Lessons

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  Weather 1: Weather Patterns

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  This lesson focuses on how the weather changes from day to day.
• 

  Weather 2: What's the Season?

  K-2  
  In this lesson, students keep daily records of temperature, precipitation, and wind.
• 

  The Warmth of the Sun

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  Students will take a closer look at the sun and begin to recognize its critical function in heating and warming the air, land, and water that sustain our lives.
• 

  Hurricanes 1: The Science of Hurricanes

  3-5  |  Video
  This lesson introduces students to the science of hurricanes in an effort to highlight how forces change the speed and direction of motion.
• 

  Hurricanes 2: Tracking Hurricanes

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson examines the role of technology in identifying and tracking hurricanes.
• 

  Measuring Cloud Coverage

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students review what clouds are and then use fractions to describe cloud coverage.
• 

  Properties of Air

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson demonstrates that air takes up space, and puts pressure, or pushes, on everything around it.
• 

  The Water Cycle

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson will help students understand the continuous cycle that water undergoes as it changes form.
• 

  El Niño

  6-8  |  Audio
  This lesson will help students understand that El Niño is caused by changes in the atmospheric and ocean content.
• 

  How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate

  6-8  |  Audio
  The lesson introduces students to the scientific basis of climate change.
• 

  Great Rivers 2: The Ups and Downs of River Flooding

  6-8  
  This lesson focuses on flooding, both because of its importance to human history, and because it is often misunderstood.
• 

  Air Masses

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students develop an understanding of air masses and the role they play in weather and climate.
• 

  Abrupt Climate Change

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students explore how scientific knowledge changes in the context of abrupt climate change.

Tools

• 

  Tsunamis: Know What to Do!

  K-5  |  Video
  This short film from the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services explains the basic concepts of tsunamis and safety preparedness.
• 

  Science of a Tsunami

  6-12  |  Video
  This video from CBS News, covers the most recent tsunami that hit Samoa in 2009 and includes animation of how the earth's plates move under the ocean.
• 

  About Rainbows

  6-12  |  Website
  This tutorial helps to clarify what rainbows are and how they are made.

Science Updates

• 

  Cyclone Drift

  6-12  |  Audio
  Cyclones have been peaking in intensity closer and closer to the poles over the last 30 years.
• 

  Dangerous Hail

  6-12  |  Audio
  Every year, tornadoes, hurricanes, and snowstorms claim lives and cause injuries. But strangely, hailstorms, which pelt the ground with hard balls of ice, never seem to hit human targets. This Science Update examines the reasons why this happens.
• 

  Earth Simulator

  6-12  |  Audio
  Learn how scientists are using the Earth Simulator, the most powerful supercomputer on the planet, to model Earth's climate.
• 

  Florida Freezes

  6-12  |  Audio
  Draining a wetland can change local weather.
• 

  Globetrotting Swells

  6-12  |  Audio
  Scientist are learning how weather around the world is interconnected.
• 

  Flowers & Rainfall

  6-12  |  Audio
  Flowering plants keep the world cooler and wetter than it would be otherwise.
• 

  Mountain Rain

  6-12  |  Audio
  This Science Update explores why pollution from cities could dry out nearby mountains.
• 

  Ping-Pong Avalanches

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, you'll hear how ping-pong balls may help predict the path of a deadly snow avalanche.
• 

  West Nile Weather

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, hear how scientists have found a way to predict the severity of a West Nile outbreak for the year.
• 

  Zapping Fish

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, learn why fish don't get electrocuted when lightning strikes the water.

Collections

• 

  Hurricanes

  K-12  
  This collection of Science NetLinks lessons and resources will help teachers and students learn more about hurricanes, wind, and other weather.
• 

  Earth Science Week

  K-12  
  This collection celebrates earth science, a broad field of study that explores the way the forces of our planet intersect.
• 

  United Nations Climate Change Conference

  K-12  
  This collection of resources accompanies the 2009 Global Climate Change Conference that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark.