Students observe the decomposition of a log and analyze what is happening.  In this log to soil lesson, students saw through logs to make a log profile.  Students use cards and answer questions related to their log.

Students compare the organic matter found in soil. In this soil lesson, students compare a commercial garden mix soil to their local soil and determine which has more organic material.

Students compare two mini-ponds. In this environmental awareness lesson, students build two mini-ponds from water holes. Students add fertilizers to one and not to the other. The results are observed and compared. This could easily be...

Learners work in a team to use the ProScope Digital USB Microscope and a computer to collect microscopic images from a variety of mineral specimens. They compare specimens and determine how they are alike and different by comparing their...

Design and construct buildings with rooftop gardens. Junior engineers work in groups to build two buildings and then perform experiments to determine whether or not a garden affects the building's temperatures. They graph and interpret...

Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...

Students identify a topic for an open-ended question and evaluate the question. After developing ideas that lead to inquire, they investigate and research this topic on the Internet, and then create an iMovie.

Demonstrate how the Skywatch website works, locating your city via The International Space Station. Have cooperative groups use string and a protractor to identify an azimuth. When each groups' height has been marked, you will have a...

Get some competition going in your life science class. Give lab groups a variety of plant parts, all of them fruits, except one. Their mission is to make observations, compare and contrast, in order to be the first to identify the...

Discuss nutrition and identify components of a healthy diet, view a Food Guide Pyramid, and create a Personal Food Pyramid, listing all foods eaten in the past 24 hours. Compare food lists with the standard Food Guide and determine where...

Working in groups, learners create a mnemonic device, give an oral presentation, and create a pictorial representation of the correct sequence of the planets and asteroid belt from the sun. An assessment rubric is included in the lesson.

Students seek scientific and technological solutions to envrionmental problems. They record class activities in a journal. They identify relationships among living things and their environments.

Beginning with a discussion about using technology to collect data, this resource includes a video about the next Mars rover as an example. Young scientists are taught that filtering is necessary before collected data can be analyzed....

This natural resources worksheet includes discussion activities about natural resources, 2 word searches, and a list of related books and videos.

Sixth graders use various resources to locate information for a database (name of planets, diameter of planets, etc.). They enter the data onto a prepared data grid. Use of Access to sort data is accented within this lesson. Students...

Your older elementary students investigate electromagnetic energy and the electromagnetic spectrum. They will observe 7 items represented in the electromagnetic spectrum and make a poster of all the things the items have in common. After...

Andree Walker thought of everything when he wrote this resource. It includes a detailed list of materials and background information links for the teacher. In addition, it has procedures, a macroinvertebrate identification key, and tally...

Your junior highers will learn about which objects are natural and classify objects as abiotic or biotic. Your class will trace human products to their natural resources using matter cycles and then create their own definition of nature.

Middle schoolers will create a children's book on Keiko, the killer whale, that was rehabilitated and returned to the wild after living in an aquarium. In small groups, they conduct internet research to find out the history and current...

Research the necessary components of a planet that supports life after reading the article "All of a Sudden, The Neighborhood Looks a Lot Friendlier" from The New York Times. After finding their information, middle and high schoolers...

Engage your class in a class discussion examining and defend different sides of an argument about whether the Environmental Protection Agency should have the legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. They will have to...

How's the weather today? Elementary and middle schoolers plan severe weather awareness day in this lesson on research presentations. They present their research reports, along with their action plan and any other associated products...

Learn about the destruction of the rainforest by analyzing statistics. Young learners make an original line graph showing destruction in the rainforest. Additional activities include making a collage, sequencing Dr. Seuss' The...

Young scientist explore the various positions in the debate on stem cell research and then discuss these perspectives before formulating their own positions. They must research the topic and beliefs that others have. They will also look...