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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Thermal Energy Flow in Materials

For Teachers 6th Standards
The sun sends the earth 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us on the entire planet, every day. The fourth lesson in the 10-part series looks at how light energy from the sun transfers into thermal energy. Scholars build...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

The Cycle of Matter

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
An educational lesson focuses on the idea of conservation of matter through a demonstration of the water cycle, a discussion of digesting food, and the path of carbon and oxygen atoms as they change form. 
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Biology Training Conclusion

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Gravity is just one consideration when determining human habitability on a new planet. The lesson connects four different units and starts with connecting the various systems: planetary systems, human body systems, etc. After scholars...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Consumers Get Energy From Other Living Things

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
How do plants and animals get their food? Learn about where energy comes from, how animals store energy, and aerobic respiration, in a instructional activity that allows scholars to diagram energy flows. 
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Decomposers Get Energy From Dead Things

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When life gives you mold, make penicillin. Scholars design an inquiry experiment to determine what causes rotting and mold growth. It also covers decomposers and the important role they play for other living things. 
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Interactive2:52
Scholastic

Study Jams! Ecosystems

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
With the forest as an example, Sam and Zoe talk about the components biotic and abiotic of an ecosystem. They also discuss the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers. This concise clip covers all of the basics. As an introduction...
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Unit Plan
NASA

Earth’s Energy Budget

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Take the time and energy learn about Earth's energy budget. An engaging unit of four lessons focuses on the components that make up Earth's energy budget. Future scientists come up with a formula for the energy budget, then use software...
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eBook
CK-12 Foundation

CK-12 Earth Science Concepts for Middle School

For Students 6th - 8th
Explore a variety of science concepts in an interactive textbook created for middle school scholars. A lengthy table of contents takes readers to pages comprised of a subject overview, outline, and summary. Follow links further to find...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Wildlife Federation

Big Fish, Little Fish

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Tag, you're eaten! A instructional activity on predator-prey relationships uses the game freeze tag as a model. Learners become either a predator or prey and play a game of tag as the prey tries to reach areas that house food and...
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Unit Plan
Purdue University

Mammal Food Webs

For Students K - 5th
You are what you eat—or at least a part of what you eat. Budding scientists examine owl pellets to develop their own food webs. They use tooth and skull identification techniques to classify what they find.
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PPT
Biology Junction

Energy Flow in an Ecosystem

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Every living thing requires a food source, thus the interconnections in ecosystems become complex. Scholars learn about these interconnections in a presentation on energy flow. It starts with the sun and moves through many different...
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Lesson Plan
Serendip

Food Webs, Energy Flow, Carbon Cycle, and Trophic Pyramids

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The reintroduction of a species to an area doesn't always go as expected. Scholars learn about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park with a video, reading, and discussion questions. They complete a hands-on activity...
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PPT
Biology Junction

Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem: Food Chains, Food Webs, and Energy Pyramids

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
When a minnow eats a piece of plastic, that garbage often tracks through multiple animals, causing harm to each as it passes through the food chain. Scholars learn about food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids with a presentation. It...
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Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Modeling Food Webs in Darién, Panama

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
It's a jungle out there! Young biologists journey to Darien, Panama to examine the intricate relationships between the organisms that inhabit the jungle. Groups begin by demonstrating an understanding of energy flow in ecosystems, then...
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Assessment
Science Matters

Post-Assessment

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Twenty questions make up an assessment designed to test super scientists' knowledge of ecosystems. Scholars answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions about organisms, food chains, energy flow, and more.
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Assessment
Science Matters

Formative Assessment #3

For Students 3rd - 5th
Thirteen short-answer questions follow a brief food web activity in a formative assessment designed to test knowledge of ecosystems and the energy that flows through them.
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Energy Flow

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Budding scientists work collaboratively to reenact energy flow in a food chain. Scholars take on roles such as producer and consumer and perform tasks that symbolize energy flow in order to provide evidence of how much energy passes...
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Assessment
Science Matters

Post-Assessment Energy

For Teachers 6th Standards
After nine lessons and activities about energy, here is the final assessment. The 20-questions include multiple choice, multiple choice with justification, short answer, answer analysis, and labeling diagrams to challenge learners.
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Worksheet
Shelby County Schools

How Ecosystems Work

For Students 6th - 9th
How does one organism get its energy? What is the main source of energy in an ecosystem? How does the flow of energy affect different types of ecosystems? Answer these questions with a fill-in-the-blank worksheet. 
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Activity
Chymist

Make a Low Energy Radio Transmitter

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How do you demonstrate radio transmissions? Pupils build a low-energy radio transmitter by constructing two coils from magnet wire and connecting them to audio/phone plugs. The resource provides the details on how to build the...
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Interactive4:02
Scholastic

Study Jams! Food Chains

For Students 3rd - 7th Standards
Rhinozilla is Mia's bearded dragon and the focus of this lesson on energy flow in an ecosystem. She uses him to explain the energy pyramid, from producers through third level consumers, and she likens the food chain to a video game. Mia...
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PPT
Curated OER

Energy Flow Through Ecosystems

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Middle or high school environmental studies classes will learn much from this presentation on energy in ecosystems. It covers the foundational topics of trophic levels, food webs, and nutrient cycles using informational text and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trophic Pyramids and Levels

For Teachers 7th - 9th
The bulk of this instructional activity involves the construction of both an aquatic and a terrestrial ecosystem in which to observe trophic relationships. Detailed directions are provided, as well as discussion questions, and assessment...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Go With the Energy Flow

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students explore energy and nutrient flow. In this science lesson plan, students diagram the flow of energy through food chains and food webs. Students discuss the importance of energy flow in Earth's ecosystems.