NOAA
Ocean Layers I
How is it possible for ocean water to have layers? The sixth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates factors that cause different water densities to occur. Experiments...
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
One Ocean: It Matters!
Here is the first of four poignant lessons on how humans and oceans interact, even if people live far from the coast. This particular lesson also examines studies that are taking place in Antarctica of how climate change is affecting the...
DiscoverE
Build a Plankton Net
Give household materials new life by turning them into a plankton net. Scholars design and build a net to collect and filter plankton from water. They test out their creations by using glitter to represent plankton. The nets need to...
Curated OER
Planets in a Bottle
Learners experiment with yeast. In this environmental conditions lesson students test the viability of samples of yeast. Learners investigate the effects of environmental conditions on the yeast.
Curated OER
Keeping our Water Clean
Second graders discuss how our actions impact the quality of water. In this environmental science instructional activity, 2nd graders watch a short film and discuss the problem of polluted water. Students are then divided into groups and...
Curated OER
Buildings Have Lives, Too: Disasters and Their Effect on People
Students research natural disasters and their lasting effect on both people and the environment. In this environmental science lesson, students complete a group project on a natural disaster of their choosing. Students examine multiple...
Beyond Benign
Essential Oil Extraction Using Liquid CO2
When life hands you lemons ... experiment on them! Green chemistry gurus compare extraction methods for essential oils through a lab activity. Lab groups use traditional distillation and liquid carbon dioxide extraction methods, then...
Curated OER
Exploring Environmental Change
Students examine environments and how the impacts human activities can cause. In this environmental change lesson students research how human activity is causing local environmental changes.
Curated OER
Environmental Conditions: Friend or Foe
Students research and answer questions on how organisms are classified and how their needs are met through their environment. They work in small groups and create a poster, chart, rap, PowerPoint, or brochure demonstrating how organisms...
Curated OER
Nutrient Enrichment vs. Oxygen Depletion
Students investigate how excess nutrients enter a body of water, and the harmful effects they have on aquatic organisms.
Curated OER
Interactions of Science and Technologies
Middle schoolers explore how science and technology interact. They discuss important inventions, discoveries and technologies. They research a specific technological advance, or invention, and prepare a presentation that includes the...
Curated OER
Ocean Life Lesson Plans
Students learn about life in the ocean with lessons that connect science, art, and environmental topics.
Curated OER
Temperature Affects The Heart Rate
Students relate heart rate and development to environmental conditions through experiment. In cooperative groups, students record the heart rate in developing zebra fish. Groups create a standard curve to predict the temperature at...
Curated OER
Where Creatures Live
Students discover that the environmental conditions of a place determine the types of plants and animals that live there.
Curated OER
Animals
Second graders define and describe the characteristics of a mammal and a mammal's importance to man. They also describe the life cycle of a frog and compare and contrast a larva and an adult frog. Finally, 2nd graders study and explain...
Curated OER
A Cat's Life
Students construct a timeline of a panther's life. Students decorate their timeline with illustrations and words, or they can choose to have it orally read to the class. Students use the computer to construct their time-lines. Students...
Curated OER
Half Life Lab
Seventh graders model radioactive decay using pennies, collect data from their model, apply scientific visualization techniques to their data and create animated models explaining the concept of radioactive half-life.
Curated OER
The East Fork Project
Students identify possible sources of health risks, types of exposures, routes of exposure, and populations that could be affected after discussing water pollution and environmental health hazards. After discussion, students conduct a...
Curated OER
Are Dams Forever?
Students consider the life span of dams, and what would happen if a dam falls apart. In this environmental impact lesson, students discuss what the purposes of dams are, how they could be damaged.
Curated OER
Plants in Your Gas Tank: From Photosynthesis to Ethanol
Explore ethanol and how it is produced. Young scientists investigate photosynthesis and fermentation to the concept of conservation of energy and mass. They discuss the environmental and economical benefits of ethanol as a fuel additive.
Disney
Renewable Energy
Bring some energy to your physical science curriculum with this engaging Bill Nye the Science Guy lesson. Based on his Renewable Energy video, students explore the concepts of potential and kinetic energy and learn how they are applied...
Curated OER
Toxicants and California Blackworms
Learners determine the normal behavior of California blackworms. They determine how various concentrations of assigned toxicants affect the worm's behavior. Students are introduced to testing of potential toxicants, an important...
Curated OER
Habitat Assessment
Third graders demonstrate the effects of varying environmental components on plants and animals: chemical, physical and biological characteristics of a habitat. They find chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the lake at...
Curated OER
In My Opinion
Young writers craft letters to the government stating their opinion on different topics. They pick an environmental or ocean issue, research it, and craft their formal persuasive letter. Ensure your learners include supporting facts and...