Classroom Activities

Here you can find suggested Earth science related activities. Most are categorized based on the Next Generation Science Standards, and the earlier National Science Education Standards. Activities are also marked with an appropriate grade level. These Earth science activities are fun and educational. To access these activities, click on the activity name in the chart below.

Find additional activities in our Earth Science Week Activity Calendar and Teacher Learning Activity Manuals.

Helpful search tips: • Don't use quotation marks. • Use the Control key to select more than one grade level or tag below. • Want to search by Next Generation Science Standards? Click here.

Titlesort descending Grade Level Tags
Know Your Energy Costs 6-12 activity, energy
Land and People: Finding a Balance 6-12 groundwater, water, geology, soil, porosity, permeability, aquifer
Latitude and Longitude 6-8 activity, gps, satellites, citizen science, earthcaching, latitude, longitude
Lightning 5-8 activity, weather
Liquefaction 5-10 activity, liquefaction, soil, water
Logs of Straw - Dendrocronology 5-9 activity, dynamic planet
Look Up! K-4 activity, sky, clouds, weather, observation
Looking for Wild Elements 5-8 activity, climate, landforms, dynamic planet
Magnets at the Core 7-12 activity, oceans, climate
Make a Thunderstorm 5-8 activity, weather
Make Your Own Compass 6-8 activity, space
Make Your Own Powers of Ten 7-12
Making a Cave 7-12 activity, dynamic planet, water
Making Caves: How Solution Caves Form K-12 activity, caves, geology, natural processes, solution caves, NNL
Making Earth Art With Google Earth K-12 activity, earth, Google, art, landscapes, weather, space
Making Visible the Path of the Sun 3-9 activity, sun. earth, sunlight, daylight
Making Your Own National Park Geologic Tour 6-8 activity, landforms, rocks, dynamic planet
Map-Making Basics 6-8 activity, climate, weather, dynamic planet, energy, fossils, materials, minerals, oceans, rocks, landforms, soil, water, space, natural resources
Mapping a Refuge 6-12 activity, climate, landforms, soil, water, weather, dynamic planet, oceans, natural resources
Mapping Quake Risk 7-12 activity, gis, maps
Mapping the Atmosphere 7-12 activity, weather, atmosphere
Mapping Vertical Movements 9-12 activity, gps, mapping
Mapping Your Soil 5-12 activity, mapping, map, soil
Measure for Measure 6-12 activity, oceans
Measuring Glacial Retreat 6-12 activity, glaciers, climate change

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