Cal Recycle
Conserving Natural Resources
Trying to plan an engaging elementary science unit on natural resources? Conserve your energy! This five-part series of lessons and hands-on activities has exactly what you need to teach young scholars about the importance of conservation.
Curated OER
What is an Ecological Footprint?
Introduce youngsters to the term ecological footprint. Learners identify ways in which humans affect the environment. They look at the problems associated with the use of natural resources, and focus on ways to preserve natural...
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Fifth graders study the impact of human activity on water quality and on the ecosystems of Earth. After a discussion on the various ways that water can be polluted, groups of youngsters get together to figure out the best way to clean a...
Curated OER
Ghostbusting in the Chesapeake
Ghost pots, fishing gear lost during crabbing expeditions, continue to trap crabs that are never collected. Increase your budding ecologists' awareness of human impact on the environment as well as conservation efforts using this...
Curated OER
Watering Our Prairie Farms
After reading an article about irrigation on Canadian farms, learners participate in a discussion. They individually write an opinion paper about the surrounding issues. A lesson plan like this can be used in an earth science class when...
Curated OER
Endangered Species 1: Why are Species Endangered?
Emerging ecologists examine endangered species by visiting the US Environmental Protection Agency website. They consider human contribution to the decline of different species. They research an endangered animal and then craft a poster...
Curated OER
Where is Away?
Focusing on where are garbage goes once we dispose of it, learners explore environmental concerns. Using a clear format, this lesson leads learners through a discussion of waste reduction, recycling, and composting. Then, they discuss...
Curated OER
Hemispheres: People and Place
Here is an astounding series of lessons, designed for high schoolers, on environmental policy. By studying water conservation in rural India, the role of the government, and the reaction of the people, learners begin to formulate...
Curated OER
Sustainability
Here is an in-depth, and incredibly thorough lesson plan on sustainable agricultural practices; specifically, regarding the growth of coffee. After completing and discussing a worksheet called "Thinking About Tomorrow," groups of...
Kenan Fellows
Making Connections with Water Quality
What's in your water? And, why is water quality so important? Enhance your class's level of water appreciation through a lesson that demonstrates the necessity of water quality. Environmental enthusiasts explore the EPA's Clean Water...
Curated OER
Recognizing Litter
When does trash become litter? Use this litter awareness lesson to help them understand the importance of trash disposal. Get learners engaged by reading Nancy Loewen's Lady Lulu Liked to Litter (not included). After discussing what...
Curated OER
Sustainable Marine Fisheries
Through a fishing simulation, environmentalists discover consequences of over fishing. Afterward, they discuss how the activity relates to the impact of real-life commercial fishing. They also consider sustainability in the fishing...
Curated OER
Wheel of Trouble
While teaching about endangered species, you can incorporate this activity as a take-home reminder of what is threatening the sea turtle population. It is one of those paper plate projects in which a wedge is cut out to reveal a picture...
Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 2: Why are There Cities? A Historical Perspective
Second in a series of five lessons, this lesson encourages preteens to consider cities as urban ecosystems. First, they keep a food diary for a few days. They visit the Natrional Agricultural Statistics Service website for current data...
Kenan Fellows
Sustainability: Learning for a Lifetime – Soil
Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...
Curated OER
Geothermal Energy in Latin America
Here is a wonderful series of lessons designed to introduce learners to the variety of renewable, clean energy sources used by people all over the world. Geothermal energy is the resource focused on. This particular sources of energy...
Curated OER
Long Island Beach Life
Have your class learn about marine life through this resource. This comprehensive lesson has learners discuss marine life, learn key vocabulary, discuss environmental concerns, and play games related to migration and predator/prey...
Population Connection
The Carbon Crunch
Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...
Population Connection
The Peopling of Our Planet
How many people live on the planet, anyway? The first resource in a six-part series covers the topic of the world population. Scholars work in groups to conduct research and make population posters after learning about the global...
Curated OER
Hazards: Second Grade Lesson Plans and Activities
Equip learners with safety knowledge in the case of an earthquake. After coloring the places to go to get help after a quake, and label places that wouldn't be safe to go after a quake, young geologists simulate three levels of...
Curated OER
Solar Heating in the Himalayas
A fascinating lesson plan on how solar power is utilized by people who live in the Himalayas is here for you. In it, learners perform a case study which will help them understand that solar energy is a renewable resource, that geography...
Curated OER
Boom and Bust in the Ozark Forests
Here is a hard-hitting, cross-curricular activity on the effects that the deforestation of the Ozark forests in the 19th century had on the people, animals, and ecosystems of the area. The Dr. Seuss book The Lorax is used as a way of...
Curated OER
The Five Classes of Vertebrates
What a terrific lesson! Learners discuss the animal kingdom, and classify them as vertebrates and invertebrates. They also identify them as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. There is even a taxonomic breakdown of popular...
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
With The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry as the hook learners discuss the rainforest, the animals that live there, and conservation efforts. Then, students write a letter to the man in the story asking him not to cut down the Kapok...