Free Printable Mars Rover Curiosity Lesson Plans

The 2015 movie "The Martian" gave viewers startling first-hand experiences with life on Mars. Since the NASA Curiosity Mars rover landed on the red planet August 5, 2012, it's been busily gathering data and reporting back to Earth. And Earthlings are fascinated by the thought of life on Mars and the findings of the NASA Curiosity Mars Rover. Here are free printable Mars rover lesson plans. Educators and homeschool families, use these Curiosity Rover lesson plans to teach kids about astronomy, earth science, the solar system outer space travel and NASA. You could even have a Mars rover party. Use these NASA Mars Curiosity rover lesson plans to create inspiring, engaging earth science lesson plans.

Blast over to the Mars Science Laboratory. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) operates the NASA Curiosity Mars Rover via its Jet Propulsion Lab at the California Institute of Technology. This is NASA Curiosity Rover's social media homepage. Friend and follow the Mars Curiosity rover and its mission. Lesson plans and videos demonstrate the rover's specs, mechanical functioning and capabilities. Explore the red planet using an interactive virtual 3D Mars rover. "Friend" a Martian (human who works on Mars) and get first-hand updates and images from space.

Man a mission to NASA Mars for Kids. For cool free printable Mars rover activities and Mars party games, check here. Children can engage with NASA Curiosity Mars Rover, send postcards to Spirit Rover (the older Mars rover) and ask questions of scientists. Kids can pretend to be a Martian, play astronomy games, try exploration simulations and learn rover vocabulary. There's a space weight calculation tool, too. Kids will love connecting with the Mars Rover, astronauts, space exploration and earth science in a personal way.

Planet hop to Mars for Students to give your Mars party an educational twist with these interactive astronomy lesson plans. Using these free printable earth science activities, kids practice scientific method by collecting data, creating graphs and charts and analyzing rover findings. Click links for free printable 3D paper models to assemble. There are models for the Mars Pathfinder, Odyssey, Global Surveyor and Phoenix Mars Lander. These activities provide visual aids for space lessons. Students get hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) experience in vehicle design.

For the nuts and bolts on outer space travel, teachers and homeschool parents can fly by NASAMars for Educators for a plethora of free printable Mars rover science activities. lesson plans and web resources. There are activities for grades K-12. My personal favorite is the printable "Mars Activities" booklet from NASA and Arizona State University. You get 128 pages of math lessons, 3D geometric shapes, paper models, science games and quizzes. Lessons can be fun, but teachers still have to follow state guidelines. Happily, all the Mars rover lessons correlate to national educational objectives and outcomes for easier tracking. Ramp up dull science lessons with Mars party activities, compliments of the NASA Curiosity rover!

Free Printable Hubble Space Telescope Astronomy Activities for Mars Rover Curiosity, Perseid Meteor Shower Party

Happy 25th anniversary, Hubble Space Telescope! April 24 is HST's birthday. Teachers and homeschoolers, are you looking for free printable Hubble Space Telescope lesson plans, astronomy activities or earth science worksheets? Here's a galaxy of space-themed printables.

Here's the Hubble Space Telescope website. There are games, crafts and educator activities. Here are printable Hubble Space Telescope worksheets. Here's a link to a homemade Hubble Space Telescope craft. Here are free printable astronomy worksheets and puzzles, plus Hubble telescope coloring pages from About. Kids Astronomy has 25 free printable astronomy printables.

The Michigan Science Center's Chrysler IMAX Dome Theater and Dassault Systemes Planetarium have printable solar system lesson plans. Formerly the Detroit Children's Museum/Detroit Science Center, this science cooperative is an invaluable resource for kids, teachers and home school families. Here are free printable science lesson plans.

Print astronomy activities and Hubble Space Telescope worksheets for middle school and elementary age students. Click around for printable games, activities, crafts and worksheets on the solar system, sun, night sky and other earth science topics.

