earth science kindergarten lesson plans

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Earth Science For Kids

Earth Science is not just about rocks and minerals. It also includes topics such as space, weather, and learning about the oceans. Cover the big ideas of Earth Science for kids with our best Earth Science lesson ideas! Below you’ll find a variety of hands-on science activities that use simple materials. Plus, free printable information packs to get you started!

Kiddos at any grade level can explore Earth Science on various levels, from preschool, kindergarten, elementary to middle school.

Younger students can check out rocks with a magnifying glass, while older students can dive into learning about the atmosphere or climate issues. Below you will find science projects that are a perfect addition to your earth science lesson planning!

What’s a fun activity to start with? We always love the shaving cream rain cloud for preschoolers!

Another super simple activity is a water cycle in a bag ! Or get playful with sand and a beach erosion activity for older kiddos!

What Is Earth Science?

Earth Science is the study of the earth, and everything that physically makes up the earth and its atmosphere. From the soil we walk on, to the air we breathe and the oceans we swim in… learning about Earth Science isn’t just for Earth Day activities !

While some aspects of Earth Science are related to biology, it’s important to note that biology deals with the living things on earth. This includes plant life cycles, food chains, animals, and more. Learn more about plants.

Earth Science Topics

What do you learn in earth science? Earth Science topics include the 4 main branches of Earth Science which are:

Geology – the study of rocks and land.
Oceanography – the study of oceans.
Meteorology – the study of weather.
Astronomy – the study of stars, planets, and space.

Fun Earth Science Questions to Ask

Kids are always curious about the world around them, especially since it feels so big and magical. Plus, they have many questions you can answer with easy-to-set-up earth science activities.

Why is the Sky Blue?

Ever wonder how to answer this question? Here’s the super simplest answer you can give your kiddos. Blue (and violet) light has the shortest wavelengths, so it more easily scatters when it hits the air molecules in the sky during the day. Other colors do not scatter as easily.

How To Set Up An Earth Science Project

Want to turn one of these fun earth science activities into a science project? Then you will want to check out these helpful resources.

Easy Science Fair Projects
Science Project Tips From A Teacher
Science Fair Board Ideas

Quick Toddler or Preschooler Earth Science

You don’t always have to set up an experiment for younger kiddos, especially when attention spans are short. Older pre-k kiddos may enjoy some fun ideas below but adjust your expectations. You really can introduce earth science topics without using worksheets or setting up complicated projects.

Hands-on Earth science activities you can do with young kids include:

Talk about the weather and mark sunny, cloudy, snowy, or rainy days on a paper calendar.
Talk about the water cycle and what happens when it rains.
Set up a rain gauge and check how much rainwater you collect after a storm.
Collect special rocks, and discuss what they look like.
Grab a magnifying glass and look at anything up close.
Lay on the ground and look up at the clouds.
Dig up a sensory soil bin and look through it (add some water).
Play in the sand and ocean at the beach.
Go for a nature walk and talk about the air, the clouds, and the ground.

Get Your FREE Printable Earth Science Project Ideas

50 Earth Science Lessons To Explore

We have divided our Earth Science activities into Weather, Space, Geology and Ocean. Click on each activity for step-by-step instructions.

Make a shaving cream rain cloud model .

Learn how a tornado forms with a simple tornado in a bottle .

Find out how to make a rainbow with a rainbow prism.

Explore where rain comes from .

Name the clouds you can see with an easy cloud viewer .

Explore how clouds form with a cloud in a jar .

Investigate what happens to plants when there is acid rain .

Identify the layers of the atmosphere with these printable worksheets.

Build a DIY anemometer to measure the direction of the wind.

Set up a water cycle in a bottle or a water cycle in a bag for weather science.

Learn about the constellations you can see with these easy constellation activities .

Build a fun satellite or even a space shuttle .

Make a DIY planetarium from simple supplies.

Make a spectroscope like astronomers use to study stars.

Use Oreo cookies to learn about the phases of the moon.

This moon craft is another fun way to explore the moon phases.

Create a watercolor galaxy painting inspired by our Milky Way galaxy.

Build a simple model of the Aquarius Reef base inspired by astronaut John Herrington.

Learn about our amazing solar system with this printable solar system project .

Make your own tasty sedimentary rock to explore geology.

Explore the stages of the rock cycle with a crayon rock cycle or candy rock cycle !

Why not grow sugar crystals , salt crystals or borax crystals !

Explore the layers of soil with simple LEGO bricks.

Learn all about volcanos with these volcano facts and even make your own volcano .

Find out how fossils are formed and go on your own dinosaur dig .

Make edible geodes from a few simple ingredients, as well as geodes in eggshells .

Build a LEGO layers of the earth model .

