Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Arctic Smorgasbord
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...
American Museum of Natural History
Super Teeth
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...
EngageNY
Adding to Cascading Consequences and Stakeholders: Industrial Food Chain
Young researchers create a class Cascading Consequences chart to see how the industrial food chain affects people, animals, and the environment. They also work in teams to complete a Stakeholders chart for the industrial food chain model...
EngageNY
Preparing for Further Research: Industrial Food Chain
Using an informative resource, pupils discover how to write research questions that are focused, answerable, and relevant. Scholars evaluate resources about the industrial food chain from Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and then...
EngageNY
Determining Cascading Consequences Using The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Industrial Organic Food Chain
Organic versus conventional farming: which option is best? Pupils use Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma to determine the cascading consequences of the industrial organic food chain. They work in research teams to create an...
EngageNY
Further Research: Industrial Food Chain
Scholars extend their research of the food chain that Michael Pollan discusses in The Omnivore's Dilemma. They determine additional consequences of the food chain and add them to their Cascading Consequences charts. Additionally, pupils...
EngageNY
Determining Cascading Consequences Using The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Industrial Food Chain
Which of Michael Pollan's four food chains from his book The Omnivore's Dilemma would best feed everyone in the United States? Using a thought-provoking resource, scholars learn how to create a Cascading Consequences chart to answer the...
Purdue University
Mammals and Ecosystems
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...
Purdue University
Mammal Food Webs
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.
Biology Junction
Ecology
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...
Biology Junction
Energy Flow in an Ecosystem
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...
Penguin Books
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Young Readers Edition
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. A useful set of lesson plans encourage young readers to take a second look at their eating habits. Pre- and post-reading questions bring in reflective writing and discussion while extension...
Biology Junction
Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem: Food Chains, Food Webs, and Energy Pyramids
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...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Modeling Food Webs in Darién, Panama
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...
Science Matters
Formative Assessment #3
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.
Polar Trec
Bering Sea Fabulous Food Chain Game
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...
Shelby County Schools
How Ecosystems Work
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.
Curated OER
Food Chain Activities
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,...
Exploring Nature Educational Resources
Building A Classroom Food Web
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...
Kentucky School for the Deaf
Levels of Organization within an Ecosystem
From tiny organisms to entire biomes, young scientists examine the interdependent relationships tying all living and non-living things together with this collection of ecology resources.
World Wildlife Fund
Arctic Food Chain
Explore the food chains that support Arctic ecosystems. A class discussion on interdependence and the different roles plants and animals play in ecosystems provides students with the knowledge to complete a worksheet asking them to...
Curated OER
Bite on This!
Different types of teeth have different roles. Third graders study how molars, incisors, and canines function in a rabbit skull and a cat skull. After answering some questions about the teeth of herbivores and carnivores, kids...
Curated OER
Skulls Tell It All
Skulls tell it all, and with this lesson plan, you will tell it all to your class! Youngsters view animal skulls, analyzing the shape of teeth and the placement of the eye sockets. They associate these adaptations with the types of food...
Curated OER
Animal Skulls
Pictures of different animal skulls make this slide show fascinating. The intent is to display the differences in structure among herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. If you do not have animal skull replicas, this presentation would be...