Free Printable Star Charts, Constellation Maps for Astronomy, Earth Science

Hubble Space Telescope celebrates her 25th birthday April 24, which is also Arbor Day. Earth science and astronomy are fascinating subjects to teach kids. Children can enjoy stargazing anywhere and everywhere and it costs nothing. Looking for free printable star charts and constellation patterns to teach kids about space science? Here's a galaxy of astronomy diagrams, star charts, constellations patterns and night sky maps.

SFA Observatory offers free printable star charts divided by region of the sky. Each constellation is labeled with Latin name and star shape. There's a handy guide to help stargazers orient themselves and their telescope for best viewing.

Kids Astronomy has a free printable night sky map and star chart that can be customized by date and time. Kids Astronomy has entire interactive webpage for kids. Look for free printable earth science lessons, night sky activities, star charts and astronomy games. Homeschoolers and teachers, be sure to visit the educator resource page for free printable astronomy coloring pages, solar system vocabulary lessons and space science worksheets.

Sky Maps has free printable night sky maps based on latitude and hemisphere. Each month, users are sent a new edition of the sky maps reflecting the current month's constellations. Classroom, Jr.has printable constellation charts for Sagittarius, Virgo, Scorpio and Libra. Check this website for scads of free Earth Day printables.

NASA Space Place is an interactive astronomy website for children from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Kids can learn to make their own paper-folded star finder. This will help locate major constellations for each month. There are also free printable constellation patterns for each month. Download and print to use as coloring pages, star patterns and star finders, too.

Athropolis offers a collection of links to free kids' astronomy activities, simulation games, printable activities, star names, pronunciation guides and more. Children will love Star Child with a kids-club web design and easy astronomy activities. There are two sites--one for kids under 14 and one for those older than 14

Print a star chart for each student. Encourage them to trace the constellations on tracing paper. This will help them learn the star arrangements. They might use the charts as connect-the-stars activities

Free Printables Insects and Spiders Lesson Plans and Activities

Spring is in the air--time for insects to make their appearance. Do you like insects and spiders or do they just bug you? Whether you're a hexapoda aficionado (bug lover) or a you have a arachnophobia, it's important to understand insects and spiders and their place in the environment. Here are free printable insects activities and bugs lesson plans. If there's something creepy crawly in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? Bug Busters, aka Orkin Pest Control. Check out Orkin's online learning center for free printable insects lesson plans, bug identification charts, insect coloring pages, bug information, insect activity booklets, games, puzzles and worksheets.

Here's a beautifully illustrated free printable Insect Identification booklet. This free printable guide to insects features detailed images of bugs, plus information on bug habits and habitats. This will help identify safe and dangerous insects in the home, yard and environment. There are free printable insects lesson plans. Click here for the Orkin Pest Library with free printable insects diagrams, charts, images and activities. There are materials about ants, flies, cockroaches, rodents, termites, spiders, stinging pest, other pests and wildlife. Here's a free printable insects booklet with bug coloring pages, games, puzzles, experiments and crafts.

The Orkin Insect Zoo at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers free printable lesson plans spiders, butterflies and insects booklet. Here's a free printable butterfly coloring pages. Insects, bugs and spiders are perfect spring science lesson plans. Explore caterpillars, butterflies and cocoons, spiders and spider webs. Here are free printable insects and spiders coloring pages. Print coloring pages of caterpillars, butterflies, ladybugs, bees, ants, dragonflies, moths, grasshoppers, beetles, praying mantis, mosquitoes, scorpions, flies, termites and fireflies or lightning bugs.

Spiders are not insects, but arachnids. Use free printable spider coloring pages to compare and contrast spiders and insects. Free Printable Coloring pages has nearly 50 insects and spiders coloring pages. Some are cartoon bugs but most are realistic images. Click this link for beautifully detailed butterfly coloring pages. Each butterfly species is labeled. Images look like stained glass windows coloring pages. Use them for science lessons on insects, butterflies, spring, metamorphosis or new life.

