This video segment adapted from NOVA tells the tragic story of two Japanese seismologists who disagreed about the threat of earthquakes in the early twentieth century. Today, seismologists in California offer residents a probability of risk that an earthquake might occur.

This lesson on earthquakes is based on naturalist John Muir's experiences with two significant earthquakes, the 1872 earthquake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Students will learn to explain that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults, and list the major geologic events including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mountain building, which are the result of crustal plate motions. A downloadable, printable version (PDF) of the lesson plan is available.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, animations are used to show how the hills around Los Angeles were formed by earthquakes at small thrust faults that extend outward from the larger San Andreas fault.

The history of earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area is plotted on a digital map and analyzed in this video segment adapted from NOVA.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a geologist digs a trench along the San Andreas Fault to reveal three thousand years of earthquake history. Information from the layers of sediment may help geologists to predict earthquakes.

This video segment adapted from NOVA uses historical illustrations, photographs, and animations to explain how seismographs work, the difference between P and S waves, and the Richter scale.

This activity uses the free software 'Seismic Eruption' to visualize seismicity and volcanic activity in space and time and to explore the relationship of earthquakes and volcanic activiy to plate tectonics. Students run simulations on the Pacific coasts of South America and California and the mid-oceanic ridge in the Atlantic Ocean, answer questions, and construct a cross-section. A link to download the software is provided.

Students will learn how engineers construct buildings to withstand damage from earthquakes by building their own structures with toothpicks and marshmallows. Students test how earthquake-proof their buildings are through an earthquake simulation using a pan of Jell-O. This lesson was adapted from Teach Engineering . This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

This module explores the composition of the earth's atmosphere, how temperature and pressure vary in the atmosphere, and the scientific developments that led to an understanding of these basic concepts.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explores glaciers, wind, water, and volcanoes and their role in shaping the landscape of the polar regions.

This article assembles free resources from the Earth's Changing Surface issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and 3-5.

Learn about the different features of snow and ice in Antarctica using satellite imagery in this video segment adapted from NASA.

Students will begin this inquiry-based lesson by accessing their prior knowledge of the positive and negative effects of the sun's energy. Students will be introduced to the concept of space weather, including cosmic radiation and coronal mass ejections, by watching a video clip from the National Science Foundation. Students will use a dipole bar magnet and iron filings to develop a model of Earth's magnetic field. Students will apply their experience from this inquiry to explain how Earth's magnetic field can protect us from space weather. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

Students know that there are recognizable patterns on earth.To demonstrate the rotation of earth, students will track the shadows on a sundial throughout the day.

Students know that there are recognizable patterns on earth. To demonstrate the rotation of earth, students will track the shadows on a sundial throughout the day.

This is an inquiry-based lesson that allows students to investigate different ways animals receive information through the senses, process that information, and respond to it. Students will place earthworms in a lighted area and see if they move toward a dark environment or stay in the lighted environment. Students will observe the behavior of the earthworms and use data from the investigation to conclude how an earthworm uses its senses to affect its behavior. This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

In this video produced for Teachers' Domain, Chi-An Wang, a mechanical engineering graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, describes her process when working with New Balance to design a new triathlon shoe.

Students will explore their outdoor space to construct a definition of the word “food”. Students will makeobservations of the ways in which organisms get energy necessary for survival. As a culminating activity,students will create their own meal menu and provide an explanation of why they chose to include each item intheir meal

In this interdisciplinary lesson about solar and lunar eclipses, students will model and determine the difference between the two eclipses. It involves components of the Sun- Earth- Moon system with NASA resources, hands-on inquiry, and observational data. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Departments of Education and ASTA.

Choice of material has implications throughout the life-cycle of a product, influencing many aspects of economic and environmental performance. This course will provide a survey of methods for evaluating those implications. Lectures will cover topics in material choice concepts, fundamentals of engineering economics, manufacturing economics modeling methods, and life-cycle environmental evaluation.