This lesson is designed to help students analyze the interaction between different cloud heights and Earth's incoming and outgoing energy. 

In this mini-lesson activity, students use art to demonstrate their knowledge of an aurora. 

In this activity learners examine the difference between aurora and airglow, while learning about NASA’s ICON Mission.

Students watch a video and answer questions on Dr. Patrick Taylor (Atmospheric Scientist, NASA Langley Research Center) as he discusses the study of clouds and Earth's energy budget by analyzing data from Low Earth Orbit satellites. 

Use art to demonstrate your knowledge of aurora!

Review this page to learn about the background of volcanoes and their eruptions.

Students learn how to estimate the "energy efficiency" of photosynthesis, or the amount of energy that plants absorb for any given location on Earth. This is the ratio of the amount of energy stored to the amount of light energy absorbed and is used to evaluate and model photosynthesis efficiency.

Students will analyze and interpret maps of the average net atmospheric radiation to compare the flow of energy from the Sun toward Earth in different months and for cloudy versus clear days. Students will draw conclusions and support them with evidence.

A kinesthetic activity that challenges students to participate in a model that describes the fate of solar energy as it enters the Earth system.  A good initial lesson for Earth’s energy budget, students unravel the benefits and limitations of their model.

This lesson contains a card sort activity that challenges students to predict relative albedo values of common surfaces.