Earth and Environmental Sciences

Radio Show Correlations to Project Learning Tree Activities
Earth & Sky radio show have been correlated to PLT activities and provide educators with access to accurate, reliable, and understandable scientific research and date. Teachers can "virtually" bring a guest scientist into their classroom by using the Earth & Sky radio shows separately or in conjunction with PLT activities. Visit the Earth & Sky teacher's section of their web site to view the radio show and podcast correlations to PLT activities. More can be learned about the partnership at http://www.plt.org/cms/pages/21_23_60.html.

NOAA Resources
Teacher's Resource Page of the NOAA web site.
NOAA's Image Library
Newport NOAA Office Photo Records and Case Studies
The case studies could be developed into group investigations of North Carolina weather events.
Raleigh Office Photographic Records of Significant Weather Events

Learning About Acid Rain: A Teacher’s Guide (pdf)
for Grades 6 through 8 is a free publication containing a basic overview of acid rain and nine revised science experiments.

The Habitable Planet: A Systems Approach to Environmental Science
The content on the site is divided into thirteen areas, which include oceans, water resources, energy challenges, and agriculture. Within each section, visitors can make their way through separate sections within the online textbook, and also view content that includes interactive labs, graphics, video clips, and specialized glossaries. Returning to the site's homepage, visitors will also note that they can view the content by type, which makes it a bit easier if they are looking for a specific video clip or visual feature.

Wandering Wetland Travelling Trunk
The trunk contains artifacts and activities designed to introduce elementary students to wetland ecology – one of the earth’s most threatened ecosystems. Filled with a Beaver pelt, skulls of Alligator, Beaver and Heron, rubber track molds of Muskrat and Bull frogs, the Bill Nye’s Wetland DVD, a custom student-friendly Wetland 101 PowerPoint presentation, and numerous other curricular resources, our wetland trunk provides teachers with materials for experiential learning and structured lessons about the environment. As an added bonus, included in each trunk is a copy of the national curriculum guide WOW! The Wonders of Wetlands, for each teacher to keep! The Trunk is available for two week rentals. For registration information, contact youth.edu@wetland.org or call 410-745-9620. More information is also available on Environmental Concern’s website www.wetland.org/education_travelingtrunk.htm.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Speakers Bureau in Research Triangle Park
is a new resource that schools and other organizations in the Triangle region can use to find and request EPA speakers. Requests are submitted directly to the speaker via the website. There is no charge for a speaker, though travel for speakers is limited to 50 miles of Research Triangle Park, NC. We ask that requests for speakers be made at least 4 weeks in advance.

It's Our Water
A North Carolina-specific high school Earth/Environmental Science curriculum and resources guide for North Carolina students and teachers.

NC River Basin booklets
pamphlets for each of the 17 basins, the "North Carolina's River Basins" poster and the Ecological Addess brochure. These have all been updated in 2007, and the river basin pamphlets now include information on where you can hike, bike and paddle in each basin!

Spreadsheet Project
lessons using spreadsheets and math modeling in environmental science from the Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Earth Portal
Current news and information about planet Earth. Check out the Encyclopedia of Earth and Hot Topics.

NIEHS Kids Pages
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Kids Pages, games, music, and other activities that introduce children to the impact of the environment.

The Bear Facts
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has produced an Interactive Educator’s Edition based on the popular documentary “The Bear Facts: The Story of a North Carolina Treasure.” The original 36-minute made-for-TV documentary about North Carolina’s black bear population is now available on a DVD offering eight additional interactive functions for students to enjoy. The DVD is accompanied by a CD containing lesson-plans, bear-related activities, maps, and more educational materials suitable for grades K-12. Now, educators across the Tar Heel state can request this unique learning tool at no cost through the N.C. Wild Store at http://www.ncwildlife.org/fs_index_09_wild.htm

Exotic Invasive Plants of Southern Appalachia
This 14 lesson plan curriculum is designed to engage middle school students in a variety of activities that assist them in exploring their local environment. The activities include Web quests, a school-ground walk, a video, art projects, chain tag, a weed pull, and a Jeopardy-like contest. Through these fun activities, students will learn about healthy ecosystems, native species, and exotic invasive plant species. For more information, contact SAMAB by mail at 311 Conference Center Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-4134, by phone (865) 974-5912, by fax (865) 974-1838, or by E-mail: samab@utk.edu.

