Curated OER
Bioluminescence 2009: Living Light on the Deep Sea Floor Expedition - Now You See Me, Now You Don't
Students examine bioluminescence and camouflage of deep sea creatures. In this deep sea creatures lesson, students investigate the visible and near-visible light spectrum. They work in small groups to complete a light, color, and...
Curated OER
Conserving Water through Art!
Students study water conservation. In this water conservation lesson, students investigate the scarcity of water and determine reasons for conserving water. Students estimate how much water they use in one day and identify ways to...
Curated OER
Living in a Digital World
What does it mean to be a good digital citizen? Is it the same as face-to-face communication? In small groups, learners discuss the differences between digital and non digital life, how they are different and what each environment can...
Curated OER
Common Pond Plants and Invertebrates
Here is a wordsearch that has learners find 18 different organisms that are commonly-found in pond environments. The monarch butterfly, cotton grass, water flea, and the damesfly are just a few of the organisms found. Colorful and...
Curated OER
Alaska Rock Garden Project
Young environment experts examine the different types of rocks. They create their own rock garden to keep throughout the school year. Although this lesson is written for the Alaskan landscape, a rock garden can be created in almost any...
NOAA
The Sea with No Shores
Some habitats are more bio-diverse than others. Scholars examine an especially diverse environment as groups research different species in a specific ocean habitat. The class then uses their research to create three-dimensional bulletin...
Curated OER
Pollution or Prevention?
Students examine potential contamination on the environment due to products and by-products of a new industrial process. Students conduct a lab that explores the economic differences between choices of pollution cleanup and prevention.
Curated OER
Monoculture and Polyculture
Ecology explorers collect soil and invertebrates from a monoculture and a polyculture area. They relate the number and types of invertebrates to the surrounding environmental conditions. This activity can be used as an introduction to...
Curated OER
The Dust Bowl: An Economic and Environmental American Tragedy
Many of us focus on the causes and effects of the Dust Bowl as it relates to people. Why not shift the focus of cause and effects to how the Dust Bowl affected the environment. Here is a different take on the tried-and-true Dust Bowl...
Curated OER
Alternative Animal Agriculture
Presenting an unusual topic, this collection of slides examines alternative animals that can be grown for profit or human use. It details the raising of rabbits as food, llamas for textiles, earthworms as fish bait, and a variety of...
Forest Foundation
Fire in Our Communities - What Can We Do?
Learn about defensible space and renewable resources with a lesson about forest fires. After exploring the ways that humans have impacted the environment, kids conduct mock interviews about differing points of view in the conservation...
Baylor College
Bio Build-up
Trace pollutants through the environment in the seventh lesson of this series on the science of food. Looking at a picture of the plants and animals in an aquatic ecosystem, learners use dot stickers to represent harmful chemicals as...
PBS
A Little Recycling Goes A Long Way
Every time you purchase something from the store, it goes into a bag, but what happens to the bag? This lesson encourages your learners to think about what happens to those plastic and paper bags and their effect on the environment. Use...
Virginia Department of Education
A Dichotomous Key of Virginia’s Native Plants
Can your class correctly classify plant species? Individuals explore native plants of the local environment and correctly classify them into their respective categories. They investigate differences in the plants and discuss similarities...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Modeling the Regulatory Switches of the Pitx1 Gene in Stickleback Fish
Gene switches work similarly to light switches in controlling one feature of their environments. Scholars study the Pitx1 gene in a specific type of fish. They learn the different ways this switch controls various body parts and...
NOAA
Ocean Acidification
Carbon dioxide is on the rise; does that also mean a rise in danger to humans and animals? Scholars learn what that means for the environment and more specifically the ocean. They examine data on the pH of different ocean areas and learn...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Text Details to Explain Relationships: “Hunting”
The class is on the hunt. Scholars read pages 22-23 of The Inuit Thought of It about different hunting techniques of the Inuit people. They sketch a picture of the gist of the section and then complete a web that shows the relationship...
Curated OER
The Chesapeake Bay in Captain John Smith's Time
When Captain John Smith visited the Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 1608, what types of animals and habitats did he encounter? Your young historians will analyze primary source documents to answer this question, as well as compare the...
Teach Engineering
Introduction to Environmental Engineering
A series on environmental engineering introduces the class to issues that environmental engineers work to solve. This first instructional activity focuses on air and land issues, and looks at ways to reduce pollution.
Curated OER
To Recycle, or Not Recycle?
To recycle or not to recycle, that is the question. Your class can find the answer by taking a teacher created WebQuest, where they assume a role of a community member taking a stand on implementing a community wide recycling plan. The...
Curated OER
Wind Power
What a wonderful way to explore wind power! Through this lesson, learners get a background in the history of wind power, create their own wind turbine, and the test their designs. This is a terrific way to tie scientific principles to...
Curated OER
That's Monkey Business!
Celebrating National Zoo and Aquarium Month by engaging pupils in an animal research project.
Curated OER
Hatching Chickens
Students observe chickens hatching in a classroom incubation environment In this egg-hatching lesson plan, students make observations of the hatching process and later care for the hatched chickens.
Curated OER
Crashed on the Moon
Students compare and contrast the environments of the moon and the earth. They discover how the differences might change one's daily activities.