Engage in a captivating Earth Science activity that hones your cloud identification skills. In this interactive session, students will have the opportunity to discern various cloud types by analyzing 10 captivating cloud images, encompassing a minimum of 5 distinct cloud formations. This engaging exercise includes comprehensive teacher guidance and reflective discussions, allowing students to evolve into accomplished "Professional Cloud Identifiers" upon completing this enlightening weather laboratory.

In this earth science lab, students will flip M&Ms/Skittles to help them gain a better understanding as to what absolute dating is. Students will learn what radioactive elements are and how scientists use this understanding to give an age to rocks and fossils. Students will create a spreadsheet and create a graph that will visually demonstrate the half-life of Carbon 14. There are 6 word problems that they will analyze to help them understand how to use a half-life graph.

In this Google Drawing activity, students will create a concept map using the following words: Earth Science, geology, waves, currents, astronomy, oceanography, stars, volcanoes, planets, meteorology, fossils, weather, climate, rocks galaxies, thunderstorms, tides, tsunamis, lightning, comets, minerals, asteroids, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

Use this assignment to help students understand the difference between a mineral and other objects that they might think are minerals. The activity doesn't take long but when you are discussing what a mineral actually is, this assignment gives your students practice. Students have a list of words that they need to sort into columns. One column is for minerals, the other column is for non-minerals. If they place an object into the non-mineral section they need to justify which rule was broken.

This is an assignment I give my students before they actually take their mineral identification test. In this activity, the minerals have already gone through the individual characteristics tests such as luster, hardness, color, streak, and other mineral properties. This assignment is to give students practice using a dichotomous key that can help them identify minerals. This assignment also contains vocabulary words commonly used when identifying minerals.

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In this 7-12 Earth Science lab, students will get a chance to hone in on their observation and inference skills. Students will work in groups to observe 4 different rocks. They will make inferences about the environment that the rocks came from as well as take an educated guess as to which rock type the rock belongs, igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary. Students will write those observations down and then share one of their rocks to the class. This lab is meant to be done before getting into the nitty-gritty of rocks which will happen in the nest assignment.

Looking for a new way to teach the rock cycle? Check out this exciting twist on a classic activity from EducationalResource.org! In this activity, students roll a die and follow instructions to create their own unique rock cycle. This hands-on approach helps students understand that there is no one set path for a rock to follow as it undergoes the process of becoming a new type of rock. As a class, students can share their individual rock cycle paths and compare them to see the infinite possibilities that exist within the rock cycle.

In this lab, students will identify up to 6 igneous rocks. They will practice using a dichotomous key in order to ID their rocks. Students will have a better understanding of igneous rock texture, composition, and color. There are four questions at the end of the lab that will review crystallization, intrusive and extrusive rocks. I give this assignment after our study on igneous rocks, so this is a great assessment activity as well. I have also included my own thoughts and instructions to help you implement this activity in your classroom.

Students will research 8 common metamorphic rocks. Marble, quartzite, hornfels, slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss, and amphibolite. Students will have a better understanding of what foliated vs. non-foliated rocks look like. They will understand what a parent rock is and review some of their mineral knowledge by researching what some of the most dominant minerals are in these particular metamorphic rocks. Finally, when they are done they will discuss with their groups some higher-order thinking questions that will drive the class discussion when the assignment is completed.