Elementary Earth Science
Updated: April 11, 2002
Acid Rain - Grades 4-12 - This Canadian site offers information on the origins and mitigation of acid rain, including a section specifically for students. Other sections of the site may also be useful to teachers and some students.
Acid Rain - Grades 4-12 - This EPA page offers information on the science behind acid rain, as well as specific information for students. It also includes examples of mitigation activities, a glossary, and related resources.
Air Quality Lesson Plans - Grades K-12 - This collection of several dozen lesson plans from the Texas Natural Resoure Conservation Commission includes content for primary through high school students. Most lessons are straightforward, requiring limited use of outside resources.
American Indians and the Natural World - Grades 4-12 - This site from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Library offers perspectives on the natural universe from four different Native American Tribes. Each section describes how tribal customs, culture, and worship were tied to the characteristics of the environments in which the tribe lived. The site is well researched and beautifully presented.
Antarctica - Topics & Lessons - Grades 5-8 - This NASA site provides resources and lessons describing the Antarctic climate and showing how the creatures there have adapted to this harsh environment. Sections range from an animation of how satellites track ice drift to a practical demonstration of how blubber provides insulation.
Animal Sounds Quiz - Grades 4-8 - There's not a lot of presentation to these pages, but each contains a selection of bird or animal sound files. The quiz asks students to name each animal sound, and it's not as easy as it sounds! The sound files do not require any special browser plug-ins. Turn on your speakers and give this one a listen.
Animals of the Rain Forest - Grades 3-8 - An extensive collection of information on the fauna of the rain forest, with photos, scientific facts, and descriptions for each. A nice reference tool for elementary students, and also a good source for classroom reports and the like.
Assateague Seashore - Grades 4-12 - This site provides a wide range of information on the ecosystems found on Assateague Island and the Atlantic coast. Though you'll need to sift out the tourist information, there are descriptions of numerous plants and animals, as well as information on how the weather and environmental factors shape the island ecosystem. Useful and visually appealing.
Athena Oceans Curriculum - Grades 4-8 includes great Internet-based activities focusing on investigating Ocean Currents, Whales, and El Nino. Includes Instructions for the projects as well as data collection sheets. Great resource!
Audubon's E-Nature Resources - Grades 3-12 - The Audubon Society has created an elegant, responsive, information-packed site for students and adults interested in learning about habitats, species, and the environment. Don't miss this important new resource. Key starting points include:
Field Guides - On-line versions of the Audubon guides for birds, mammals, amphibians, and many more. Complete with photos, descriptions, and more.
Classroom Species Lists - A special section which lets teachers create a "classroom species list" so that students can add their own bird or animal sightings to the class list from any computer with web access.
Habitat Guides - Illustrated guides to a series of major habitats: arctic, desert, wetlands, eastern forests, shorelines, and more.
Bay Kids Weather Page - Grade 2-6 - Science - Understand weather basics, myths, and what causes weather disasters with this student-made site, complete with quiz to test your student’s online learning. Thinkquest junior winner: third place winner, science/math, 1998.
Bear Information and Resources - Grades 3-8 - The title says it all. There are pictures and descriptions of most types of bears, their habits, ranges, and habitats. Simple navigation and design and attractive photos keep the site interesting. Great research site for younger students.
Captain Olin's Odyssey - Grades 4-8 - Click the "experiments" link on the opening page for a collection of several dozen classroom activities and experiments linked to water, recycling, and conservation themes. The presentation is straight text, but the grade levels and procedures are comparatively complete. Tuck these lessons away for easy use when the right science topic arises.
Compost for Kids - Grades 3-6 - Here's a recycling project you can really dig into! Created by a faculty member at Texas A&M University, this site is a simple, step by step presentation for young students on how composting works and how to make a compost pile. The illustrations show young students performing each step in the process. This one would be a great starting point for a home or school recycling project.
Congo Trek - Grades 4-8 - National Geographic works their predicable visual wizardry in this site which chronicles an ongoing expedition along the Congo river. The site blends images and sounds - (Turn your speakers on!) - to give vivid impressions of this jungle ecosystem. There are also brief lesson suggestions for all grade levels. This site could be a wonderful supplement to a study of Africa, jungles, rain forest habitats, or related areas.
Desert USA - Grades 4-6 - This on-line magazine offers a constantly changing selection of information on desert environments - animals, insects, plant life - as well as descriptions and explanations of the landforms and geology associated with these regions. Neat introductory resource, and an interesting site to check periodically for updates. Includes some advertising, most of which appears inocuous.
The Dino Directory - Grades 4-12 - This site from the British Museum of Natural History is a rich resource for images of dinosaurs. Users can select by body type, country, geologic time period, and other idicies. Apart from the images, which are watermarked, there is only basic information on the size and environment of each creature. While not intended for elementary students, the navigation is simple enough for these students to use effectively in finding images.
Dinosaur Lovers! - Chicago's Field Museum unveiled Sue, the most complete tyrannosaur ever assembled, on May 17. The fossil even has its own web site, offering background information and pictures showing how the dinosaur and how "she" was prepared for display. This is a great on-line exhibit for the dinosaur devotees in your classroom.