Coloring Castle has free printable coloring pages of bees and butterflies, There are also free printable ladybug coloring pages and lesson plans of a ladybugs 100 chart and a numbers 1-10 pyramid. Coloring Book Fun has free printable insect coloring pages, mostly cartoons.
Edupics has over 100 free printable insects coloring pages and 41 butterflies coloring pages. For more coloring book fun, visit the Grand Rapids Parenting Examiner at Free Coloring Pages 4U and for educational activities, Free Printable Lesson Plans. 

Free Printable Geography Lessons for National Geography Bee

A hilarious "Wheel of Fortune" geography fail prompted much laughter and some concern over larger fails in education. WSB-TV reported on Feb. 20 that David Dalley thought his prize trip to Venice was taking him to Paris! This situation may be funny, but it also underscores why older folks bemoan that school don't teach geography anymore. To remedy that, here are free printable geography lessons, landforms geographical features maps and topography maps and earth science activities. There are even maps on Venice, France and Italy for poor David Dalley!

What in the world are landforms? A better question is where in the world are landforms. Landforms are geographic features that define the terrain and topography of an area. Terms for geographical landforms include: mountain, mesa, butte, plateau, dune, hill, bluff, cliff, promontory, valley, canyon, strait, peninsula, cape, delta, river, tributary, lake, bay, sea, ocean, key, island, isthmus, archipelago and atoll, Geographical landforms, also called terrain or topography, are formed by weather and climate factors. Landforms affect and are affected by biome or natural habitat of the region--desert, savanna, rainforest, forest, polar or arctic tundra. eastern woodland, swamp, meadow. To some extent, the plant and animal life affect and are affected by geographical landforms.

Discovery Education free social studies lesson plans, including free printable geography worksheets, landforms coloring pages, terrain and topography maps. worksheets, diagrams, labeling pages, coloring pages, puzzles, maps, quizzes and activities. Teacher Planet has free printable geography worksheets with matching activities to teach geography and landforms vocabulary. There are geography worksheets for different regions, states in the United States, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome and as well as some Jewish terms are included. Here are more landforms worksheetsand coloring pages from Printable Worksheets. Super Teacher Resources has some free printable geography worksheets.

Eduplace is Houghton-Mifflin's resource center for learning printables, including free printable geography worksheets and outline maps. There are free printable maps from every continent and country around the globe. Eduplace has free printable labeled and blank maps to use for answer key and tests. ABC Teach has lots of free printable geography worksheets, landforms lesson plans, topography maps, political maps and social studies lesson plans. Students can use maps to draw in landforms. Assign special needs and younger students to color code labeled maps to help them learn about geography. You might also laminate the map and assign students to cut out the countries and states in the map to make a map puzzle.

ESL Tower has many free printable geography worksheets, landforms coloring pages, diagrams, puzzles and topography maps.
Edupics has free printable social studies coloring pages, world maps, landforms coloring pages, biomes, habitats, nature scenes, political maps, topography maps to use as geography worksheets. Edupics boasts the largest, most comprehensive collection of detailed educational diagrams and coloring pages.

Free Printable Earth Science, Solar System Activities, Lessons

There are many reasons to celebrate April. April bids farewell to winter and ushers in spring. Easter and Earth Month are celebrated in April. April 22 is the official Earth Day. Here are environmental science worksheets and lesson plans to explore this "green" month of April.

Maine.gov has a free printable earth science activities. There lessons on different environmental features. Teach them as parts of the body.

Rocks (igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary). Rocks are the bones of our planet.

Minerals (quartz, silica sand, crystals, MOS Hardness Scale, cleavage, color, mineral identification). Minerals are earth's tendons.

Water (ground water, aquifers, watershed, water cycle, precipitation, percolation, wetlands, acid rain, bodies of water, oceanography, polar ice caps). Water is our earth's lifeblood.

