PAESTA Classroom

Designed for the sharing of short classroom exercises and explorations, this database allows for teachers to search for materials and resources that you, the PAESTA membership, have tested in the classroom. The database contains short descriptions and examples of activities members have conducted with students, such as inquiry-based assignments to reinforce specific content, or as an extension exercise to increase the graphic literacy of students.

The database will be of the most use if you, the PAESTA membership, contribute the classroom-tested resources you have developed! Please consider writing up your innovative approach to teaching a specific topic for inclusion in this database. Descriptions should include the objectives of the exercise and why this approach was used.

Please be sure the materials you submit do not infringe on copyright or intellectual property rights – links and/or citations to original sources are required. Submitted examples will be reviewed before being placed online.


You can select one or more subject areas and/or grade levels.

  • For Windows: Hold down the control (ctrl) button to select multiple options.
  • For Mac: Hold down the command button to select multiple options.

by Laura Guertin on December 4, 2017.

The following is a collection of five-minute reads on various topics relating to sustainabilty. The stories were written by undergraduate students at Penn State Brandywine studying the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (link is external) in the fall semester of 2017. Each link will take you to a MS Word file that has the student-authored story. The numbers after each student name refer to the SDGs listed in the chart below the list.

by Laura Guertin on October 30, 2017.

The following is a collection of three-minute reads on various topics relating to sustainabilty. The stories were written by undergraduate students at Penn State Brandywine studying the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the fall semester of 2017. Each link will take you to a MS Word file that has the student-authored story. The numbers after each student name refer to the SDGs listed in the chart below the list.

by Laura Guertin on October 22, 2017.

The following is a collection of one minute reads on various topics relating to sustainabilty. The stories were written by undergraduate students at Penn State Brandywine studying the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the fall semester of 2017. Each link will take you to a MS Word file that has the student-authored story. The numbers after each student name refer to the SDGs listed in the chart below the list.

by Dave Curry on October 4, 2016.

Sally Ride EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) is a NASA educational outreach program that enables students, teachers, and the public to learn about Earth from the unique perspective of space.

During Sally Ride EarthKAM missions (periods when the Sally Ride EarthKAM camera is operational), middle school students around the world request images of specific locations on Earth.

by Laura Guertin on September 13, 2016.

This exercise challenges students to think about the extent sea ice grows and melts each year and how sea ice coverage in the Arctic Circle changes with time. Students utilize the National Snow and Ice Data Center's Sea Ice Animation Tool (link is external) to explore these changes in the Northern Hemisphere.

by Laura Guertin on August 14, 2016.

Goal: Students will understand the difference between climate and weather by exploring various urban center climographs of the United States.

by Molly Witter on March 25, 2014.

(Part of the PAESTA In The News - Current Events in Earth and Space Science Series. This series compiles current resources and background materials for recent scientific events in the news. Questions are provided with each topic, written across Bloom's Taxonomic Scale, and can be used for classroom discussion and/or as a writing prompt at the beginning/middle/end of an instructional unit.)

by Laura Guertin on March 25, 2014.

(Part of the PAESTA In The News - Current Events in Earth and Space Science Series. This series compiles current resources and background materials for recent scientific events in the news. Questions are provided with each topic, written across Bloom's Taxonomic Scale, and can be used for classroom discussion and/or as a writing prompt at the beginning/middle/end of an instructional unit.)

In the spring of 2011, the Mississippi River swelled to historic levels.  In 2012, the record-low levels in sections of the Mississippi River have halted cargo traffic.

by Laura Guertin on March 25, 2014.

(Part of the PAESTA In The News - Current Events in Earth and Space Science Series. This series compiles current resources and background materials for recent scientific events in the news. Questions are provided with each topic, written across Bloom's Taxonomic Scale, and can be used for classroom discussion and/or as a writing prompt at the beginning/middle/end of an instructional unit.)

by Laura Guertin on March 21, 2014.

(Part of the PAESTA In The News - Current Events in Earth and Space Science Series. This series compiles current resources and background materials for recent scientific events in the news. Questions are provided with each topic, written across Bloom's Taxonomic Scale, and can be used for classroom discussion and/or as a writing prompt at the beginning/middle/end of an instructional unit.)

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