TeachersFirst's Earth and Rock Cycle - Science Resources
Teach your students about the earth and rock cycle with this collection of resources. There are sites here for all grades. Read the descriptions to find out whether a site sounds right for what you want to know. Some sites may be more challenging reading, while others may offer solid basic information. Don't miss the interactives!
Explore our tagged resources for the rock cycle and earth.
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The Wonder of Science - Paul Andersen
Grades
K to 12
Built to support the next generation of science leaders, The Wonder of Science shares many excellent free resources for science teachers of all grades. Information includes linked lessons...more
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Built to support the next generation of science leaders, The Wonder of Science shares many excellent free resources for science teachers of all grades. Information includes linked lessons offered by grade level, standards, and type of activity. Select the resources link to find printable activities, mini-lessons, assessments, planning, implementation, etc. From the home page, select videos to find videos linked by Next Generation Science Standards. A helpful video walkthrough of the site is available on the home page, and it provides a quick look at what is included and how to find resources. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
tag(s): biodiversity (36), chemicals (39), climate (84), earth (184), ecology (103), ecosystems (83), energy (133), environment (252), forces (37), genetics (80), life cycles (21), light (56), matter (45), molecules (43), motion (47), oceans (149), planets (113), sound (72), space (220), stars (70), weather (160)
In the Classroom
This site is a must-have for all science teachers to use to find high-quality lessons and teaching materials. Be sure to visit the Phenomena section to find the Master List of Phenomenon Google Document sharing suggestions for observable science events or find phenomena by grade level. Engage students in learning by sharing videos on this site, then use edpuzzle, reviewed here to add questions and focus comments to the videos to support student learning. Use the ideas and resources on this site to create flipped and blended learning lessons or to create playlists to encourage student choice of learning activities. Learn more about playlists by viewing the archive of OK2Ask: Playlists to Personalize Learning, reviewed here and learn about choice boards at the OK2Ask archive: Choice Boards for Differentiation Part 1, reviewed here.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
2 Minute Geology - Nick Zentner and Tom Foster
Grades
6 to 122 Minute Geology is a YouTube playlist featuring short, informative videos discussing geological features from around the world. Topics include petrified wood, the Seattle earthquake...more
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2 Minute Geology is a YouTube playlist featuring short, informative videos discussing geological features from around the world. Topics include petrified wood, the Seattle earthquake fault, and more. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.
tag(s): earthquakes (46), floods (10), geology (62), rocks (35), volcanoes (55)
In the Classroom
Flip your classroom and use a video as homework. Have students take notes on the material and write down questions they still have and topics that confuse them. Or, use a tool like EdPuzzle, reviewed here, for students to pause videos and ask or answer questions right on the video. These activities can uncover misconceptions. Show the video to the class, and then discuss the concept at length. Use these videos to introduce geology concepts, then have students choose an idea to research further. For more advanced classes, provide time for students to choose a video to view and research the underlying concept. Challenge students to make a multimedia presentation of their findings using Sway, reviewed here, or Vevox, reviewed here. Vevox offers interactive features such as real-time polls and comments to keep viewers interested and involved in the presentation.Geological Tour - National Park Service
Grades
6 to 12Explore the many different kinds of geology available for viewing at the United States National Parks with this online tour. Choose from various categories to find links to parks with...more
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Explore the many different kinds of geology available for viewing at the United States National Parks with this online tour. Choose from various categories to find links to parks with that geologic theme. Some also include a short description of geologic features. Although this site looks quite simple, there is an abundance of information available for learning about geographic features around the United States.