EE Resources Database and Calendar
The Office of Environmental Education serves as a clearinghouse to connect people to the programs, events and resources. This searchable database makes finding EE resources and events easier than ever.

Facing the Future
develops young people’s capacity and commitment to create thriving, sustainable, and peaceful local and global communities.

Earth Observatory
The purpose of NASA’s Earth Observatory is to provide a freely-accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth’s climate and environmental change.

The Storm Shelter
Teaching resources for meteorology including news, lesson plans and more.

Tox Town
is an interactive web site that enables students and teachers to learn about the environmental health concerns in various neighborhoods: town, city, U.S.- Mexico border, and farm.

GeoTeach
Earth Science information and lesson plans

Earth Science World ImageBank
a searcheable database of images sorted by category, continent, country and more.

Exploring Weather and Climate Change
from NOAA, uses the Powers of 10 to show how the earth has changed

Alliance to Save Energy Energy Hog
free classroom activities for teachers to help them teach kids (8-13 years old) about energy – where it comes from, how we use and waste it at home, and why saving energy is important.

Geologic Time: The Story of a Changing Earth
examines the history of Earth. Learn about the formation of Earth, dating the age of rocks, geologic time, plate tectonics, climate change, ocean circulation, evolution,
extinction, ecology, & topics related to paleobiology. (SI)

Where on Earth...?" Mystery Image Quizes
Quiz participants have to follow clues to determine the location of the featured image (from NASA).

NOAA Ocean Explorer
provides 165 lesson plans developed to bring entire classrooms "on board" for exploration & discovery. Topics include deep- sea hydrothermal vents & their spectacular animal communities, benthic creatures of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (one of Earth's most geologically complex regions), seafloor methane, unexplored deep reef habitats off the Carolinas, the Titanic, & the mystery of the Steamship Portland (lost in a 1898 storm off New England). (NOAA)

NRCS Soils
includes soil surveys for each state, a manual for surveying soil, an urban soil primer for homeowners & local planning boards, & "tools for educators" -- lessons & information on soil taxonomy (the "12 orders of soil"), fundamental concepts about soil, soil biology, & soil risks & hazards. (USDA)

Soil Science Home Page
looks at soil fertility, nitrogen in soil, soil chemistry, soils as electrical systems, soils as filters, soil physics & particle sizes (silt, sand, & clay), microorganisms in soil, nutrients that plants need, soil morphology, judging soil by feel, structures & shapes of soil, & "soil profile" images from Arizona, Florida, Michigan, & other states. Learn how soil is formed & how long it takes to create an inch of soil. (NASA)

Guide for Teaching About Coastal Wetlands
helps students identify types of wetlands & understand the role of wetlands in controlling erosion, retaining water, filtering pollutants, & serving as nurseries for young organisms. The barrier islands, the Mississippi River, & the consequences of wetland loss are examined. (USGS)

Art and Nature
The NC Museum of Art has launched a new on-line educational resource, "ArtNC." It is an interdisciplinary site and features many nature and science activities that can be used in environmental education. The current month's feature is "Art and Nature."There are lesson plans and activities for K-12 posted.

Online Courses for Teachers
National Teachers Enhancement Network (NTEN) is offering 15 Global Warming, Climate Change and our Environment Summer Online courses for K-12 science teachers. Course participants will study global warming by exploring the geography of climate change and resultant wildlife changes in the mountains and plains of the U.S. and Russia; conduct case studies on climate and wildlife changes in their local region; and evaluate how these changes are impacting the ecosystem where they live. Teachers can earn two graduate semester credits while participating in engaging activities that are relevant to their classroom teaching.

PBS Borders Environmental Project
Lesson plans for K-12 teachers designed to facilitate online storytelling and sharing. Each of the three lesson plans focuses on Earth, Water or Air, the three general themes of the P.O.V.'s Borders Environmental project. Downloadable in pdf or html format, students explore how human activity and industrialization is altering air quality, water is used in their local communities, and the social impact of land use.

