Physical Geography
Teaching Resources & Lesson Plans
'GeoBus' is a free educational outreach project for schools developed and run by the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews since 2012. GeoBus has a lot of online resources, including lesson plans and activity sheets, for teachers and parents, including;
'Impacts of Climate Change' (ages 11-15) - the impacts on humans and the environment are overwhelmingly negative. This needs to be realised so that we can make informed decisions about our future! Various resources including lesson plans and activity sheets, courtesy of the GeoBus, University of St Andrews
'Glacier Dynamics' (ages 11-15) - Glaciers, like water, flow downhill due to gravity. This flow can take place at different rates depending on the balance between driving (gravity) and resisting (friction at the bed and sides of the glacier) forces. This lesson looks into how a glacier moves and what impacts the speed it flows over a landscape, courtesy of the GeoBus, University of St Andrews
'Marine Ice Sheet Stability & Sea Level Rise' (ages 16-18) - This lesson can be combined with an experiment exploring the difference between the West and East Antarctic Ice Sheet, found here. Various resources including lesson plans and activity sheets, courtesy of the GeoBus, University of St Andrews
The Geological Society of America produced a large volume of teaching resources during a refresh in the early-mid 2000s, which are now all available free of charge to the education community. They copy common topics across geography & Earth sciences, including;
'Explore Energy' (ages 7+) - Explore the different types of energy, the use of energy, including electricity, and the different technologies we employ and are developing to meet our energy needs. This resource includes extensive teacher background, energy activities, and colourful 3-D models to use in your classroom. Courtesy of the Geological Society of America (please note this resource was designed for an US audience, so may not align with the UK National Curriculum)
'Explore Tsunami' (ages 11+) - Explore Tsunami contains teaching notes, student activities, images, web links, and a 3-D cut-out model. Courtesy of the Geological Society of America (please note this resource was designed for an US audience, so may not align with the UK National Curriculum)
'Explore Caves & Karst' (ages 11+) - The resource contains teacher notes, student activities, loads of cave images, and a 3-D block model of a cave. Students can try their hands at mapping as well as calculate cave formation growth rates. Courtesy of the Geological Society of America (please note this resource was designed for an US audience, so may not align with the UK National Curriculum)
'Explore Fossils' (ages 7-11) - build on your students' fascination with fossils by using these specially designed resources. Full teacher notes, easily reproducible activities, and 3-D models will have your students all budding palaeontologists! Courtesy of the Geological Society of America (please note this resource was designed for an US audience, so may not align with the UK National Curriculum)
'Explore Plate Tectonics' (ages 11+) - help your students understand the history and current evidence of the plate tectonics theory with this resource-packed digital product. Full teacher notes, reproducible student activities, and suggested answers in PDF format are complemented by fantastic images, diagrams, and three 3-D model cutouts to use in your classroom. Courtesy of the Geological Society of America (please note this resource was designed for an US audience, so may not align with the UK National Curriculum)
'Explore Earthquakes' (ages 11+) - this is a teacher resource on Earthquakes (developed in partnership with IRIS). It contains all the very best Earthquake teaching resources all in one product! Teaching notes, student activities, fact sheets, images, and 3D models. Courtesy of the Geological Society of America (please note this resource was designed for an US audience, so may not align with the UK National Curriculum)
'Explore Volcanoes' (ages 5-11) - this resource is designed to teach younger children all about the wonder of volcanoes, including detailed teaching notes, reproducible elementary level activities, diagrams, images, and 3-D models. Courtesy of the Geological Society of America (please note this resource was designed for an US audience, so may not align with the UK National Curriculum)
'Explore Volcanoes' (ages 12-16) - this resource is designed to teach secondary children all about the wonder of volcanoes, including detailed teaching notes, reproducible elementary level activities, diagrams, images, and 3-D models. Courtesy of the Geological Society of America (please note this resource was designed for an US audience, so may not align with the UK National Curriculum)