tag(s): caves (7), fossils (41), geology (62), glaciers (17), mountains (10), national parks (29), plate tectonics (22), rivers (16), rocks (35), soil (16), volcanoes (55)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on geographic features on a projector or interactive whiteboard. After sharing, allow students to explore on their own. Share the locations using Google Earth, reviewed here, and have students add placeholders and information about each site.Bozeman Science - Paul Anderson
Grades
9 to 12Bozeman Science offers hundreds of science videos with topics ranging from Anatomy & Physiology through Statistics & Graphing. The site also includes videos aligned to AP curriculum...more
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Bozeman Science offers hundreds of science videos with topics ranging from Anatomy & Physiology through Statistics & Graphing. The site also includes videos aligned to AP curriculum and Next Generation Science Standards. Each video includes easy to understand definitions along with examples of concepts; most videos run 10 minutes or less. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
tag(s): advanced placement (26), animals (294), atoms (43), body systems (40), chemicals (39), ecosystems (83), elements (33), energy (133), evolution (89), human body (93), OER (43), planets (113), plants (146), plate tectonics (22), pollution (53), population (51), rock cycle (12), solar energy (35), solar system (107), stars (70), weather (160)
In the Classroom
Be sure to take advantage of this extensive collection of videos in any upper-level science classroom. Be sure to include this site on your class webpage for students to access both in and outside of class for further practice. Embed a video onto your website to use for flipped lessons - have students watch the video before coming to class to participate in additional learning activities. View the Educational video portion of the site to find teaching ideas for your classroom. Use this site as a model, then ask students to create video explanations using a tool such as moovly, reviewed here, and share them on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here.Fun Science Demos - Dr. George Mehler & Jared Hottenstein
Grades
K to 8Fun Science Demos is a YouTube Channel devoted to sharing engaging science lessons for young learners based on Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Choose from popular videos such...more
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Fun Science Demos is a YouTube Channel devoted to sharing engaging science lessons for young learners based on Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Choose from popular videos such as Balancing Balloons - Air Has Weight or Muscles Moving Your Bones. Be sure to check out the playlists to find videos categorized by topic. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
tag(s): earth (184), electricity (61), energy (133), engineering (129), heat (14), human body (93), life cycles (21), magnetism (36), matter (45), minerals (13), moon (73), recycling (45), rocks (35), solar system (107), sound (72), space (220), STEM (298), sun (70), video (266), water (104)
In the Classroom
Flip your classroom and use a video as homework. Have students take notes on the material and write down questions they still have and topics that confuse them. Or, use a tool like playposit,reviewed here, for students to pause videos and ask or answer questions right on the video. These activities can uncover misconceptions. Show the video to the class, and then discuss the concept at length. To share a single video from this site without all the YouTube clutter, View Pure, reviewed here, and create a shortcut to the View Pure page directly on the desktop. For more advanced classes, provide time for students to choose a video to view and research the underlying concept.MinuteEarth YouTube Channel - Henry, Alex, and Peter Reich, Emily Elert, Ever Salazar
Grades
4 to 12This YouTube Channel is the place to find answers about science and stories about our awesome planet. Browse through the video list to learn why we just see one side ...more
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This YouTube Channel is the place to find answers about science and stories about our awesome planet. Browse through the video list to learn why we just see one side of the moon, discover the secret social life of plants, and understand why rivers curve. Subscribe to MinuteEarth to receive a notification when new videos become available. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): atmosphere (22), earth (184), moon (73), oceans (149), planets (113), plants (146), video (266), weather (160)
In the Classroom
Share videos on an interactive whiteboard, projector, or as a link on your class website or blog. To share a single video from this site without all the YouTube clutter, use a tool such as Clipchamp, reviewed here. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here, to share information learned from videos. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create videos about your curriculum topics and share them on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Some video tool suggestions are (click on the tool name to access the review): Adobe Creative Cloud Express Video Maker, FlexClip, Powtoon, and Renderforest.OneGeology Kids - OneGeology
Grades
1 to 5Explore different parts of geology through OneGeology's cartoon-like characters. Each character provides information about topics such as fossils, rocks and minerals, energy, earthquakes...more
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Explore different parts of geology through OneGeology's cartoon-like characters. Each character provides information about topics such as fossils, rocks and minerals, energy, earthquakes and more. Click on the character and go to their page. Pages include a short overview of information, links to more information, photos, and maps with additional detail.
