Curated OER
Sustainability and Extinction
Galapagos Penguins are the only penguins on earth that live north of the equator (in the wild). In this last lesson plan a discussion on how the Galapagos islands developed their populations and diversity sparks the introduction. Two...
National Wildlife Federation
Watershed Web: A Field Trip
Observing plant succession doesn't have to be a decade long process. A hands-on instructional activity has groups study succession over a designated space. Learners use their observation skills to record differences in plant and soil...
Purdue University
Ashes to Ashes: We All Grow Up
Ecosystems are constantly changing whether people notice or not. An inquiry-based lesson examines types of ecosystem changes and how they relate to wildlife conservation. Learners classify changes as succession and disturbance using a...
College Board
2014 AP® Environmental Science Free-Response Questions
Less than half of AP Environmental Science test takers pass each year. The College Board releases previous test questions covering topics from greenhouse gases to ecological succession to help scholars prepare for future assessments. Use...
Serendip
The Ecology of Lyme Disease
Areas that previously included no risk of Lyme disease now have cases every year. Scholars learn about the spread of Lyme disease and the relationship with ecological succession. Then, they discuss possible solutions using the known food...
Serendip
Changing Biological Communities – Disturbance and Succession
After cutting down a forest to make a farm, how long would it take the environment to turn an abandoned farm back into a forest? Scholars study this exact scenario while they interpret many charts and graphs of the changing ecosystems as...
Biology Junction
Changes in Ecosystems: Ecological Succession
Can an area with no soil turn into a forest? Scholars learn about the process of ecological succession using an interesting presentation. It covers both primary and secondary succession in the building of new ecosystems.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Impacts of Climate on Forest Succession
Part two in a series of four explores the effects of climate on succession or the changing of plant species in a forest. Groups review how to identify trees and then spend a day in the field collecting extensive data on trees to...
Virginia Department of Education
Succession
The final lesson in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen in the future using...
Curated OER
Anthropogenic Biomes
If you teach a man to fish, he will never go hungry—or he will overfish and permanently damage the ecosystem? Address the traditional biomes as well as the human-included ecosystems and contrasts the biotic and abiotic factors in each....
Curated OER
Raven Chapter 54 Guided Notes: Community Ecology
Providing a sweeping overview of population and community interactions, this ecology worksheet gets learners thinking. They differentiate between habitat and niche, describe and give exemplars of various animal and plant defenses,...
Curated OER
Community Ecology
Chart ecological community interactions and answer questions about niche, defenses, trophic structure, and succession. This community ecology worksheet provides a general overview of the interactions that occur among organisms that share...
Curated OER
How Ecosystems Change
In this ecosystems learning exercise, students will look at 4 diagrams and determine if either primary or secondary succession would occur after that particular event happened. Then students will determine the limiting factor for 4...
Curated OER
Ecological Succession in Pond Water Cultures
Students collect samples of pond water, dried grass, and soil in a jar. They predict the order of ecological succession in their pond water cultures. They compare their expected results with their observed results.
Curated OER
Using A Winogradsky Column to Analyze Microbial Communities
Students use easily obtained materials to study ecological succession in a microbiological community. This investigation is appropriate for a variety of age groups. Elementary Students be fascinated by the changes occurring over time...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Episd: Succession
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Take a look at primary and secondary ecological succession and explore climax communities.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Ecological Succession
This tutorial is an exploration of primary and seconday succession.
CPALMS
Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Changing With the Times: Variation Within Ecosystems
A tutorial investigating how living organisms in an ecosystem are affected by environmental changes.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Homeostasis Succession
Given scenarios, illustrations, or descriptions, the student will identify the process of ecological succession and the impact that succession has on populations and species diversity.
Other
Ohio Department of Education: The Long and Short Story of Ecological Succession
An ecology simulation where each student plays a role of an organism in an forest ecosystem. Students earn and keep track of their own survival points to determine which type of organism is most successful at survival during different...
National Geographic
National Geographic: Ecosystem Imbalance in the World
In this lesson, students build on their knowledge of individual impacts on the ocean to see how the whole system can react to threats and changes. They examine ways in which human actions throw marine ecosystems out of balance, explore...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating Biodiversity in Your Schoolyard
In this field lab, learners will investigate the biodiversity around their school and record and document the information they find. The students will compare their information to those of their classmates, develop multiple hypotheses...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Plant Succession Field Investigation
This lesson is to be used as an introduction to ecosystems and plant succession. Students will observe both biotic and abiotic features of a selected site on a plot of wild land. They will take notes, make drawings, and collect samples...
University of Hawai'i
Hvnp: Mid Elevation Woodland& Succession on 1974 Flow
Students can take a virtual tour of a Hawaiian volcano which erupted in 1974. Pictures show plants starting the succession process occurring along a pahoehoe flow.