Drinking Water - Kids' Stuff - Grades 2-5 - The EPA created this site to help elementary students understand how we get our drinking water and how we keep it safe to use. There are a variety of explanations how how water is purified, and there is also a collection of simple experiments which can be conducted with commonly available materials.
TeachersFirst Earth Day Resources - Grades K-12 - This page is a collection of resources dealing with our relationship with the earth and its resources. While it is particularly appropriate for Earth Day, the resources listed - some of which also appear on this page, are appropriate for any study of the relationship between humans and the environment.
Earth and Moon Viewer - Grades 5-12 - Includes various images and maps of the moon and Earth. Also included are views from satellites as well as an interactive Perigee and Apogee calculator. Images could be used in research reports.
Earthquakes and Volcanoes - Grades 4-8 - This site from the U.S. Geological Survey includes two resources for grades 4-8. Volcanoes is an explanation of how volcanoes develop and function. The Earthquake section of the site is a study of faults and different fault types based on a model of the earth's surface. Easy-to-understand descriptions, good illustrations, and additional information for teachers make this site easy to use in the classroom.
Earthwatch - Grades 4-12 select "Global Classroom" for a summary of planned and on-going scientific field trip explorations. Some explorations include classroom resources. Topics pertain to oceans, ecology, and endangered species.
Ecological Regions of North America - Grades 4-12 - This is a beautifully produced site from an international ecological consortium. It provides detailed descriptions of the major North American ecological regions, along with photos of representative ecological features. A good overview and comparison of the differences among ecological regions in North America.
EPA Explorer's Club - Grades 2-5 - This page offers simple pictures and descriptions of a number of endangered species, along with explanations of how these species interact with their habitats. Kids will enjoy the pictures, but teachers will need to provide the connections between the information and the rest of the environment.
EPA Curriculum Materials - Grades 2-12 - This is a surprisingly detailed collection of lesson ideas, information, and resources related to environmental issues and their inclusion in the classroom. Materials are sorted into a number of different subject areas, and include links to other sites for more extensive information on specific topics.
The Everglades - Grades 4-8 - This site from the Discovery Channel presents a highly visual treatment of the Everglades ecosystem, why it is important, and how it is deteriorating. Complete with maps, photos, descriptions, and study ideas, the site would be a great case study for a unit on threatened ecosystems, wetlands, or tropical habitats.
Explore a Pond - Grades 4-8 - This unit from the Utah Education Network collection offers a neat set of activities built around the ecosystems of small ponds. There is a collection of lesson ideas for several grade levles attached. For those without a pond nearby, there's even a virtual pond simulation that lets users select the way they want to populate their pond and then see how well the ecosystem functions.
FEMA Backgrounder: Earthquakes - Grades 4-8 offers information relating to earthquake safety. Suggestions geared to people living in earthquake-prone areas.
Forest Walk - An Interactive Experience - Grades 2-6 - National Geographic offers young students a chance at an interactive walk through a forest, showing how forest ecosystems work. Science, artwork, and educational design are all of the quality you would expect from National Geographic.
The Fossil Family - Grades 4-8 - This site from Shell of Great Britain teaches the basics of oil exploration using a Shockwave-enhanced game. The animations are entertaining, and the video-game generation will probably figure it out faster than you do. The payoff is that the instructional components are thorough, well-illustrated, and well-sequenced. It makes for a nice balance, but note that students may need 15 to 30 minutes to work through the entire site.
Gardening for Kids - Grades 3-8 - This site offers ideas, plans, explanations, and other resources which students can use to try their hand at creating a garden of any size. It could be a useful resource for lesson plans involving seeds, planting, growing plants, or other similar activies. There are some commercial overtones, but there's also a lot of useful content.
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Hurricane Tracking Resources - Grades 4-12 - TeachersFirst has collected a group of resources for teachers interested in using hurricane tracking as an instructional unit for math, plotting, and weather studies. Includes a downloadable hurricane tracking chart. |
Kids Do Ecology - Grades 4-8 - This site from the University of California at Santa Barbara lets students explore selected ecology topics in several ways. There are sub-sites dealing with ecology principles, whales, and several other marine species. There's also a very nice section on Data, showing why data collection is important for scientists and illustrating different ways to present data visually. Both sections might be useful in introducing scientific method and experimental procedure.
Kids Farm - Grades K-3 - This is a site about farms and farm animals, with short texts and lots of images showing people, livestock, and equipment used on the farm. If there's no cow pasture near you, this is the place to go!
Lightning! - Grades 2-6 - ZAP! - Here's an introduction to lighting - how it is formed, why it occurs, what it can do - from National Geographic. This is a site that lower elementary students can use themselves. Content, artwork, and design are all what you'd expect from National Geographic. Works well with any connection, but faster is better.
