National Park Service
Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready to start...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Animal
Students design and create their own hypothetical animal. In this biology lesson, students identify the factors organisms need to survive. They classify their animals according to its correct phylum.
Curated OER
Biosphere
Students examine the basic biosphere and its components. In this ecology lesson students complete several experiments including designing a system that is balanced to sustain life.
Curated OER
Science Italian Style: Eruption!
Students explore ways scientists prepare for a volcanic eruption. They observe films of earthquakes, oil spills, volcanoes and hurricanes. Students perform activities to demonstrate the relationship of viscosity to lava flow. They...
Curated OER
Where's the Sand?
Middle schoolers identify the characteristics of deserts. In this geography lesson plan, students discuss the characteristics of a desert and label a map with the names of deserts.
Curated OER
What's It All About?- Kansas Prairies
Young scholars examine the interdependence of animal life and the environment. For this Kansas prairies lesson, students read background information on prairies and complete a worksheet to identify the main idea.
PBS
Pbs: Journey to Planet Earth: Seas of Grass
A part of the PBS series "Journey to Planet Earth," this section explores the world's grasslands, some of which are in environmental danger. Includes video and educational resources.
Encyclopedia of Earth
Encyclopedia of Earth: Terrestrial Biome
Gives short descriptions of the many different types of biomes found on land all over the world. (Updated: February 22, 2013)
NASA
Nasa Earth Observatory: Land Cover Classification
Learn about the important resources our land offers us: food, water, oxygen, building materials, and more. Discover how scientists have been mapping land for years trying to prevent disasters and to collect environmental information.
Nature Conservancy
Nature Conservancy: Planet Earth: Deserts and Aridlands
The desert areas in the United States that this organization is working to protect are portrayed through photographs and videos, showing the beauty of the landscapes and the diversity of life forms there.
PBS
Nh Pbs: Nature Works: Terrestrial Communities
Explore land ecosystems around Earth. Learn about forests, tundra, taiga, grasslands, and deserts.
Other
Greatest Places: Namib
Explore the Namib Desert and learn about its location, the Skeleton Coast, mirages, and general information about this home to the highest sand dunes in the world.