Curated OER
Food Chains and Webs
In this food chains worksheet, students identify the producers and consumers in the given food chains and describe how contaminants can biologically accumulate. This worksheet has 4 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Google Earth on the Range
Eighth graders use Google Earth to study the landscape of Utah. In this Utah landscape lesson, 8th graders view landscape photos and work in partners to analyze the pictures. Students write a paragraph that describes the landscape and...
Curated OER
Animal Life Histories Derived From Morphology
Students learn the mechanisms of natural selection by deducing information from the physical appearance of the animal.
Curated OER
Salinity Of Soil
Fourth graders investigate the contents of various types of soil to determine the differences in salinity levels. They conduct an experiment of observing the plants in the different soils. Students then determine survival rates by...
Curated OER
The Planet Wakyabi
Fifth graders explain how organisms' specialized structures and variations work with the environment to help them survive.
Curated OER
Hide & Seek Butterflies
Students examine a variety of butterflies and discuss how they believe they get their color variations. In groups, they brainstorm the advantages and disadvantages of their color schemes. To end the lesson, they watch butterflies in...
Curated OER
Caterpillar Camouflage
Students list animals, plant parts, and reasons for caterpillars to camouflage themselves. For this animal and plant adaptations lesson plan, students also play a game where they use colors as camouflage.
A-Z Animals
A Z Animals: Reference: Habitats: Desert
This entry identifies the defining characteristics of the desert.
Other
Desert Natural History/sonoran Desert
Discusses the habitats in the Sonoran Desert region and the subdivisions of the Sonoran Desert (Lower Colorado River Valley, Arizona Upland, Plains of the Sonora, Central Gulf Coast, Vizcaino, Magdalena, and foothills of Sonora)....
BBC
Bbc Nature: Wildlife: Desert
Explore the fascinating world of the desert and discover what lives and grows there through videos, pictures, news, and external links. Listen to the various sounds happening in the desert.
Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy: From America's Rainforest to America's Desert
On this virtual field trip, teachers will help their students travel to the lush, rain-soaked splendor of the Olympic Peninsula and explore the urban watershed of Seattle. Next, they will head to Arizona's dry, desert landscape and take...
Science Struck
Science Struck: Arabian Desert Facts
Presents interesting information about the Arabian Desert, including its physical geography, climate, plants and animals, their adaptations to the environment, natural resources, and threats to its habitats.
World Wildlife Fund for Nature
World Wildlife Fund: Our Earth: Ecoregions: Habitats: Deserts
An overview of the climate conditions of deserts. Includes examples of plants and the adaptations that allow them to survive in the dry climate. Includes a link to information about animals that live in a desert habitat.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Habitat Network: Desert Cacti: Fruit Producing "Trees"
Find out why native fruit-producing trees and shrubs are essential components of diverse habitats.
PBS
Nh Pbs: Nature Works: Desert Cottontail
This site created by NatureWorks focuses on the Desert Cottontail. The content of this resource includes a look at this species' characteristics, range, habitat, food, and more.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Computer Simulation of the Sonoran Desert Community
The computer program's simulation of a Sonoran desert community should ultimately strengthen the student's comprehension of what is required for a natural ecosystem to sustain itself (remain in balance). This computer simulation program...
abcteach
Abcteach: Habitats and Biomes
[Free Registration/Login Required] Find a variety of activities for children to do as they learn to identify varying habitats and biomes. Included are links to an even more extensive list of resources under coral reef, desert, grassland,...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Science Education Center: Habitats
Explore different habitats and match them to the animals that belong there. After choosing a correct animal, click on the caption to get information about it.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Habitats of the World
This site has a lesson to use to start a unit on biomes and animal habitats. This plan incorporates grasslands, temperate forests, tropical rainforests, deserts, polar ice regions, and tidepools.
Other
National Wildlife Federation: Happenin' Habitats: What Is Habitat?
Find an overview of what a habitat is exactly. Then, for more information, click in the left hand menu for different types of habitat: forests, grasslands, deserts, wetlands, and arctic tundra. Authors also offer advice on creating a...
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Biomes
Discover the hidden treasures in the different habitats on the earth! The earth is filled with many biomes. Examples of different biomes are listed and include hyperlinks to additional information such as the animals found there.
Encyclopedia of Earth
Encyclopedia of Earth: Cactus
Describes the physical features of different cacti, the variety of habitats where they can live, their distribution, evolution, taxonomy, and conservation status. (Published: January 10, 2011)
University of California
Ucmp: The World's Biomes
The University of California Museum of Paleontology hosts this site devoted to the study of the earth's biomes, which are the world's major communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and adaptations of organisms to...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Trb 4:5 Investigation 1 Wetlands, Forests & Deserts
Learn about surface terrain and how plants and animals are affected by the temperatures and precipitation.