Curated OER
Food Chains And Webs
Learners investigate the concept of soil and all its components. They collect samples from a local site and transplant it into a terrarium. Students identify the organic elements, clay ,silt, and other forms of debris. They also identify...
Curated OER
Getting Around Clean And Green
Middle schoolers investigate various aspects of transportation while working with different resources to conduct research. The research is used to find information in order to create a presentation that includes writing and graphing.
Curated OER
Images of Our Changing Earth
Students identify and explain that remote sensing can detect changes on the Earth's surface that occur over time, and name at least three: urbanization, deforestation, and succession. They select a global change issue to investigate and...
Curated OER
Food Chains
Students investigate the food chain. In this ecology lesson, students define producers and consumers. Students use organism cards to demonstrate how the food chain works.
Curated OER
Seals, Corals, and Dollars...
Students explore the interdependence of animals and their habitat. In this Hawaiian ecology lesson, students work in groups to research the necessity of preserving precious coral as a habitat for monk seals. Students prepare and share...
Curated OER
Erosion
Students examine soil erosion and what causes it. In this soil lesson students complete several experiments on soil erosion and the weathering process.
Curated OER
Estuary Issues
Fifth graders read a description of an estuary and search for problems that occur there. In this estuary lesson, 5th graders mediate controversial issues for the best solutions.
Curated OER
Precious Water: Is it a Need, a Right, or a Commodity?
Students determine whether water is a need, a right, or a commodity. For this water lesson, students investigate land and water ecosystems through activities. Students also discover water as a resource and energy source as they observe...
Curated OER
Identifying Wetlands
Young scholars describe three major categories of indicators that are used to delineate wetlands. In this wetlands lesson students visit a wetland and make observations then complete an activity using the soil.
Curated OER
The Effects of Agricultural Fertilizer Runoff Upon Aquatic Ecosystems
Students measure the toxic levels of runoff and discuss the effects it would have on the aquatic system. In this runoff lesson plan, students answer questions to how runoff would affect the animals in an aquatic system.
Curated OER
Studying a Piece of an Ecosystem
Students carry out an outdoor land study in which they identify organisms living in the soil, and any other animals living within the site. Groups also examine abiotic factors. They respond to a series of questions concerning their data...
Curated OER
Forest Food Web Activity
Students gain knowledge of food webs and ecological interconnections in the forest, and place different life forms in their proper place in a food chain. Students appreciate the balance of nature and how humans are affected by extinct...
Curated OER
Isopod Activity
Students enter information and compare relationships that they are measuring.
Curated OER
Illnois River and Lake Mussel Habitat Diorama Activity
Students identify the environmental elements of river and lake mussels. They compare the elements to the time before settlement and during industrialization. They also participate in a field trip to a mussel exhibit.
Curated OER
"What If?" A Jigsaw Activity
Students, in groups, consider a scenario in which some structure of a cell has been changed. They explore how structural change affects the function of a cell and create a visual aid to illustrate their observations.
Curated OER
Failing Ecosystems: Haiti and the Caribbean
Ninth graders study the impact that climate has on the land. They discuss how deforestation leads to erosion and soil damage and how trees and vegetation help to stabilize the land. They draw a large map of the Caribbean and show Haiti...
Curated OER
Prairie Ecology Internet Activity
In this prairie ecology worksheet, learners respond to 11 questions that require them to consult selected Internet sources and answer questions about prairie animals and their habitats.
Columbus City Schools
Biome Basics with a Disastrous Twist
Bored with your current biome bag of tricks? This bundle is a bountiful bag of biome fun! Travel the globe with seventh graders and explore the biotic and abiotic factors that define our world's biomes. Then, introduce a little chaos to...
Channel Islands Film
Human Impact on the Food Web of Santa Cruz Island
What happens when a non-native species is introduced onto an island? Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Island chain located off the coast of southern California, provides the perfect laboratory for young environmental scientists to...
American Museum of Natural History
Saving Species
Some scientists dedicate their lives to researching and protecting endangered species. An online lesson teaches about three scientists around the world who do just that. They learn about spiders, mollusks, and reptiles from North...
It's About Time
Succession in Communities
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 how...
WolfQuest
The Return of Gray Wolves to Yellowstone National Park: Right or Wrong?
Should gray wolves be removed from Yellowstone National Park? After researching the complex relationships between the various habitats and species at Yellowstone National Park, including humans, class members take a position on the...
National Park Service
Aspect, Treeline, and Climate
Head to the treeline and beyond to examine how this feature of the landscape affects weather and climate, which gives scientists clues about its health. Class members' observations of photographs provide the data that drives the...
Curated OER
Dead Zones: Why Are the Waters Dying?
Students investigate the effects of pollution on marine ecosystems. They read and discuss an article, identify the effects of pollution on marine life, conduct research on local nutrient pollution, and conduct local water quality studies.