This article provides background information that will help teachers present the science associated with the study of climate, past, present and future. The magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured around the recognized principles of climate literacy. The author explains the science concepts included in the principle related to climate study and research and also identifies additional sources of information.

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.

A pluton is formed when a large pool of magma builds up under the surface and raises the surface above it. When the pool of magma hardens a pluton forms.

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.

This list of carefully selected books for grades K-5 highlights nonfiction about climate proxies, those preserved physical characteristics, such as fossils, that scientists use to reconstruct past climates. Also highlighted are a few books that provide information about two past climatic events -- the last ice age and the Dust Bowl. In each issue of the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, the virtual bookshelf recommends books that accurately portray the theme drawn from the principles of climate sciences.

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

This is a lesson designed to integrate science curriculum with computer programming for 4th graders.

Earth rotates much faster than Mercury. It takes nearly 59 Earth days for Mercury to make one complete orbit.

It takes Mercury 88 Earth days to make a complete revolution around the sun.

Venus rotates so slowly that its day (8 Earth months) is longer than its year (7 Earth months).

Earth's axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees. As Earth revolves around the sun, its axis always points at the same angle, but the direction it points in relation to the sun changes, resulting in different seasons.

There are four distinct seasons in northern latitudes: spring, summer, fall, and winter.

The summer solstice is on June 21 or 22. This is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.

The vernal equinox is on March 20 or 21 in the northern hemisphere. There are 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness on the vernal equinox.

This lesson plan explains earth's four spheres to students. Students will answer questions in a whole class discussion about the spheres and will show they have mastered the concept by drawing pictures and explaining how the earth's spheres can interact with each other.  This would be recommended as the first lesson in teaching Interactions with Earths Systems.  Credit for Photo: "Earth Day 2008" by Ashish Lohorung is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. 

Passage describing plate tectonics, plate boundaries, earth's layers and earth's magnetic fields. Includes vocabulary definitions.

A google site that has a leeson plan for UT.SEEd.6.3.1, UT.SEEd.6.3.2, UT.SEEd.6.3.3, and UT.SEEd.6.3.4

Science Phenomena: HS Physical Science - Energy (Phys 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5) - An Earthship is a passive solar house that is designed to be off the electrical grid. It is generally constructed with natural and recycled materials. Much of the structure of the house is made with recycled tires that are filled with dirt. Thermal mass from the dirt, solar energy from the Sun, and cross-ventilation are used to keep the temperature within the house in a comfortable zone. This phenomenon can be used study thermal energy transfer, energy conservation, and human sustainability.