Energy Sourcebooks
Lesson plans and activities for elementary, junior high, and high school students to explore alternative energy sources. Can be downloaded in one large file (Complete Text), individual chapters, or on three compact discs.

The French Broad River Project
RiverLink is proud to announce its new interactive web-based mapping system based on the French Broad river basin in western North Carolina.

Landform maps for all 50 states

GEMS Teacher's Guides
GEMS, Great Explorations in Math and Science, publishes a broad range of environmental topics. Teachers will find these to be excellent supplementary resources for teaching these topics.

Rainforest Alliance Learning Site
The Learning Site is a tremendous resource for educators interested in incorporating environmental curriculum in the classroom. All of the Rainforest Alliance's education materials are completely free and meet national standards as compiled by Mid-Continent Research for Education and Training.

High School Environmental Center
A team of EPA environmental educators have created a new web site based on the Guidelines for Excellence in EE to help high school students find good environmental information. The web site contains easy to find and easy to understand information about air and water issues, waste and recycling, conservation, health and safety, ecosystems, and community environmental conditions. It also links interested students to internship and scholarship opportunities, environmental careers and community involvement projects.

Investigate Biodiversity
Investigate Biodiversity is a resource site for all ages - for students interested in science fairs; for future conservationists seeking career information; for everyday people looking for ways that they can support biodiversity conservation

The Electronic Naturalist
Free site of weekly material (30 weeks during the school year) covers a wide variety of information on animals and plants, has art work and text, interdisciplinary activities, 2 reading levels, and access to a professional naturalist via email.

EPA Water Sourcebooks
Created by the EPA, The Water Sourcebooks contain 324 activities for grades K-12. This environmental education program explains the water management cycle using a balanced approach showing how it affects all aspects of the environment. Activities are available online in PDF and are also available on CD-ROM.

Cycles of the Earth and Atmosphere
An on-line teaching module for middle school science teachers providing background information and supporting classroom teaching materials. The content focus is climate change and issues related to both stratospheric and tropospheric ozone.

MERL (Metals in Environmetal Remediation and Learning)
is a multimedia CD-ROM that teaches chemical concepts by following the development and implementation of permeable iron barriers, which are now a leading environmental remediation method. The CD-ROM is designed for high school and college level chemistry teachers and students. It has also proven to be of interest to teachers and students in related disciplines (geology, engineering, etc.). Copies of MERL are free (as long as they last), thanks to funding from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation and EnviroMetal Technologies, Inc. Please email requests to merl@ese.ogi.edu, and be sure to include a complete mailing address. See http://cgr.ese.ogi.edu/merl/ for additional background, previews, FAQ, and links to supporting information, experiments, etc.

Weather from the University of Illinois
Includes activities, projects, data and also comes on CD.

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
conducts education, public policy, and research studies designed to improve understanding of and response to global environmental issues and related mitigation strategies.

Water Quality from UNC-TV
contains educational materials for middle school students and teachers, such as lesson plans and some interactive activities. In addition, it has a thorough litany of information on different water ecosystems, watersheds, pollution, algal blooms, and tips for consumers.

Dive and Discover

Geologic Survey Shop
Access to North Carolina topographic and geological maps, geologic guides to state parks, and information on fossils, gems and minerals in the state will be easier with the launch of the North Carolina Geological Survey's (NCGS) online Geological Survey Shop. The shop provides on-line sales of many of the NCGS's most popular products, including publications on gold, fossils, and minerals, as well as geologic guides to North Carolina State Parks and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

EarthTrends
The World Resources Institute in Washington, DC has a new environmental almanac packed with facts and figures. Data covers more than 140 countries plus regional and global trends. Energy, human population, agriculture, food, climate, ecoregions, preservation, and species are just some or the topics included.

