Originally produced in support of the 2016 Earth Science Week theme of “Our Shared Geoheritage,” this collection of articles and images from NASA’s Earth Observatory looks at over 60 of America’s National Parks. Learners can explore three... (View More) facets of our parks from the vantage point of space: geology, ecology and/or cultural history. Each of the three includes an introduction and guiding questions. The articles can be used to engage and generate student interest in a related phenomenon or topic at the beginning of lessons or units, or used throughout as supplemental activities. The “Educators” link at the top of each section provides additional strategies and suggestions for using the articles. (View Less)

The complexity and interconnectedness of Earth’s systems become evident through these visualizations created by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio. Each entry in this collection is designed to encourage student questioning and conversation... (View More) – especially related to the cross-cutting topics commonly found in middle and high school curricula (cause and effect; systems and system models; scale, proportion and quantity; patterns; similarities and differences; stability and change; energy and matter). Video interviews with mission scientists and a NASA visualizer as well as links to sample K-12 lessons are included. (View Less)

The student-produced introductory video presents two common misconceptions related to the ozone hole. The accompanying lesson uses the 5E and the Frayer model to develop student understanding of ozone and ozone holes. Links to additional videos and... (View More) activities allow students to further investigate this phenomenon. (View Less)

NASA uses satellite instruments to track Earth's subsystems - the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and cryosphere - to learn how they interact and how they affect climate. This 5-minute video introduces the tools NASA uses to gather... (View More) data about those subsystems, then explains how analysis and visualization of that data can be used to create mathematical models for predicting weather and climate. NASA eClips™ are short, relevant educational video segments. The Real World series of NASA eClips™ connects classroom mathematics to 21st century careers and innovations and are designed to encourage an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem-solving. (View Less)

After reading the accompanying background information, students create an ice core using a tennis ball container and an assortment of dyes and craft supplies. Students measure the thickness and determine the age of each layer. As an extension... (View More) activity, students write a story about their ice core. (View Less)

A collection of nine atmospheric science and geography activities that guide students in developing the skills used to analyze GLOBE environmental data. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on,... (View More) K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)

An introduction to the Landsat satellite is presented through a poster with accompanying images, information and classroom lesson. The poster displays 10 pairs of international Landsat images highlighting changes over time from both natural and... (View More) human-induced causes. The back of the poster provides a glimpse into the history, purpose, and benefits of the Landsat mission. An introduction to the AmericaView program includes information on Earth Observation Day. The lesson uses a matching game format to encourage students to investigate, identify, compare/contrast and report on scenes in Landsat images. See Related & Supplemental Resources for a booklet format of the poster back and additional Landsat image change pairs from Earthshots. (View Less)

Acting as the ICESat-2 satellite, students investigate the reflection of light photons off Earth's surface by catching and recording a number of photons. Using bouncy balls to represent the photons, students drop, let bounce once and try to catch in... (View More) one hand as many balls (photons) as possible. Drops occur on carpeted and non-carpeted areas, and with and without the presence of cardboard buildings, to represent different Earth surfaces. The lesson includes background information, instructions and concluding questions. Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are listed. (View Less)

In this interactive tutorial, learners can explore the physics of contrail formation in the atmosphere and develop the ability to recognize the several types of contrails that form under varying atmospheric conditions. Practice classifying the type... (View More) and abundance of contrails. (View Less)