MonarchWatch - Grades 4-8 - Here's the complete site for those interested in learning about Monarch butterflies. The University of Kansas created this page for K-12 students. It offers Monarch information on dozens of topics, at a variety of levels. You can find out about migration, mating habits, even how to raise monarchs. This is a great starting point for a butterfly study.
NatureWatch - Grades 2-6 - This site from the U.S. Department of Agriculture offers elementary students tips on how to observe nature, even during an everyday walk. Teachers may want to adapt the material to a field trip in the woods or other nature-related activities.
Neptune's Web - An Oceanographic Voyage - Grades 4-8 - The U.S. Navy created this site to introduce oceanography and the study of the oceans. Divided into several segments, it presents a student-friendly introduction to the seas and what goes on there. Good site for curious students.
Make a Weather Station - Grades 2-5 - The Miami Museum of Science shows students how to build their own weather station using simple materials. The page is part of the museum's hurricane information resources. HINT: Click on the words at the bottom of the screen, rather than the picture. It's a lot easier to find what you're looking for.
Marine Institute - Grades K-12 - This site from Newfoundland, Canada provides educational information, activities, and lesson plans about marine life, fisheries, and oceanography for students and teachers. Select "K-12 Marine Topics" to view the icon-driven topics, activities, and links.
Migration Routes - Grades 4-8 - The National Wildlife Foundation created this site, which provides maps, explanation, and background information on the migration of several species of birds, whales, and sea turtles. It offers a simple, well-grounded introduction to why species migrate and the differences in migratory habits.
Minerals, Crystals and Gems: Stepping-Stones to Inquiry - Grades 3-8 - Very clear site and easy to follow intending to give students the basics of mineral science. Starts with an essay including clear pictures, a nice overview and history of gems. Three lessons -- A wonderful curriculum for teachers. Guidelines with everything: objective, materials, procedures, sample sheets and other subjects this lesson integrates. Also has an activities page in Spanish and English. Resource guide with other links, books, teaching guides and kits.
Cool Earth Science Sites - Grades 4-8 contains many links on various topics related to the Earth Sciences. Categories include Oceanography, Astronomy, Meteorology, And Paleontology.
Ocean Color Viewed from Space - for Grades 4-8 is part of the Athena Curriculum Web site. Offers students an opportunity to record observations about the importance and meaning of the changes in ocean color. The journal activities provide a great opportunity for students to integrate language arts and science.
The Owl Pages - Grades 4- 12 - This Australian site offers pictures and detailed information about the owls found on several different continents. The interface is simple enough for younger students, and the detailed information could be helpful for older students completing biology or earth science assignments. Lots of information, well organized.
Society for Underwater Exploration - Grades 4-12 - This site is a spin-off from the Discovery Channel's various underwater exploration programs. It provides an interactive, visual record of several underwater expeditions which have involved scientific and archaeological research. Students should be able to use the content at several different levels. Visually very rich, the site can be slow if you're using a dial-up connection.
Oceanography Web Resources - Grades 4-8 contains a list of links on topics related to the study of oceanography. Both data sets and lesson plans are included.
ParkSearch - Grades 4-12 - While not explicitly designed for education, L.L. Bean's guide to American national parks and forests provides pictures and descriptions of some of our best-preserved natural areas. Students can search by location and find information on natural features as well as recreation and facilities. Well-designed, with plenty of instructional opportunities for the creative teacher.
South Pole Adventure Page - Grades 4-8 - This site has a selection of features based on life and scientific activitiy at the South Pole. You can check the current South Pole weather, get summaries of recent activities, and learn about the kinds of scientific study that take place in this hostile environment.
Common Trees of the Northeast - Grades 3-8 - This site from the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources describes several dozen trees common to northeastern and mid-atlantic states. The site offers drawings of leaves and bark, along with descriptions of the tree's distinguishing characteristics. Nice site for report research or comparison among different species.
TopoZone - Grades 4-12 - If you're working on maps, map skills, or the mapping of natural features, TopoZone has it all. This site offers electronic topographic maps for most locations in the US. Users simply enter a location and can retrieve a topographic map for that area. The system allows users to zoom in and out and pan to other locations. All maps have full topographic markings showing terrain features. Great map resource!
Virtual Cave - Grades 4-12 - This site offers a beautiful, extensive underground tour of the features found in caves and the geologic processes that create those features. Users can select features by name, tour from point to point, or select locations from a huge site map. There are also links to other cave resources and photos, as well as lists of North American cave sites. Useful site as part of a class presentation, or for independent study.
Water Science for Schools - Grades 4-12 - The EPA created this collection of resources dealing with water cycles, water purification, and water availability. It includes web resources, sample experiments, and explanations of water quality issues. Teachers will likely want to sort through the material before suggesting it to their students.
The Weather Gateway - Grades 4-8 provides real-time weather forecasts for cities in the U.S. Requires the use of a three-digit city code.
Yellowstone Underground - Grades 2-6 - National Geographic offers a site for elementary students showing the underground thermal activity in Yellowstone National Park. Artistic, scientific and educational quality are all what you would expect from National Geographic. Works best with a faster connection.
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