Soil (structure, layers, decomposition, fossils, fossil fuels, composting). Soil is the muscular system.

Geophysics (geology, plate tectonics, magnets, earthquakes, volcanoes, the Ring of Fire, thermodynamics, geysers). Geophysics is the endocrine system. Given the recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan, these lessons are even more vital and significant.

Ecology (land use, deforestation, slash and burn farming, fallow periods, water testing, soil evaluation). Think of ecology like health. Caring for the earth is like caring for our bodies. What we put into or do to our bodies heal and sustains or hurts and destroys. Likewise, what we do to our earth either helps or harms it. Environmental groups are like the earth's physicians.

This booklet provides hands-on activities, games, simulations, map reading exercises, field trips, treasure and scavenger hunts, experiments and extensions for social studies, reading and math. It gives interactive practice applications for Point-Slope formula (y=mx+b). That's helpful for S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, math) connections. In keeping with earth month, don't waste paper printing. Use recycled paper or scraps from your recycling bin. Print with biodegradable ink.

For more printable science lessons, visit my blogs Free Printable Lesson Plans and Free Lesson Plans 4U and Science Experiments and Chemistry Lessons.

Free Printable Earth Day Lesson Plans, Activities, Crafts

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22. In fact, the entire month of April is devoted to Earth Month. Here are hands-on, interactive, student-directed earth science activities to make lessons come alive. Use free printable earth science booklets, games, word searches, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, coloring pages, science crafts and printable dioramas and 3D models. Topics includes astronomy, solar system, earth's poles, sun, moon and magnetism.

Windows to the Universe a website of the National Earth Science Teachers Association offers loads of free printable earth science worksheets, earth science games, crafts, cut and paste activities and lesson plans. Scroll down the page to the "Coloring Books and Paper Activities" section. Here you'll find a printable seven-page cut-and-paste mobile to color on animals of the arctic. There's another printable science activity on magnetism and the magnetic polar forces.

Print a free scientists coloring booklet. This activity makes a good resource for biography study or living history museums. Students might use to portray famous scientists. Biographies include Tycho Brahe, Ada Byron, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Evelyn Granville, John Glenn and Sally Ride.

Here are free printable solar system coloring books at easier and more challenging reading levels. There's a page for each of the nine planets, the sun, asteroids and comets. Scientists from the University of Michigan have created free printable science flip books to demonstrate different solar phenomena in action. Included is an aurora, aurora oval, several coronal mass ejections (CME) a solar eruption and a solar flare. Students learn how processes occur by drawing and coloring them.

Free Printable Winter Lessons, Activities

The winter season is a popular theme in preschool and early elementary school classrooms. Winter is a great time to explore science concepts of chemistry, physics, earth and life science. In social studies, students could learn winter-themed holidays and religious celebrations, like Yule, Saturnalia and the December solstice. Here are free printable winter-themed worksheets and lesson plans that are adaptable across different curricula: writing, math, reading, literature, art and crafts. Most are interactive, hands-on project-type activities.

ABC Teach has a plethora of free printable winter lesson plans for every content area. There are free printable worksheets, puzzles, coloring pages, writing prompts, mazes, crafts, connect the dots, reading and language lesson plans. Here is just a sampling of free printable activities:

Felt board letter shapes with winter
Winter season word wall lists (some also have picture cues)
Letter to Santa writing prompt (which teaches personal, informal letter-writing skills and creative writing)
Winter-themed borders, bulletin board trim, classroom newsletter paper
Printable mini-booklets with winter themes (snowman, snowflake, Christmas stocking, mitten)
Snow-themed cryptograms, glyphs, flashcards
Graphic organizers: Venn diagrams, KWL charts (Know-Want to Know-Learned)
Winter holiday dot-to-dot puzzles
Science report worksheets for ice, snow and snowflakes
Winter-themed math: word problems, skip counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, telling time
Winter poetry frames and templates
Preschool winter-themed worksheets for sequencing, sorting, organizing, matching
Language activities: alphabetical order activities, color and write prompts, winter solstice prompts, metaphors

Marcel's Kids Crafts features free printable cut-and-paste snowflake templates. To create the snowflake, click on the desired design, print and fold on the lines as shown. The design should be on top. Students should cut out the shaded areas, leaving the white areas. These activities make excellent math lesson plans. Students can practice hands-on geometry principles. Special needs students often need to practice perceptual integration. Folding and cutting snowflakes builds fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination.

