The NOAA Earth Activity Book for Student and Family Fun

Where can you find free and expert made classroom materials covering the major topics in earth science? For many teachers and students, the materials are not always easy to find. Sometimes lesson plans are too simple and sometimes they are too difficult. But now, NOAA has put together a free printable book for home and school use.

The Earth Activity Book was introduced in 2004 during the 200th anniversary celebration of NOAA. With close to 200 pages of material, the lessons cover a wide range of earth science topics going beyond the weather and climate to look at the earth as a whole system. With this earth system approach, the book focuses on the exploration, understanding, and protection of the earth as a whole.

What I Like About the Earth Activity Book

1. First and foremast, this book is free and easily printed. With full color pages, it would not cost too much to have a classroom set of materials printed at a local office supply location. The material can also be printed in black and white, although the color really adds to some of the lessons and ideas.
2. I like the breakdown of the materials into three broad sections on exploration, understanding, and protection. This would allow teachers to present the material in three discreet units.
3. The book covers more than the oceans, weather, and climate. The information is presented in an order that gives students the ability to see the earth as a whole functioning system. No part of the earth exists in isolation from any other part.
4. The topics flow very easily and are adaptable for most all age levels. Many materials produced for the classroom only offer a limited scope and many are just too simple for high school level adaptation. Similarly, many high school level materials cannot be adapted downward. This book is an acception to that rule.

Weather and Climate Topics Covered

The book includes lessons in several meteorology topics. Each one is presented in a manner that could be a stand-alone activity, or one that is directed by a teacher. Families can enjoy time learning the material as well and it would make a great homeschool resource.

• How to Become a Citizen Weather Reporter
• Hurricane Tracking
• How to Make a Tornado in a Bottle
• Understanding Climate by Tree Ring Data
• In Depth on the Water Cycle
• Ocean Salinity and the Atmosphere
• Creating an El Nino/La Nina
• Using Satellites to Understand Weather

How to Access the Book Online

The book is available at the NOAA 200th Anniversary Earth Activity Book site. Simply click the link above and you will get the file downloaded as a PDF. You may choose to print one page or several, but expect a fairly slow download time because the graphics and large number of pages make this a very large file size.