BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Resources and the Environment: Is It Natural or Transformed?
In this activity, students learn about natural resources. They sort materials into two categories, whether it is natural or if it has been changed by humans.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Using Plant Surveys to Study Biodiversity
An extended field investigation intended as launch into several concepts in environmental science including biodiversity, human impacts on natural systems, and energy transfer in ecosystems.
Other
Ohio Dept. Of Education: Our Grasslands
This excellent unit of study for Grade Two has students examining what makes up a grasslands environment, growing their own grass, playing a predator-prey game, and looking at how grasslands are impacted by human activities.
National Geographic
National Geographic: Ecosystem Imbalance in the World
In this lesson, students build on their knowledge of individual impacts on the ocean to see how the whole system can react to threats and changes. They examine ways in which human actions throw marine ecosystems out of balance, explore...
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Lesson Plans Library K 5
This resource presents a lesson plan library which holds hundreds of lesson plans organized by grade level and subject area. Often rooted with an Internet research piece, each lesson plan contains specific objectives, procedures,...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Mn Step: Schoolyard Bio Blitz
For this activity, students visit a small section of the schoolyard and record observations in a scientific journal. They will observe different things as the school year progresses, including ecological relationships, human impact on...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Animals and Engineering
Young scholars are introduced to the classification of animals and animal interactions. Students also learn why engineers need to know about animals and how they use that knowledge to design technologies that help other animals and/or...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Comparing Education Around the World
Students learn about Ken and Joab, two boys who are starting first grade. Ken attends school in Japan, while Joab lives in Kenya. Students compare and contrast the circumstances surrounding the two boys' experiences at school.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Should Our Gardens Grow?
In this lesson plan, students will learn about types of land use by humans and evaluate the ways land is used in their local community. They will also consider the environmental effects of the different types of land use. Students will...
Teachers.net
Teachers.net: Acid Rain Go Away
in this lesson plan young scholars conduct an experiment to find out how acid rain can harm plants.
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: About Air
In this instructional activity students will use popcorn of different colors to model the composition of air. They learn that gases occupy space, air is a mixture of different gases, and the oxygen needed by the human body is not the...
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: The Science of Global Atmospheric Change: People and Climate
The impact that climate and climate change have on humans is explored in this lesson plan. Students learn about climate zones, and factors that affect climate, e.g., proximity to the ocean and greenhouse gases. The lesson plan and...
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Living Things and Their Needs: We Need Water
This lesson focuses on living things' need for water. Students make lemonade and learn that water can be found in liquids other than a glass of water, and is also found in plants. The lesson can be downloaded in PDF format.
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Can Nutrients in Water Cause Harm?
Many different kinds of organisms live in water. Excess nutrients can cause over-abundant growth of some organisms living in water and non-point source pollution is a major threat to water supplies in the United States. In this lesson...
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: The Effects of Pesticides on the Food Chain
Lesson plan to construct and explain a food chain. Includes games and activities to teach and reinforce concepts.
McREL International
Mc Rel: What in the World Are You Doing?
For this activity, students decide on environmental concerns they have about their school environment, and work in groups to investigate an issue then report back to the class. The purpose is to raise awareness about how their school...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: The Lifestyle Project at West Chester University of Pennsylvania
This is a five-week project where students explore and assess their personal lifestyle choices and how their habits impact on the environment. They try making choices that have less of a detrimental effect on the environment, and...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: The Lifestyle Project at the University of Redlands
This is a three-week project where students explore and assess their personal lifestyle choices and how their habits impact on the environment. They try making choices that have less of a detrimental effect on the environment, and...
Other
Digital Library for Earth System Education (Dlese)
This resource provides materials for teachers on a huge array of topics. Search site by topic, grade level, and desired output (such as lesson plan, case study, assessment or tutorial). Site is focused on earth science, geography, and...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Resource Usage Project and Journal
Students pick a resource and track their use of it over the course of one week. Students record their data in a spreadsheet, write a summary of it, and draw conclusions from their usage patterns. A detailed student handout is provided.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How Clean Is That Water?
This lesson plan helps students understand the factors that affect water quality and the conditions that allow for different animals and plants to survive. Students will look at the effects of water quality on various water-related...
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Expedition Panama: Champion Chompers
Compare and contrast the weightlifting abilities of ants and humans and graph the results, and investigate the roles ants and fungi play in the forest ecology.
Michigan Reach Out
Michigan Reach Out: Antarctica Ii
This site provides basic reasons for Antarctica's importance to our planet. Students can create their own treaty of governance for Antarctica.