Enchanted Learning has more free printable winter lesson plans than any one teacher could ever use! There are crafts, worksheets, mini booklets, science charts and graphs, animal activities, holiday activities to name just a few.

Free Printable Earthquake Lesson Plans, Earth Science, Emergency Preparedness Lessons

April and May kick off severe weather season in the northern hemisphere. Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, hail, lightning and thunder storms are all in the spring forecast. Here are educational movies on earth science, severe weather phenomena, geology and natural disasters. Use these great educational movies for science lessons and severe weather exploration? Educational movies include links for free printables to follow up earth science lessons. These educational movies cover many aspects of earth science in an exciting, visceral way.

"Twister" (1996, Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt) This is one of the action-adventure educational movies on severe weather. In heart-pounding action from start to finish, Twister uses mid 1990s computer generation to show the action of tornadoes in a believable way. Twister shows two storm chasing teams compete to develop accurate tornado tracking and monitoring devices. The cheesy little back-burner love triangle between storm chasers doesn't detract from the main concept of this geology thriller, For free printables on earth science lessons and follow up activities from Twister, click here. Here's are more free printables on tornadoes.

"Vertical Limit" (2000 Chris O'Donnell, Bill Paxton, Scott Glenn) In Vertical Limit, climbers attempt to scale K-2 one of the largest Everest mountains peaks. When one team gets separated and trapped the others must attempt a rescue during a brutal storm. Vertical Limit shows severe weather conditions a top the mountains as well as the effects of high altitude on the human body. Vertical Limit in earth science lessons on geology and avalanches. For free printables of earth science lessons on Vertical Limit and click here.

"The Day After Tomorrow" is one of the sci-fi severe weather educational movies. But kids can still learn about global warming and how it causes severe weather and natural disasters. Students can learn vital earth science lessons on the water cycle and development of severe weather patterns.

"When the Levees Broke" and other Hurricane Katrina documentaries show the devastation of natural disasters on an urban area. Hurricane Katrina, Aug. 25-29, 2005, was one of the worst natural disasters in the U.S. Students learn earth science lessons on hurricanes, storm surges and floods. Here are earth science lessons and printables on Hurricane Katrina and other severe weather natural disasters. Click here for other Hurricane Katrina lesson plans.

"The Perfect Storm" (2000 George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly) The crew of a small fishing boat is caught off the shores of Glouchester, Massachusetts between two huge storm systems, The Perfect Storm filmography is intense. This is one of the best action educational movies on the use of radar in severe weather study. Preview The Perfect Storm to edit out superfluous and crude parts that are not necessary to the plot. The Perfect Storm in based upon the book by the same name by Sebastian Junger. Here are free printables on earth science lessons from The Perfect Storm.

Free Printable Apple, Plant Science

Autumn in Michigan means apples. Apples are a common theme for preschool and elementary school students. Teachers and homeschoolers, are you teaching a fall apple unit? Here's a sweet treat for you: 166 pages of free printable apple themed worksheets and lesson plans.

Northville Cider Mill in Northville, Michigan offers a free printable apple-themed activities booklet, There are printable coloring pages, worksheets, puzzles, games, word searches and crossword puzzles on apples. There are apple-themed cross-curricular science experiments, social studies connections, economics lessons, Michigan history activities, apple math problems and more.

Each lesson has a printable student copy and teacher answer key. Use this book for all ages from preschool to grade 8. It can easily be used with special education students, too.

