Earth Sciences Handouts

Ecology Case Study - The Decline of Pollinators | Reading

Created by
TWFScience

Ecology Case Study "The Decline of Pollinators"This resource provides an engaging look at how the decline of pollinators is impacting ecosystems, biodiversity, and the global food supply. Students will explore how habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, and disease have led to major decreases i

7th - 10th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: Ecology Case Study Bundle – Real-World Environmental Science Readings

Ecology Case Study - The Role of Mangroves in Coastal Protection | Reading

Created by
TWFScience

Ecology Case Study "The Role of Mangroves in Coastal Protection"This resource provides an engaging look at how mangrove forests protect coastlines, support biodiversity, and help regulate Earth’s climate. Students will explore how these unique coastal ecosystems act as natural barriers against storm

7th - 10th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: Ecology Case Study Bundle – Real-World Environmental Science Readings

Ecology Case Study - Ecological Succession After Wildfire | Reading

Created by
TWFScience

Ecology Case Study "Ecological Succession After Wildfire"This resource provides an engaging look at how wildfires shape and renew ecosystems through the process of ecological succession. Students will explore how natural disturbances, though destructive at first, set the stage for regrowth and biodi

7th - 10th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: Ecology Case Study Bundle – Real-World Environmental Science Readings

Evaporation Race - A Water Cycle Lab Investigation | Hydrologic Cycle

Created by
TWFScience

Students will investigate evaporation in the water cycle by measuring how temperature and air flow affect evaporation rate. Using identical shallow dishes filled with equal volumes of water, students set up control, warm, and wind conditions and track changes in water volume over time. Through repea

7th - 10th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

NGSS MS-ESS2-4, HS-ESS2-4

Also included in: The Water Cycle Bundle - Lesson, Worksheets, & Activities | Hydrologic Cycle

Mini Water Cycle Lab - A Hydrologic Cycle Lab Investigation | TWO Versions

Created by
TWFScience

Students will model the water cycle in a closed system by creating a mini “water cycle” using a sealed clear bag. By adding energy from sunlight or a lamp, students observe evaporation, condensation, and water movement over time. Through structured observations, optional temperature tracking, and a

6th - 10th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

NGSS MS-ESS2-4, HS-ESS2-4

Also included in: The Water Cycle Bundle - Lesson, Worksheets, & Activities | Hydrologic Cycle

Salt & Evaporation: Mass, Volume, & Salinity Changes - A Water Cycle Lab

Created by
TWFScience

Students will investigate how evaporation changes water volume and salt concentration by comparing freshwater, ocean-like salinity, and high-salinity solutions over multiple days. Using shallow dishes, measured salt masses, and repeated mass or volume measurements, students track evaporation and cal

7th - 10th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

NGSS MS-ESS2-4, HS-PS1-3, HS-ESS2-5

Also included in: The Water Cycle Bundle - Lesson, Worksheets, & Activities | Hydrologic Cycle

Water Cycle & Evaporation Lab Bundle | Hydrologic Cycle Investigations

Created by
TWFScience

3 Lab Investigations on the Water Cycle - Evaporation • Energy Transfer • Salinity & Earth SystemsStudents will explore evaporation as a driving force in the water cycle through three connected, hands-on STEM investigations. Across short-term and multi-day labs, students measure evaporation rate

6th - 10th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

NGSS MS-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-4, HS-ESS2-5

Water Cycle Case Study - Why Does Rainfall Change Near Mountains? | Reading

Created by
TWFScience

Ecology Case Study "Why Does Rainfall Change Near Mountains"This resource provides an engaging look at how mountains shape and determine rainfall and impact the water cycle. Students will explore how natural land formations help determine rainfall on both sides of a mountain.Through this real-world

7th - 10th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: The Water Cycle Bundle - Lesson, Worksheets, & Activities | Hydrologic Cycle

Water Cycle Case Study - What Happens to Water During a Drought? | Reading

Created by
TWFScience

Ecology Case Study "What Happens to Water During a Drought?"This resource provides an engaging look at how droughts affect the movement and availability of water within the water cycle. Students will explore how long periods of low precipitation disrupt Earth’s systems and impact both natural enviro

7th - 10th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: The Water Cycle Bundle - Lesson, Worksheets, & Activities | Hydrologic Cycle

The Water Cycle Bundle - Lesson, Worksheets, & Activities | Hydrologic Cycle

Created by
TWFScience

The NO-PREP bundle includes a lesson, worksheets, labs, activities, a reading, and multiple case studies on the Water Cycle Students will build a deep, evidence-based understanding of the water cycle as a dynamic Earth system through a carefully sequenced combination of explicit instruction, hands-o

6th - 9th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

NGSS MS-ESS2-4, HS-ESS2-2, HS-ESS2-5

Water Cycle Case Study - How Do Cities Change the Water Cycle? | Reading

Created by
TWFScience

Ecology Case Study “How Do Cities Change the Water Cycle?”This resource provides an engaging look at how urbanization alters the movement and availability of water within the water cycle. Students explore how replacing natural landscapes with roads, buildings, and other impermeable surfaces changes

7th - 10th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: The Water Cycle Bundle - Lesson, Worksheets, & Activities | Hydrologic Cycle

Plastics and their Environmental Impact Bundle - Microplastics | High School

Created by
TWFScience

This NO-PREP bundle includes lessons, readings, worksheets, and multiple case studies focused on plastics, microplastics, polymers, and plastic pollution.Students build a deep, evidence-based understanding of plastics as both a scientific innovation and an environmental challenge through a carefully