TOPEX/Poseidon: Educational Resources
presents activities for learning about oceans, oceanography, earth science, & related topics. This is the education website of a partnership between the U.S. & France to monitor global ocean circulation, discover ties between the oceans & atmosphere, & improve global climate predictions. (NASA)

For Kids Only: Earth Science Enterprise
helps students learn about aerosols, ozone, air pressure, tropical rainfall & hurricanes, plate tectonics, earth science careers, & more. (NASA)

Earthguide from CalSpace/Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego
Earthguide is an educational website with a focus on earth, environmental, and oceanographic sciences, and global change. The site is intended to be useful to K-12 teachers and students, as well as the general public. The site includes stories that document research expeditions by Scripps scientists, and makes available key diagrams, maps, and images in earth and oceanographic sciences.

Dolphinwise
A unique underwater adventure zone, containing wonderful Dolphin and Whale games, wild facts and issues, amazing products and images, fantastic stories and more.

National Geographic Education
Educational materials from the National Geographic magazine. Although most of the material is most relevent to social studies, some lessons may apply to earth/environmental science.

Earth Science
This Web-based Earth Science course introduces geology and other Earth sciences, ecology, oceanography, atmospheric science, and astronomy. Seven online modules for use in high school earth science classrooms. This site is designed for distance learning but can be incorporated in any type of class.

Natural Inquirer
The Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used with learners from grade 5 and older. The Natural Inquirer contains natural resource research articles conducted by USDA Forest Service scientists. These are scientific journal articles that have been reformatted to meet the needs of an audience who are new to the area of science. The articles are easier to understand, shortened, more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities.

Estuary Live
The electronic estuary excursion is especially designed for elementary, middle and high school students plus any group or individual interested in science, the environmentÉor just having fun. Produced by the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve Program.

USGS GEODE (Geo Data Explorer)
is a unique, map-oriented application that can be brought to the user's desktop via the Internet. New datasets that can be accessed in GEODE include USGS world and national oil and gas assessments, international and national coal assessments, and petroleum assessment data for the North Slope of Alaska, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Also included are selected maps of Federal land ownership, major transportation systems, land-use and digital elevation models, satellite imagery, and biological habitats.

Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon
from NASA - a collection of over 600 digitally enhanced images of lunar landforms. Most images were taken at low sun angles and have about 100 m resolution. Images may be searched by feature name or coordinate range.

AGIWEB
The official web site of the American Geological Institute is a wealth of information on current research, careers, data, resources, programs, grants and much more. Be sure to visit Earth Science World - there outreach web site.

Sustainable Seas Expedition
The Sustainable Seas Expeditions is a five-year project of underwater exploration and discovery of the marine world with special emphasis on the national marine sanctuaries of the United States.

Resources That Support The Earth/Environmental Science Requirement For North Carolina Schools
This extensive list of resources is correlated with the NC Standard Course of Study for all grade levels and was compiled by Mary Watson of the NC Geological Survey.

North Carolina Envirnomental Education Clearinghouse

The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources Library
(supported by the NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources within the Office of Environmental Education). The library contains an environmental education collection that is available to the public. Look for monthly environmental education workshops lead by certified environmental educators.

EPA Acid Rain Program
includes data and curriculum materials

Consortium for Oceanographic Activities for Students & Teachers (COAST)
includes visualization modules and resource guides

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)
lots of satellite and weather data

Lehigh Earth Observatory's EnviroSci Inquiry Web Site
inquiry activities on geology, weather, water quality and more

Project Earth Science
great earth science resources and activities from the NC Geological survey

The GLOBE Program
This program has the endorsement of the NC DPI Science Consultant as a means to bring to life the NC Science Standard Course of Study. GLOBE is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. For Students, GLOBE provides the opportunity to learn by taking scientifically valid measurements in the fields of atmosphere, hydrology, soils, and land cover/phenology reporting their data through the Internet to the student data archive and more. For teachers, GLOBE provides assistance through training at professional development workshops and great material support. GLOBE students contribute data for scientists to use in their research. Teachers and other educators who wish to lead students in GLOBE need to attend special workshops in order to fully participate in the program.

Project Learning Tree
an environmental education program through the American Forest Foundation

Environmental Modeling Curriculum Resources
water and air related models from the Shodor Foundation

The Environment: A Global Challenge
a collection of articles and web pages about the environment for students

Big Sweep

Environmental Leadership Center at Warren Wilson College

Know a science education resource that should be on this list? Please contact the webmaster