Now scoot over to A to Z Teacher Stuff for more links to dozens of free printable apple lesson plans, crafts, mini booklets, games and worksheets. Most are geared to ages pre-K to grades 4.

Kinderplans has cute free printable apple themed reading and phonics lessons for preschool and kindergarten. There are other printables based on apples, too. Print apple math lessons on counting, addition and subtraction. Print reading activities and games for emergent and reluctant readers. Special education will love the bright, cheery apple activities geared no-fail fun.

For more worksheets and printables visit my blogs Free Printable Lesson Plans, DIY Homeschooland Free Lesson Plans 4U.

Free Printable Weather Activities, Coloring Pages

Spring means severe weather and increased concern for natural disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes. Here are free printable weather science lesson plans on natural disasters, fire safety, emergency preparedness and other severe weather issues.

NOAA, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, has free printable severe weather science lesson plans. Print materials from the NWS (National Weather Service) and the Red Cross. There is a series of free printable severe weather science booklets from the Red Cross on Owlie Skywarn, an owl who teaches children about different kinds of weather. Owlie covers thunder storms, tornadoes, lightning, floods, hurricanes and winter storms. The booklet is 44 pages long and contains free printable coloring pages. Learn about severe weather with Billy and Maria. These children explore storms, lightning, hurricanes, fire safety and emergency preparedness in free printablesevere weather coloring pages, puzzles, word searches and weather experiments.

NOAA has a free printable booklet about the tsunamis and earthquakes with Tommy Tsunami and Ernie Earthquake. It explores the relationship between the two phenomena. This booklet is 15 pages long and has several activities for weather science units. There is a free printable guide to make a weather satellite, too.

Ready.gov is the homepage for free printable emergency safety kids activities from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Administration. Children can follow Herman the hermit crab as he teaches children about emergency preparedness, weather science, natural disasters, This site helps children create emergency safety response plans.

Spring severe weather science is also concerned with wildfires which are sparked by droughts. October is offical Fire Prevention month. You could follow up weather science units with science lessons on wildfires and fire safety. Visit Sparky.for free printable fire safety and emergency safety games, coloring pages and activities about fire prevention. Over 75 years ago, a little bear was discovered wandering alone after wildfires, then called a forest fires, took his home. He was namedSmokey Bear and he became the voice for forest rangers and fire prevention. Get free printable fire emergency safety help there too.

Ready.gov is a natural disasters emergency preparedness website maintained by FEMA with free printable severe weather resources, lesson plans, emergency planning kits and lots of resources. Ready.gov teaches students about natural disasters and weather-related emergency safety. You'll find lesson plans and activities for wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, storm safety, floods, blizzards, droughts and more. The focus of the website is two-pronged: Make an Emergency Plan and Get a Kit. Ready.gov provides printable checklists to prepare for disaster.

Children might read The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck to learn more about tidal waves (now called tsunamis). The Big Wave is a 1948 story of a Japanese family's experiences following a tsunami. After the 2004 tsunami, Scholastic Books made copies of this book available at reduced rates, to help children understand the event.This books explains floods and hurricane storm surges like the one that drowned New Orleans and much of the gulf coast in Hurricane Katrina of 2005.

Free Printable Severe Weather Activities, Coloring Pages

NOAA, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, has free printable severe weather science lesson plans. Print materials from the NWS (National Weather Service) and the Red Cross. There is a series of free printable severe weather science booklets from the Red Cross on Owlie Skywarn, an owl who teaches children about different kinds of weather. Owlie covers thunder storms, tornadoes, lightning, floods, hurricanes and winter storms. The booklet is 44 pages long and contains free printable coloring pages. Learn about severe weather with Billy and Maria. These children explore storms, lightning, hurricanes, fire safety and emergency preparedness in free printablesevere weather coloring pages, puzzles, word searches and weather experiments.