tag(s): dinosaurs (43), earthquakes (46), energy (133), fossils (41), geology (62), maps (220), rocks (35), volcanoes (55), water (104)
In the Classroom
Share OneGeology on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to introduce your geology unit to students. Enhance learning by having students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here. Create a link to the site on classroom computers for students to explore on their own. Transform technology use and enhance learning by having students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Image Annotator, reviewed here, to explain different geologic phenomenon.The Encyclopedia of Earth - Environmental Information Coalition
Grades
4 to 12Looking for a quality resource about the Earth, organisms, the natural environment, and their interaction with society? This Encyclopedia is a free, quality collection of articles written...more
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Looking for a quality resource about the Earth, organisms, the natural environment, and their interaction with society? This Encyclopedia is a free, quality collection of articles written by professionals, educators, and experts. The project is a collaboration, and articles are reviewed by other experts. Though written by professionals, the articles are not technical, proving useful to students and educators. It is also helpful to other professionals as well as the general public. View the authors and editors attributed to the articles. Be sure to notice the featured articles found in the center of the page. Find chapters or topics along the left side that cover every aspect of the natural and physical world as well as the many issues of human interaction with the Earth. Besides articles, find more at Encyclopedia of Earth including ebooks, lectures, and speeches.
tag(s): agriculture (51), animals (294), biodiversity (36), disasters (37), earth (184), ecology (103), ecosystems (83), energy (133), environment (252), forests (30), plants (146), pollution (53), water (104), weather (160)
In the Classroom
Use this resource when students are working on projects that pertain to any part of living things, the natural world, and man's role on the Earth. Be sure to bookmark this site on a class computer or your class website. Be sure to review the authors of the articles, following the links to their biographical pages to look at their expertise. Use this as an exercise in identifying whether information on the Internet is reliable and developing researching skills. As a challenge to your high achieving students, consider asking them to write entries that you can submit to this encyclopedia on classroom topics of interest to them. Students will have to analyze their language and writing style with more scrutiny than other assignments. Ask them to use Expresso, reviewed here, to help them achieve this. Consider creating an encyclopedia with content created by students modeled after the style of this tool. Use an online tool such as Weebly, reviewed here, to create a class encyclopedia. Note: As with other resources like Encyclopedia of Earth, content on the site is considered Attribution-Share Alike. Students should always cite their sources in accordance with this type of copyright.Science Trek - Idaho Public Television
Grades
K to 6Science Trek is an integrated web and broadcast T.V. project introducing science topics to elementary students. In addition to the broadcasts, Science Trek provides accompanying material...more
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Science Trek is an integrated web and broadcast T.V. project introducing science topics to elementary students. In addition to the broadcasts, Science Trek provides accompanying material for teacher and parent use. Each month of the school year a new broadcast answers students' science questions and provides additional resources. Currently, there are more than 90 topics available. Choose from any topic to view the web broadcast and explore resources such as games, facts, and glossaries. Some games lead to outside resources such as PBS and NASA.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (294), archeology (28), body systems (40), brain (56), earthquakes (46), ecology (103), endangered species (27), food chains (19), forces (37), fossils (41), gravity (43), habitats (92), heart (27), human body (93), mass (19), moon (73), planets (113), plants (146), rocks (35), simple machines (19), soil (16), sound (72), STEM (298), volcanoes (55), water (104), weather (160)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free resources on the site to supplement your current teaching materials in many science topics. Create a link on classroom computers for students to view videos and share a link on your class website for students to view at home. Have students create online posters individually or together as a class using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. Don't forget to find the standards link within each resource to align to Common Core Standards.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
Fracking Across the United States - Earth Justice Org.
