+
Activity
2
2
National Park Service

Subalpine Web

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
The theory of keystone species in an ecosystem was first established in 1969 by Robert T. Paine. Pupils open the final lesson in a five-part series with a game guessing which member of the alpine ecosystem they are based on clues. After...
+
Lesson Plan
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

Climate Change Impacts on Blue King Crabs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Carbon dioxide is not only causing global temperatures to increase, it causes the oceans to become more acidic. Lesson focuses on the blue king crab and the fragility of the habitat due to climate change. Scholars create a concept map...
+
Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

Resiliency Among the Salmon People

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Is losing cultural traditions the cost of social progress, or should people make stronger efforts to preserve these traditions? High schoolers watch a short film about the native Yup'ik people in Alaska and how they handle the shifts in...
+
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Biological Oceanographic Investigations – Keep Away

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
As of 2015, there are 53,481 oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Scholars determine how species diversity is impacted based on the ecosystem's distance from a drilling platform.  It focuses on finding the mean of data sets...
+
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Importance of Deep-Sea Ecosystems – How Diverse is That?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When judging diversity of an ecosystem, both species evenness and species richness must contribute. After a discussion of diversity and a guided example using the Shannon-Weaver function, scholars use the same function on two other...
+
Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Rings of Life

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Individuals analyze tree rings to determine the health of an ecosystem. They then look at otoliths of fish, hard calcium carbonate structures located behind the brain, in the same manner. 
+
Activity
Star Wars in the Classroom

Star Wars Geography Unit

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What kind of animals live on an ice planet like Hoth? How would the habitat on Tatooine allow different organisms to thrive? Connect social studies, science, and Star Wars in one engaging activity that focuses on the ecosystems...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
University of Washington

The Carbon Cycle

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
When it comes to the carbon cycle, the sky really is the limit. The instructional activity begins with observing a closed ecosystem in a bottle. Then, scholars discuss and answer questions on the carbon dioxide and oxygen cycles. 
+
Lesson Plan
University of Connecticut

Building Your Own Biosphere

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...
+
Worksheet
Shelby County Schools

How Ecosystems Work

For Students 6th - 9th
How does one organism get its energy? What is the main source of energy in an ecosystem? How does the flow of energy affect different types of ecosystems? Answer these questions with a fill-in-the-blank learning exercise. 
+
Unit Plan
Institute for Applied Ecology

From Salmonberry to Sagebrush - Exploring Oregon’s Native Plants

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Take a deep dive into Oregon's ecosystems, plants, and changes from the past to the future. Many hands-on activities in an environmental science unit delight scholars, including creating a field guide for a local park. The in-depth study...
+
Worksheet
DePaul University

Contrast and Evaluate Fact and Opinion

For Students 8th Standards
How can you tell when an author is expression an opinion or stating a fact? Use two short reading selections to emphasize the difference between a statement that you can prove and one that you can't. The first passage explains food...
+
Lesson Plan
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Ecosystems

For Teachers 5th Standards
Explore the Earth's different ecosystems through four lessons, an assessment, and extension activities. Lessons include informative text and step-by-step instructions to apply knowledge in interactive, and thought provoking ways; such as...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
National Science Teacher Association

Middle School Sampler: Science

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis...
+
Lesson Plan
EduGAINs

Go Eco! Ecosystems

For Teachers 7th - 10th
How is a movie theater like a desert biome? Compare systems to ecosystems with a set of activities that focuses on accessing multiple intelligences and building upon knowledge. As learners discuss the ways elements of an ecosystem depend...
+
Activity
2
2
It's About Time

Photosynthesis, Respiration, and the Carbon Cycle

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Provide your class with the opportunity to view our carbon cycle close up. Young scientists research the cycle of oxygen as it completes the tasks of photosynthesis and respiration. They explore the importance of carbon in an ecosystem...
+
Activity
It's About Time

Succession in Communities

For Teachers 7th - 12th
What occurs following a natural disaster? High schoolers research this question and others as they investigate natural succession after a disaster. First, as they differentiate between primary and secondary succession, they explain...
+
Activity
It's About Time

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Emerging biochemists more fully understand the flow of energy in ecosystems as they explore the laws of thermodynamics and relate them to energy transfer in food chains. They also investigate heat loss from the human body and how...
+
Activity
It's About Time

Diversity in Living Things

For Teachers 7th - 12th
How diverse is the world we live in compared to the way things used to be? Young biologists explore diverse organisms and relate the structure of each organism to its ability to survive in our current environmental conditions....
+
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Ecosystem Dynamics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Searching for an eccentric way to enhance lessons on ecosystems while ensuring pupils remain creative and motivated? Upon viewing The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, designated groups design and construct a pop-up book that...
+
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Changes in Ecosystems

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How does water pollution affect the environment? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question as they learn about eutrophication and ecosystem changes. Over two weeks, they simulate the effects of pollution on the...
+
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

A-Mazing Plants

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Have your young scientists questioned why plants grow a particular way? Through this learning opportunity, scientists gain firsthand knowledge about how plants develop and various factors that affect rates of growth as they bring plants...
+
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Heat Loss from a Fur-Insulated Animal

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How do animals adapt to weather changes? Provide your class with the ability to understand adaptations and body temperature as they participate in this hands on experiment, using fake fur and hot water. Pupils collect data and...
+
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Biomes of the World

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Incorporate knowledge about biomes and ecosystems in multiple ways while encouraging creativity. Emerging ecologists collaborate and perform research to complete a graphic organizer about various biomes of the world. They conclude the...