NOAA has a free printable booklet about the tsunamis and earthquakes with Tommy Tsunami and Ernie Earthquake. It explores the relationship between the two phenomena. This booklet is 15 pages long and has several activities for weather science units. There is a free printable guide to make a weather satellite, too.

Free Printable Rango Coloring Pages, Desert Craft Activities

Archaeology is one of the most fascinating branches of science and caves are one of nature's most alluring geological landforms to explore. Caves are a separate biome all their own. They've been used as habitats by animals and people. Bats are cave dwellers and dinosaurs dwelt in caves. Mystics have sought divine enlightenment living as hermits in caves. Ancient people left hieroglyphics on walls of caves, like those at Lascaux, France. Caves yield up a treasure trove of fossils and teach valuable lessons in archaeology and paleontology. Teachers and homeschool families, if you're planning a unit on caves (and you really should) here are free printable lesson plans on cave-related subjects of fossils, bats, archaeology, paleontology, habitats, geology, spelunking and earth science.

The National Parks Service has free printable lessons on the U.S. national park at Carlsbad Cavernsin New Mexico. There's curriculum for elementary school in the free printable booklet About Bats, Caves and Deserts. For middle school students, the NPS Carlsbad Caverns website features free printable archaeology lessons on Caves, Canyons, Cactus and Critters. High school students explore geology, spelunking, Global Positioning Systems and orienteering in the Chihuahuan Desert Lab school. Materials are designed to be used with interpretive visits but some may be used as stand-alone lessons in class. Check out the cool activities on fossils, bats, paleontology and other cave phenomena.

Also from the NPS, are free printable materials on Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. There are free coloring pages, word games, puzzles and lesson plans in the Junior Ranger section. Kids will love the printable Trog Tour booklet (trog is short for super cool fossils called troglodytes) The Making Connections series from Mammoth Cave National Park features books for grades K-3, 4-5 and 6-8. There are 83 pages of free printable paleontology lesson plans for teachers and homeschool parents. And be sure not to let young archaeology students miss the free printable Fossil Identification Guide with coloring pages of fossils to label.

Lascaux Culture has interactive lesson plans on Lascaux cave drawings. Explore paleontology and archaeology with the prehistoric paintings, There are cave maps, images, videos and timelines. The website has interpretive information detailing the images, their purpose and their significance. You can access the site in several languages including English, but the educational "resources" link is available only in French.

Easy Fun School has free cave diorama lesson plan. The diorama is easy to make and uses cheap, household materials.has free printable animal habitat coloring pages. Students can research which animals live or hibernate in caves. This site has other free printable habitats dioramas. Crayola offers a free craft template to show interior cave rock formations.

Cave stalactites grow downward from the ceiling. The word comes from the Greek "to drip" (stalactites resemble icicles). Stalagmites grow up from the cave floor and look like upside down icicles. In Greek, the word means "trickling." Use these activities to demonstrate how stalactites and stalagmites grow. Crystal Cave in Wisconsin offers tours and family activities to explore this famous cave. Here are free printable geology lesson plans on archaeology, paleontology, bats, and fossils.

Free Printable Eric Carle Activities from The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Eric Carle is a beloved children's author. Here are free printables from the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle's best-loved kids' book. Mrs. Spatafora's Kindergarten Blog features dozens of printable cut and paste crafts. 1+1+1+1 is a blog with Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar worksheets and printables. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is used in preschool and kindergarten classrooms to teach science. 

Here are free printable Eric Carle crafts from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Making Learning Fun features free printable Very Hungry Caterpillar math games, reading games, butterfly and caterpillar crafts and other learning activities. 

Teacher Vision offers teachers, educators, homeschoolers and parents free downloads. up to three (for more, you must register). Here's an 8 page Very Hungry Caterpillar activity booklet. You can print the entire document free and it only counts as one of your freebies. 4shared has free printable Eric Carle Very Hungry Caterpillar matching puzzles and learning games. DL-TK has free printable Very Hungry Caterpillar felt board patterns that can be used as coloring pages.