Grades
6 to 12View this interactive Google map to discover where "fraccidents" have occurred and a description of what happened. A "fraccident" is when something goes wrong at a fracking site. Hydraulic...more
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View this interactive Google map to discover where "fraccidents" have occurred and a description of what happened. A "fraccident" is when something goes wrong at a fracking site. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" is drilling to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas. Fracking is a controversial technology, and this site is one organization's efforts to slow the pace of industrial gas development. So you will notice some bias. Find out if anything like this has happened near you. At the bottom of the page is a video, "Finding Their Way." It is about a Williamsport, PA couple who developed strategies to stop industrial gas development in Rider Park, land consisting of forests, rivers, and fields. The video also gives statistics about how quickly fracking wells were built in Pennsylvania from 2007 - 2010.
tag(s): disasters (37), energy (133), environment (252), geology (62), natural resources (37), oil (22), resources (83)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector during a study of fossil fuels, geology, or energy and government policy. Show students an overview of the interactive map and the states listed below it. Have partners select a state, click on the skull and crossbones, and read about the "fraccidents" that have happened. Have students record the state and the facts about the "fraccident" using an online bulletin board and stickies such as Lino reviewed here. At this point, have students research the positive side of fracking and/or alternative versions of what happened in this "fraccident." Students could then write argument/persuasive papers. Math students could determine the frequency of accidents from fracking over the years and predict what might happen in the states targeted for fracking in the future (listed below the map). Students could view the video at the bottom of the page and discuss the steps taken to stop fracking in Williamsport, PA.Ice Age Floods - Tom Foster
Grades
8 to 12Ice Age Floods offers photographs, information, and video explanations. Learn about how the Ice Age created various lakes and dramatically altered the Earth's landscape. Explore...more
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Ice Age Floods offers photographs, information, and video explanations. Learn about how the Ice Age created various lakes and dramatically altered the Earth's landscape. Explore different sections with specific lakes and areas or choose feature types to learn about different features such as drop stones and coulees. Choose the video section to explore the many videos offered including some interesting 2 minute Geology sessions.
tag(s): glaciers (17), landforms (39), rock cycle (12), rocks (35), volcanoes (55)
In the Classroom
Use as part of a flipped lesson. Have students watch videos or read portions of the site and create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Penzu, reviewed here, with Penzu you can add images or your own artwork as illustrations. Take this a step further and challenge students use a mapping tool such as MapHub, reviewed here, to add points of interest with display markers featuring text, photos, and videos. Share videos and site information on your interactive whiteboard for viewing together.K-5 GeoSource - American GeoSciences Institute
Grades
K to 6K-5 GeoSource is a one-stop website for Earth science. Sections include content, activities, assessment, professional resources, and careers. Explore content to view animations and...more
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K-5 GeoSource is a one-stop website for Earth science. Sections include content, activities, assessment, professional resources, and careers. Explore content to view animations and earth science images. Download slides or PDF presentations on rocks, seasons, fossils, and other topics. View benchmarks for Science Literacy while investigating many suggestions for activities.
tag(s): careers (156), climate (84), erosion (15), fossils (41), moon (73), rocks (35), seasons (37), soil (16), water (104), weather (160)
In the Classroom
Bookmark this site for use during any Earth Science unit. View PowerPoints on your interactive whiteboard with students. Use suggestions from the literacy strategies with any classroom subject and share with student teachers as a resource for lesson planning. Enhance learning and augment technology use in your classroom by having students create a word cloud of the important terms they learn from this site using a tool such as WordItOut, reviewed here.Extreme Earth - Extreme Science
Grades
7 to 12This is a simple sub-page from Extreme Science. Learn factual information about the geologic history of the earth. On the right side of the page, there is a navigational list ...more
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This is a simple sub-page from Extreme Science. Learn factual information about the geologic history of the earth. On the right side of the page, there is a navigational list of topics that allows one to navigate between topics. The readings are fairly easy for early high school aged students and would work as a nice alternative to textbook readings. The hotlinks to extra information on specific terms and concepts are a very helpful and convenient touch. Be aware: there are some advertisements. Advise students not to click on the ads.
