teacher models the task by classifying buttons. Students then devise a classification scheme for paper clips. Subsequent activities use objects brought from... (View More) home or the playground by students. The objects are assigned to two categories: natural or human-made, then classified as solid, liquid, gas or a combination. Simple bar graphs are used throughout to compare classification data. (View Less)

Students will make predictions about what they think they will find in a sample of soil. They will investigate the sample and sort out the various items they find. Next they will spend time outside observing one or more sites to see what they find... (View More) in the soil. After recording and sharing their observations they will create their own stories about the things they found in the soil. Uses commonly available or inexpensive materials (e.g., a soil sample from near the school, tweezers, toothpicks, eye droppers, magnifying glasses, rulers, pencils, markers, trowel or shovel). This is the 2nd of 3 sets of learning activities that are companion activities to the Elementary GLOBE children's book, The Scoop on Soils. Includes a teacher implementation guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

Using information from their own observations, students construct a sky scene with trees and buildings as reference points on the ground and cloud types ordered by altitude in the sky. Students will describe clouds and then correlate their... (View More) descriptions with the standard classifications of cloud types used by The GLOBE Program. Uses commonly-available or inexpensive materials (blank wall chart paper, cotton pillow batting, wax paper, white sheet, sheer white fabric, glue, markers or pencils, scissors, rulers). Includes a teacher implementation guide. This is the 2nd of 3 sets of learning activities that are companion activities to the Elementary GLOBE children's book, "Do You Know That Clouds Have Names?" GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

Students will learn about magnification and how a magnifying lens works. They will examine a variety of different objects, first without a magnifier and then with a magnifier, and compare what they observe. They will practice observing details of... (View More) these objects with a magnifying lens. Students will use various objects in the classroom to experiment with nonstandard measurement. They will make estimates and test them out. Then, working in pairs or small groups, students will use a ruler or a measuring tape to become familiar with how to use these tools for standard linear measurement. Uses commonly available or inexpensive materials (magnifying glass, construction paper, scissors,salt and sugar, crayons or chalk). This is the 2nd of 3 sets of learning activities that are companion activities to the Elementary GLOBE children's book, Discoveries at Willow Creek. Includes a teacher implementation guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

Students will be introduced to different species of macroinvertebrates. They will hypothesize why each insect looks the way it does. Then students will make observations of macroinvertebrates in an aquarium in their classroom. For an optional... (View More) extension, teachers can take students to a local stream or pond to conduct field observations. Materials needed include sand, water, aquatics plants and insects; estimated materials cost does not include aquarium. This is the 3rd of 3 sets of learning activities that are companion activities to the Elementary GLOBE children's book, Discoveries at Willow Creek. Includes a teacher implementation guide. (View Less)

Students will explore the difference between the three types of contrails. Then they will make observations of contrails outside, and record their observations. Fifteen minutes later they will make follow-up observations to see how the contrails... (View More) they observed have changed. Uses commonly available or inexpensive materials (plastic cups, white tempera paint, paint brushes, blue construction paper, glue sticks, straws, posterboard or cardstock). This is the 2nd of 3 sets of learning activities that are companion activities to the Elementary GLOBE children's book, "Do You Know That Clouds Have Names?" Includes a teacher implementation guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

Using both literature (a book featuring a path, such as Little Red Riding Hood) and satellite images, students will identify paths, observe and analyze them from different altitudes, and distinguish natural paths from those made by humans. Students... (View More) will learn how images can inform the building, use and maintenance of paths. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 2 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 4 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 4, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed. (View Less)

Multiple activities illustrate the concept of changes in bodies of water over time. Emphasis is placed on the use of remote sensing to monitor changes in water bodies that are due to climate change, erosion, drought, human intervention and natural... (View More) events. Using clay and water, students evaluate the impact of rising water levels on different coastlines and on coastal cities. Students also analyze satellite images showing three examples of changes caused by water: the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, the flooding in the Midwestern region of the United States and the drought effect on Africa's Lake Chad. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 4 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 2 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 2, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed. (View Less)