Grab some colored sand and glue for this fun layers of the earth activity.

Make an edible tectonic plates model .

Explore storm water runoff and how it affects the land.

Learn about soil erosion for kids with a fun edible model.

You will want to try this shaky earthquake experiment !

Put together a sensory beach in a bottle .

Set up this beach erosion demostration .

Explore the layers of the ocean with this easy ocean experiment .

Learn about the oceans with this printable biomes of the world lapbook project.

Learn about ocean currents with a few simple supplies.

Have a go at mapping the ocean floor !

Explore ocean waves in a bottle .

Explore what can remove oil in the ocean with an oil spill experiment .

Investigate what happens to seashells when the oceans become acidic.

Enjoy more fun ocean activities, including ocean crafts and learning about animals that live in the ocean!

Printable Spring Theme Activities

If you’re looking to have all of your printable activities in one convenient place, plus exclusive worksheets with a spring theme, our 300+ page Spring STEM Project Pack is what you need!

Weather, geology, plants, animal life cycles, and more!

~ Projects to Try Now! ~

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Think Earth Kindergarten Unit

Jay's Tree focuses on conserving trees and other resources. Students learn that trees provide us with many benefits and learn the importance of using only the paper, water, and electricity that they need.

In the Kindergarten unit, students are introduced to:

what the natural environment is
how we use trees from the natural environment
why we shouldn’t waste paper and litter the environment
what we can do to conserve paper and keep the environment clean.

How to Teach Think Earth

Download all the materials onto your computer OR use them directly from the website.

The Teacher’s Guide contains links to all the materials, so if using the Guide online, you can access the materials directly as you are teaching.

The Posters and Practice Exercises can be used in any of the following ways:

Project pages directly from a computer with a projector or smartboard.
Print pages and display them with a document camera.
Load pages onto students’ tablets or computers.
Print and distribute pages to students.

The Videos and Songs can be used in any of the following ways:

Stream from this page to project video and play audio.
Download the files and play from your computer.
Load the files onto students’ tablets or computers, or provide links for streaming.

Think Earth Kindergarten Unit Materials

Kindergarten Teacher's Guide
The Environment Color Poster
The Environment Black and White Poster
Practice Exercise 1
Practice Exercise 2
Family Activity Sheet
Hanging Badge
Jay's Tree Story Cards
The Treehouse Party Story Cards
Think Earth Poster
Think Earth Narrated
Think Earth Narrated (CC)
Think Earth Unnarrated
Story: Jay's Tree
Story: Jay's Tree (Closed Captions)
Story: The Treehouse Party
Story: The Treehouse Party (CC)
Think Earth Vocal
Think Earth Instrumental

Curriculum Resources

Standards Correlations
Summary of Unit Objectives
Literature Recommendations

Download All Unit Materials

Hi-res (zip, ~150mb)
Low-res (zip, ~80mb)
Think Earth Videos (zip, ~103mb)

© Think Earth Environmental Education Foundation. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to teachers and other not-for-profit users to download and use the instructional materials and videos. No portion of the videos or other materials may be copied and used for any commercial purposes.

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Earth Science Activities

Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individuals and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments.

Map of the world showing some cities influenced by coastal Earthquakes.

© 2009 California Academy of Sciences

Students will explore tectonic plate boundaries and different types of seismic waves generated by earthquakes.

"Boats" © 2016 Dennis Jarvis

Using a model, students will construct explanations for one of the reasons why fish populations are declining.

"Global Biomes" © 2012 NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center

Where are our rainforests? Why are they there?

© Sally Crossthwaite

What types of natural resources are used to make the objects we use in everyday life? Play bingo to find out!

© 2011 SmartFat

By building your own seismograph to document shaking, you'll learn how scientists measure earthquake intensity.

Photo by Tim McCabe, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Where is all of our planet's water stored?

© nutmeg 66

How can you turn a snail, worm, or roly-poly into an object of inquiry for a young learner? Ask a few questions!

© Cletus Lee

You can make and test predictions using the simplest of invertebrates.

© U.S. Geological Survey

Want to play a board game to learn about rock formation? Explore geologic processes, fast and slow.

By conducting a survey of an outdoor environment, students will design solutions for preventing marine debris.

© Christian Hold

What kinds of everyday objects contain carbon? This introductory activity will help you get it straight!

© Kaz Canning

How does the finite amount of carbon on this planet move around in the environment, from one place to another?

Can you create a model of how carbon flows between the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere?

"Nuclear Power Plant Cattenom" © 2005 Stefan Kühn

What are the problems associated with burning fossil fuels?

What are the consequences of mining for fossil fuels?