tag(s): amazon (11), animals (294), antarctica (30), arctic (40), earth (184), earthquakes (46), geology (62), plate tectonics (22), sun (70), tsunamis (15), volcanoes (55), weather (160)
In the Classroom
Use this site as an alternative to a textbook in a one to one laptop science class. Add the link to the classroom web pafe or wiki as an informational resource for your students. Or, develop questions about the reading and use as a guided reading activity to help enhance reading across the curriculum activities. Engage students and enhance learning by using Read Ahead, reviewed here, to develop a digital guided reading activity. Have cooperative learning groups explore one of the specific topics and create multimedia presentations. Use Web Poster Wizard, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here, to create online posters. Extend learning by having students use Google Drawings, reviewed here, to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.Extreme Science - Geology - Extreme Science
Grades
6 to 12This webpage is a sub-page to the Extreme Science website. The site is well written and provides readable science information for students and teachers alike. There are convenient...more
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This webpage is a sub-page to the Extreme Science website. The site is well written and provides readable science information for students and teachers alike. There are convenient hotlinks to specific, auxiliary information right in the reading. Accompanying diagrams help in understanding the written entries. This site does include some advertisements.
tag(s): continents (33), earth (184), geology (62), plate tectonics (22)
In the Classroom
This site would be a valuable resource in a paperless science classroom. Information is reminiscent of textbook style writing with the convenience of informational hotlinks. Use as an alternative to the textbook. Have students use the information to research and create multimedia presentations. Have students create online posters on paper or do it together as a class using a tool such as Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, or PicLits, reviewed here. Reading teachers will also find these passages useful for practice with finding main idea and summarizing informational texts. Share them on interactive whiteboard for students to highlight key words and compose a main idea sentence.Earth Science Teaching Activities and Lesson Plans - Geology.com
Grades
4 to 12This site contains links to many lesson plans and resources for teaching Earth Science. The top of the page links to different topics of Earth Science such as Astronomy, Earthquakes,...more
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This site contains links to many lesson plans and resources for teaching Earth Science. The top of the page links to different topics of Earth Science such as Astronomy, Earthquakes, Rocks and Minerals, and others. Within each category are links to interactive information. One excellent portion of the site may be easy to overlook so be sure to look on the left side of the page for Categories. Here you will find a wealth of information on diverse topics such as historical geography, world records, careers, teacher resources, and more. Within these links are news, videos, and popular items.
Note: many of the links will take you to different websites so you will want to review before using with students.
This site includes advertising.
This site includes advertising.
tag(s): earthquakes (46), erosion (15), fossils (41), hurricanes (32), maps (220), rocks (35), tsunamis (15), volcanoes (55), water (104), weather (160)
In the Classroom
Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to view videos and images from the site with your class. Use lesson plans provided as additional resources within Earth Science units. Augment technology use in your classroom and enhance learning by having cooperative learning groups create online books using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. Extend learning and transform the use of technology in your classroom by assigning students different portions of the site to review and prepare multimedia projects to share with the class with Sway, reviewed here, or give students a choice of projects to complete with Genially, reviewed here. Both Sway and Genially will allow your students to create multimedia projects. Genially allows them to choose the type of project they want to create.
This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.
Dynamic Earth Interactive - Annenberg Media
Grades
4 to 9Learn the powerful forces that shape and change the Earth. Dynamic Earth explores the Earth's Structures, Investigating Plate Tectonics, learning about Plates and Boundaries, and how...more
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Learn the powerful forces that shape and change the Earth. Dynamic Earth explores the Earth's Structures, Investigating Plate Tectonics, learning about Plates and Boundaries, and how the plates Slip, Slide, and Collide. Read the information provided, click on the Interactive pictures for more details, and test your knowledge in each section with interactive activities. In the end, test your skills using an online assessment.
