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Layers of the Atmosphere for Middle School

Grade Level Grades 6-8
Resource Type Activity, Handout
Attributes
Standards Alignment
Next Generation Science Standards

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Overview: Students will be engaging with information from books and other reliable media to learn about why the atmosphere has defined properties. 

Learning Targets: 

  • Students will understand that the atmosphere has different properties at different elevations, held to the Earth by the force of gravity. 
  • Students will identify and define the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere by specific properties, such as temperature, chemical composition and physical characteristics. 
  • Students will identify gases in the atmosphere, including nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide and other trace gases. 
  • Students will illustrate the movement of specific elements or molecules (such as carbon or nitrogen) through the lithosphere/geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. 

Note: The emphasis is on why the atmosphere has defined layers, not on naming the layers. 

Created by the AFT Science Cadre.

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Resources

Files

MS 6E Layers of Atmosphere.pdf

Handout
February 13, 2020
0.2 MB
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MS_layers puzzle 1.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
2.4 MB
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MS_Layers puzzle 2.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.1 MB
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MS_layers puzzle 3.1.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.1 MB
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MS_layers puzzle 3.2.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.9 MB
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MS_Layer puzzle 4.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.5 MB
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LofApuzzle 5.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.3 MB
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MS_Layers puzzle 6.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.1 MB
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MS layers puz 7.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.5 MB
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MS PuzzleLayersoftheAtmosphere.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.1 MB
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MS Layers of Atmosphere Escape Room directions.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.1 MB
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LofApuzzle 5.pdf

Activity
February 13, 2020
0.3 MB
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Videos
What If Earth Suddenly Lost Its Atmosphere?
Remote video URL
Layers of the Atmosphere | What is Atmosphere | Video for Kids
Remote video URL
The structure of our atmosphere!!
Remote video URL

Standards

Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.

Reviews

1 Review
My students loved this escape room
Great, great fun, and encourages great collaboration. Minor quibble: I can't figure out the logic behind the right answer for puzzle #5...
Ann Book
March 08, 2023