9th - 11th Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Physical Science

Supervolcanoes & Mega-Eruptions Reading | 6th, 7th, 8th Grade | Pyroclastic Flow

Created by
TWFScience

This grade 6–8 reading introduces students to the extreme power of supervolcanoes and mega-eruptions and how these rare events can affect the entire planet. It explains what supervolcanoes are, how they form, and why scientists closely monitor them despite eruptions being very rare.The article break

6th - 8th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

The Rock Cycle Reading | 6th, 7th, 8th Grade | How Rocks Are Made and Changed

Created by
TWFScience

This grade 6–8 reading introduces students to the rock cycle and how Earth’s rocks are constantly being formed, broken down, and changed over time. It explains the three main types of rocks—igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic—and how natural forces such as heat, pressure, weathering, and erosion d

6th - 8th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

Also included in: Reading Comprehension Article & Question Mega Bundle | 6th, 7th, 8th Grade

Chocolate & Cacao Trees Ecology Project | Human Impact | 6th, 7th, 8th Grade

Created by
TWFScience

In this project, your students will explore how cacao trees depend on healthy ecosystems and how human activities affect the future of chocolate. Students will investigate where cacao trees grow, the environmental conditions they need to survive, and how deforestation and climate change threaten cac

6th - 8th Science, Biology, Earth Sciences

NGSS MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5

Also included in: Valentine's Day Science Activities | STEM, Project, Readings | 6th, 7th, 8th

Love and Pair Bonding in the Animal Reading | 6th, 7th, 8th Grade |

Created by
TWFScience

This grade 6–8 reading introduces students to the science of love and pair bonding in the animal kingdom, showing how many animals form long-term partnerships, cooperate with mates, and raise offspring together. It explains what monogamy and pair bonding mean in biological terms and why these behavi

6th - 8th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: Valentine's Day Science Activities | STEM, Project, Readings | 6th, 7th, 8th

Flowers, Pollinators, Ecosystems and Human Impact – Flower Ecology Project

Created by
TWFScience

In this project, your students will explore how flowering plants depend on pollinators and healthy ecosystems, and how human activities affect the survival of pollinators and the plants—and foods—people rely on every day. Students will investigate how pollination works, why pollinators are essential

7th - 9th Science, Biology, Earth Sciences

NGSS MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5

Also included in: Valentine's Day Science Activities | STEM, Project, Readings | High School

Winter Animal Survival Adaptations and Strategies Reading | 6th, 7th, 8th

Created by
TWFScience

This grade 6–8 reading introduces students to how animals survive winter by using physical and behavioral adaptations to cope with cold temperatures, limited food, and harsh conditions. Students learn why winter is such a challenging season and how animals have evolved strategies that help them stay

6th - 8th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: Winter Weather & Snow Bundle - Lessons, Project, Activities | 6th 7th 8th Grade

Why Do Roads Get Salted? Reading | How Salt Melts Ice, Winter | 6th, 7th, 8th

Created by
TWFScience

This grade 6–8 reading introduces students to the science behind why roads are salted in winter and how salt helps melt ice to make roads safer. Students learn how water freezes, why icy roads are dangerous, and how adding salt changes the freezing point of water through a process called freezing po

6th - 8th Biology, Earth Sciences, General Science

Also included in: Winter Weather & Snow Bundle - Lessons, Project, Activities | 6th 7th 8th Grade

Winter Weather Adaptations Ecology Research Project - Structural and Behavioral

Created by
TWFScience

In this project, your students will explore how animals survive extreme winter conditions through specialized structural and behavioral adaptations. Students investigate how cold temperatures, snow, wind, and limited food shape animal survival strategies, and how these adaptations help organisms rem

6th - 9th Science, Biology, Earth Sciences

NGSS MS-LS1-4, MS-LS1-5, MS-LS4-4

Also included in: Winter Weather & Snow Bundle - Lessons, Project, Activities | 6th 7th 8th Grade

Snow Day Science Activity Bundle - Snow, Snowflakes, Winter | 6th 7th 8th Grade

Created by
TWFScience

The NO-PREP bundle includes a two readings (The Science of Snow, Snowflakes, and Frost / Winter Animal Survival Adaptations and Strategies), two simple at-home investigations (Snow Density and Volume Investigation / Snow vs Ice Activity - Which Melts Faster), and my Winter Weather Adaptations Projec

6th - 9th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

Extreme Winter Weather Reading | Snowstorms, Blizzards | 6th 7th 8th Grade

Created by
TWFScience

This grade 6–8 science reading comprehension article introduces students to the wild and powerful side of winter, from blizzards and ice storms to polar vortexes and nor’easters. Students learn how different types of extreme winter weather form, what makes each storm unique, and how these storms imp

6th - 8th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

NGSS MS-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS2-6

Also included in: Winter Weather & Snow Bundle - Lessons, Project, Activities | 6th 7th 8th Grade

Winter Weather & Snow Bundle - Lessons, Project, Activities | 6th 7th 8th Grade

Created by
TWFScience

This NO-PREP, comprehensive Winter Weather and Snow Bundle guides students through the science of winter by exploring how snow forms, how winter weather works, how animals survive cold environments, and how physical science concepts—such as states of matter, heat transfer, density, freezing point de

6th - 9th Earth Sciences, General Science, Physical Science

NGSS MS-LS4-2, MS-LS4-4, MS-ESS2-1+4

Earth Day Countdown | 22 Environmental Science Starter Slides | Earth Day Warmup

Created by
TWFScience

Earth Day Countdown – Class Starter Discussion Slides & Teacher Guide. 22 Days of Discussion and Collaboration. Fully editable.Looking for an engaging way to spark meaningful conversations about environmental issues leading up to Earth Day or just how humans impact the environment? This Earth Da

6th - 11th Biology, Earth Sciences, Marine Science

NGSS MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4, MS-ESS3-1+9