tag(s): earth (184), earthquakes (46), geology (62), mountains (10), plate tectonics (22), volcanoes (55)
In the Classroom
Use this site to introduce Geology or Earth Science or as a review of concepts previously learned in class. Use the site as a springboard for additional activities such as mapping where most earthquakes occur. Follow up with ways to prepare for earthquakes, design buildings to withstand earthquakes or other important topics. Augment technology use in class by having students work in teams to share various aspects of earthquake knowledge for an audience of people living in an earthquake zone using Padlet, reviewed here.Rock Cycle Interactive - Annenberg Media
Grades
6 to 10This website takes students on a virtual "rock hunt." Throughout the journey, students learn about the three main types of rock - sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Specific examples...more
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This website takes students on a virtual "rock hunt." Throughout the journey, students learn about the three main types of rock - sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Specific examples of each type of rock are highlighted. Other topics of interest include "How Rocks Change" and "The Rock Cycle Diagram." There are animations that demonstrate the effects of extreme heat or cold on a rock. Volcanoes are used to demonstrate some of the changes. Weathering, erosion, compacting, and cementing are also discussed. There are several interactive "rock" activities along the way. The final activity is a review "test" about the interactive "rock hunt."
tag(s): acting (19), erosion (15), rock cycle (12), rocks (35), volcanoes (55), weather (160)
In the Classroom
Wow! If your class is studying rocks and the rock cycle, do yourself (and your students) a favor and take advantage of this wonderful resource. Use your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to take your students on this virtual "rock" journey. This website would also work well as a learning station for cooperative learning groups. Why not set-up several stations all about rocks. Use this website as one station on a cluster of computers, have a "hands-on" rock center with examples of each type of rock and testing equipment, make a literature/research center with books about rocks and samples to identify. Other centers could include watching a short documentary on rocks and volcanoes, a lab-report writing station, and many others.A Science Odyssey: Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker - PBS
Grades
6 to 12Learn about plate tectonics as you manipluate plates with the computer and watch the resulting changes in the earth's surface. Read detailed explanations with animated images. Then...more
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Learn about plate tectonics as you manipluate plates with the computer and watch the resulting changes in the earth's surface. Read detailed explanations with animated images. Then try the Plate Tectonics activity to manipulate the plates yourself. There is also information about the various scientists who made relevant discoveries about tectonics and what they found. Though one interactive requires Shockwave, there is a text version of it. Also, there is soooo much more offered on this site that it is worth your visit.
tag(s): earth (184), earthquakes (46), landforms (39), plate tectonics (22)
In the Classroom
Share the plate tectonics siumlator on an interactve whiteboard as you learn about the different ways that plates interact. Be sure to allow students to move the plates and name the resulting changes. To further reinforce the plate activiites, have pairs of students create animated graphics on slides in PowerPoint slides showing the motions of the plates and labeling them. This could also be an alternative assessment that shows real understanding. If they can add their own sound effects, they will really enjoy themselves!This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics - U.S. Geological Survey
Grades
7 to 12This site provides an organized and user-friendly explanation of the history of plate tectonics as described by the U.S. Geological Survey. It includes a lot of detailed information...more
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This site provides an organized and user-friendly explanation of the history of plate tectonics as described by the U.S. Geological Survey. It includes a lot of detailed information as well as photographs and diagrams. This site has some tough reading depending on the reading level of the user. Allow plenty of time to take in all of the information.
tag(s): earth (184), earthquakes (46), geology (62), plate tectonics (22), volcanoes (55)
In the Classroom
This site is useful as a supplement to a geology unit or for review. Include it on your teacher web page for students to access both in and out of class. It is also a great reference tool when preparing your lesson plans. This is a great site to use when teaching about informational text(s). Open it on an interactive whiteboard and review reading strategies using highlighters and pens as you learn about plate tectonics.Earth: Our World In Motion - National Museum of Natural History
Grades
3 to 8This highly interactive website (created by the National Museum of Natural History) teaches students about the Earth. Topics include, "If Rocks Could Talk," "Plates on the Move," "Making...more
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This highly interactive website (created by the National Museum of Natural History) teaches students about the Earth. Topics include, "If Rocks Could Talk," "Plates on the Move," "Making Rocks," "Mysterious Planets," and more! There is also a link, "Stuff To Do" which provides activities to do away from the computer. Some of the interactive links require Flash, but there is a whole lot more to do and learn that doesn't.
tag(s): atmosphere (22), earth (184), rocks (35)