Curated OER
Testing the Waters
Students explore water in depth through discussion, research, and experiment. Students apply map skills to locating particular regions of the world as they relate to water. Students predict water quality based on information researched...
Curated OER
Devising a Set of Experiments to Test Water for Dissolved Substances
Students work together to test water samples for pollutants. They design data tables to collect and record their observations. They complete discussion questions to end the lesson.
Curated OER
Marine Debris
Students will perform experiments to examine if debris will float, or blow in the wind. They discuss the effects of these characteristics on marine debris.
Curated OER
Water, Water Everywhere, Even Underground
The "Engage" section of a wetlands lesson plan asks young ecologists to examine a wetlands poster. You can easily find one online and display it using a projector. Pupils immerse a piece of sandstone and a piece of granite in water to...
Cornell University
Fibers, Dyes, and the Environment
Nanofibers can be made through electrospinning or force spinning in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Pupils study the role of fibers and dye on the environment through a series of five hands-on activities. Then,...
Curated OER
Investigating How Pollutants Travel Through Groundwater
Learners determine how pollutants can travel though sediment and explore methods of pollutant removal. They conduct an experiment on porosity and permeability of soils and simulate an EPA "pump and treat" method for removing subsurface...
Curated OER
Local Environmental Issues: Pollution
Third graders discuss the ways in which human interaction with the environment and production of waste products contribute to pollution. Through a pollution demonstration, they explain how various groups of plants and animals can be...
Curated OER
Water Quality
Students conduct experiments to study the quality of water. They examine how pollutants get into and affect the water supply in this unit.
Curated OER
Is Dilution the Solution to Pollution?
Students explore the different types of pollution. they conduct experiments using dye mixed with tap water to measure the levels of dilution. They discuss at what point the dye (pollution) would be diluted enough to be safe to drink.
Curated OER
Air Pollution: Visible And Invisible
Fourth graders observe air pollution that is visible and invisible with experimentation. During the experiment the students collect data that needs analysis. The observations are recorded in the lab journal. The data also is represented...
Curated OER
Drinking Dirty Water
Students consider the importance of clean drinking water. They conduct a taste experiment with water, adding incremental drips of salt and vinegar to determine at which point it doesn't taste drinkable.
Curated OER
Acid Rain: An Air Pollutant
Fifth graders participate in an experiment in which they examine the effects of acid rain on buildings. They discover how huge a problem acid rain is not only to structures but to the environment. They gather pictures of acid rain to...
Curated OER
"Water, Water Everywhere and None to Drink"
Ninth graders research the importance of maintaining an unpolluted source of water in their community. They brainstorm ideas on what they can do to help the problem. They can also write letters to their local politicians for help.
Curated OER
"Water, Water Everywhere and None to Drink"
Ninth graders research the importance of maintaining an unpolluted water source in their community. They work together in groups and brainstorm ideas on what they can do to help. They can also write their local politicians.
Curated OER
To Protect Your Streams, Protect Your Mountains
Students build and experiment with a watershed to understand the effects of pollution. In this movement of water lesson, students work in groups creating rock formations and change the viscosity of the liquids falling down the mountain....
Curated OER
Engineers for a Sustainable World
Students experiment with making a water filtration system. In this engineering lesson, students get into groups and are challenged to use only eight items to create a water filter. When finished, students compare and contrast their results.
Kenan Fellows
Use of Dichotomous Keys to Identify Stream Organisms
What kind of organisms are living in the stream? After an explanation on how to use a dichotomous key, groups of three to four use the keys to identify macroinvertebrates from a local freshwater stream. Using the the concept of Stream...
Global Oneness Project
Reclaiming Rivers
Robert Hass's article "Rivers and Stories" underscores the importance of rivers in the development of civilization and the importance of reclaiming supposedly dead rivers and implementing policies that protect river health. Groups...
Curated OER
Determination of Overall Water Quality Using a Quantitative Macroinvertebrate Survey
Young scholars examine water samples from a local stream. They identify various types of macroinvertebrates found in that water ecosystem and perform a quantitative macroinvertebrate survey to determine the stream's water quality.
Curated OER
The Lorax
Students read The Lorax and discuss how human actions can affect the environment. They conduct a simple experiment to see how much air pollution is in the air that they breathe.
Curated OER
Move To a Healthier Aquatic Balance
Fourth graders examine aquatic orgnaisms and how enviromental chages affect them. This factors include: temperature, Ph, oxygen, nutrients, and pollutants. They also explore habitat quality (erosion). Students compile data and create...
Curated OER
Phytoremediation
Students participate in a lab designed to facilitate the clean up and remove of substances ranging from heavy metals to dynamite. They focus on the remediation of copper. They discuss their results of this open ended inquiry experiment.
Curated OER
Erosion: Changing the Face of Earth
Fourth graders explore how the landscape of the planet can be changed by different elements of wind, water, ice and chemicals through hands-on activities. They examine pictures of areas around town and discuss anything they think is out...
Curated OER
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Students conduct a number of experiments involving evaporation and condensation. They view and discuss a video about the water cycle and then design posters about the rain based on the book "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs".