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Lesson Plan
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

Arctic Smorgasbord

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Though the walrus spends roughly one third of its time on land, it eats organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean. The first in a series of five, the lesson uses a variety of plant and animal cards to have scholars build an arctic...
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Unit Plan
2
2
Curated OER

Sustainability and Extinction

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Galapagos Penguins are the only penguins on earth that live north of the equator (in the wild). In this last lesson plan a discussion on how the Galapagos islands developed their populations and diversity sparks the introduction. Two...
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Interactive3:19
Scholastic

Study Jams! Food Webs

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Rhinozilla is back to take your lesson plan on trophic levels a step higher! After showing the video on food chains (available through the See All Related Jams button), add to it by showing this one. It deals with omnivores and food...
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Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Super Teeth

For Students 6th - 12th
A brief comparison of human teeth versus animal teeth sets the stage for two worksheets. Scholars match a picture of a tooth-filled mouth to the animal to which it belongs and coloring pages featuring a different animal and informative...
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Activity
PBS

Breaking Point

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Leaf toughness can add to its herbivore appeal. Learns design an experiment to quantify leaf toughness and then perform their procedures. They follow the experiment with a set of questions that ask them to think about how leaf toughness...
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Unit Plan
Purdue University

Mammals and Ecosystems

For Teachers K - 5th Standards
Mammals have unique interactions with their ecosystems. Using a multi-part lesson, learners research local mammals using recommended websites and use their findings to create their own paper ecosystems including appropriate mammals. They...
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Unit Plan
Purdue University

Mammal Food Webs

For Students K - 5th Standards
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

Ecology

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Psychologists study human relationships while ecologist study relationships between organisms in the environment. An introduction to ecology and the related vocabulary benefits scholars as they progress through the presentation and...
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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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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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Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Niche Partitioning and DNA Metabarcoding

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What is DNA metabarcoding? Show your biology class the latest method for studying biodiversity in an ecosystem with a fun, informative interactive. Individuals examine the animal species that compete for vegetation, then learn how their...
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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

Formative Assessment #3

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
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
1
1
Chicago Botanic Garden

Leaf Litter Ecology Lab

For Students 7th - 9th Standards
Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great lesson exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove leaves/twigs while...
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Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Bering Sea Fabulous Food Chain Game

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
In spring, the Bering Sea turns green due to phytoplankton, which live at the surface, experiencing a population explosion. Groups of scholars play a food chain game, writing down food chains as the game is played. After five to six...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Succession

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The final lesson in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen in the future using...
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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
1
1
It's About Time

Who Eats Whom?

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Packed with visual aids and multiple learning opportunities, an engaging exercise challenges individuals as they explore the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers. After discussing differences between food chains, food...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

A Salt Marsh Ecosystem

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What a web we weave. Pupils use yarn as the primary resource to create a web depicting the intricacies of a salt marsh ecosystem. They participate in a question and answer session, which leads to an in-depth facilitated discussion about...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Go with the Flow

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does nature's hierarchy relate to our local human environment? Answer this question, along with others, as the class visually depicts the natural hierarchy provided by nature. Pupils discuss each piece of the pyramid and its energy...
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Seafood and Human Health

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Whether your young biologists realize it or not, humans play a significant role in marine ecosystems. To help them understand this fact children first create graphical representations that show homo sapiens' place in marine food chains,...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
NOAA

An Ocean of Energy

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Young biologists trace the path of the sun's energy through marine ecosystems in the second part of this four-instructional activity series. Building on prior knowledge about producers, consumers, and decomposers students are...
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Activity
1
1
Curated OER

Food Chain Activities

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
Transform young biologists into grasshoppers, lizards, and hawks as you teach them about food chains in an interactive life science simulation. Working collaboratively to act out three different scenarios involving these creatures,...
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Activity
Exploring Nature Educational Resources

Building A Classroom Food Web

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
From bears and owls to chipmunks and trees, all life depends on the sun for the energy to survive. Young biologists develop an understanding of this big idea as they arrange this series of plant and animal picture cards into food webs...