"Behold thy Landfill" © 2010 Justin Ritchie

By sorting our waste into different bins, we can make a huge impact.

Mississippi River Morganza Spillway satellite image

"Morganza Spillway" © 2011 NASA Earth Observatory

Can we use a model to predict the impacts of nutrient pollutants on an aquatic ecosystem?

©NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team

Observations inspire scientific questions and drive discoveries. Explore seasonal primary productivity on Earth!

© Claudia Daggett

In this activity, students will be transformed into strategically low-impact world travelers.

In this activity, students gain insight into the challenges associated with meeting various design requirements.

Exploring the impacts of feeding the world lesson

© 2015 California Academy of Sciences

In this two-day lesson, students explore several issues surrounding our current global food system.

Practice rapid ideation—an important step in design thinking—by brainstorming solutions to food systems issues.

In this activity, students will work together to weigh potential solutions to global food system issues.

Design Thinking Challenge: Are your students ready to tackle a food system issue at home or in their school?

Students contextualize a design problem by examining the water consumption of smartphones, boots, and chocolate.

Exploring our growing need for water lesson

In this two-day lesson, students explore several issues surrounding global water use and conservation.

Practice rapid ideation—an important step in design thinking—by brainstorming solutions to global water issues.

In this activity, students will work together to weigh potential solutions to water use and conservation issues.

Design Thinking Challenge: Are your students ready to tackle a water issue at home or in their school?

Students will practice distinguishing between correlation and causation within the context of climate change.

Challenge your students to design an efficient bus system for a fictitious town.

What factors and constraints do we have to consider when designing a renewable energy plan for a community?

In this lesson, students explore the benefits and drawbacks of nuclear energy to decide if it's worth the risk.

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Earth and Space Lesson Ideas For Preschool & Kindergarten

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama

For an introduction and to see how this post fits in the complete list of preschool lesson ideas for the year, please see my post: Preschool Lesson Ideas For Homeschool – Plans For The Year .

Goal & Objectives

Goal : 1. Beginning awareness of Earth and Space: understanding seasons, weather, telling time, gravity, solar system.

Objectives : 1. Learn the months of the year, the four seasons, and the different types of weather. 2. Begin to learn how to tell the time. 3. Learn about gravity and the solar system. 4. Learn about solids, liquids, and gases.

Below are links to materials, resources, and tutorials for “ Earth and Space ” lesson ideas. Please pick and choose the resources that fit the interests of your child(ren). My schedule calls for combining this lesson with the Fall Season Lesson and the Joseph and Moses Bible stories.

Lesson Ideas

Arts & crafts.

Craft pages from Arts and Crafts with Amber Lamb and/or Child Art for 3s : Themes – earth, space, weather, time, seasons *
Months Mini Books (Printable)
Seasons Mini Books (Printable)
Earth Coloring Page (Printable)
Planet Earth Coffee Filter Craft
Erupting Volcano Coloring Page (Printable)
Solar System Coloring Page (Printable)
Space Shuttle Coloring Page (Printable)
Doodle on the Moon Activity (Printable)
Preschool Solar System Crafts and Activities (Pinterest Board)

Reading & Writing Exercises

Earth Vocabulary Flash Cards (Printable)
Weather Handwriting/Coloring Pages (Printable)
Earth & Space Handwriting/Coloring Pages (Printable)
Coloring pages from Numbers & Skills With Button Bear : Themes – earth, space, weather, time, seasons *
What Time Is It? File Folder Game (Printable)
My Weather Station Activity (Printable)
Solids, Liquids and Gases Balloons Activity
Gravity: Marble Obstacle Course
Talk About Gravity & Activities
Sink or Float Experiment
Make Four Season Trees
Planetarium
Space & Rocket Center

Social Studies

Map Activity

(Idea adapted from a Five In A Row activity.)

Cut out small pictures of your family members and laminate (laminating is optional).
Talk with your child(ren) about where they live, and where their family members live, and point to the map, then have them put their finger on the map, too. For example: “we live here in Huntsville, Alabama, see? Grandpa and Grandma live in this city in Kentucky, and Aunt Mabel and Uncle Henry live in way over in London, England!”
Put small pieces of poster putty on the back of each picture, and let your child tack the pictures on the appropriate cities on the map(s).

Reading & History

Bible: Joseph ( Jesus Calling Bible Storybook : p 54 – 61)
Bible: Joseph ( Egermeier’s Bible Story Book : p 51 – 69)
Bible: Moses ( Jesus Calling Bible Storybook : p 62 – 77)
Bible: Moses ( Egermeier’s Bible Story Book : p 73 – 128)

Thank you for visiting Cotton Ridge Homeschool! I hope these resources help you with your preschool year. Please feel free to comment below with your own ideas!