Curated OER
Ecology
Learners explore, experience and experiment identifying the human impact on the environment of vegetative differences within the same biome. They assess what causes deserts, rain forests, savannahs, tundras and saguaros and how these...
Curated OER
Desert Plant Detectives
Students examine and categorize plants in their own schoolyard desert garden and then observe other plant areas of their schoolyard.
Curated OER
What Parts Are There to a Plant?
Students identify and sort plant parts through hands-on activities and group discussions and then work with magnifying lenses and tape measures to document their observations on a student sheet.
Curated OER
Bird Ecology Unit
Birds, plants, and vegetation, is there anything more lovely? There is! Engage your class in the scientific process, data collection, and data analysis. They stroll their campus observing and identifying various birds and plants,...
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Beaver Ecology
Students investigate beaver adaptations, life cycle, and the effects of beaver behavior on ecosystems. They compare and contrast how beavers influence the ecology of both forest and aquatic ecosystems.
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Plant and Animal Cells
Students investigate parts of a cell. In this plant cell instructional activity, students determine the difference between plant and animal cells. Students discover that coral is an animal based on cell characteristics. Students create...
National Park Service
Fire Ecology on the Rim
An engaging unit on wildfires includes three sections, including a background section with eight lessons and five activities, a field experience section with 13 lessons and five activities, and a conclusion section featuring an analysis...
Curated OER
Plant Diversity and Distribution
Students construct a defined plot on school grounds and observed patterns in plant life. They count trees, shrubs, cacti and record on a data sheet. They compare data and generate a plant diversity overlook for their school.
Curated OER
What Parts Are There to a Plant?
Students explore botany by completing plant science worksheets. For this plant anatomy lesson, students examine real vegetables in class using magnifying glasses. Students identify the plants anatomy and complete worksheets discussing...
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Arizona Plant Booklet: An Introduction to Arizona Plants & Cacti
Students explore variety of plants & cacti in their Arizona community by collecting samples and taking photographs. Can be adapted to other areas.
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Rapid Ecological Assessments
Students conduct an ecological assessment of a small area on school property. They inventory plant and animal life of a sample area and make calculations to determine implications for a larger area.
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Rapid Ecological Assessment
Students conduct an ecological assessment of a small area on school property and apply findings to the greater area. They inventory the plant and animal population of a sample area and extrapolate results to a larger area.
Curated OER
Saving Energy Through Ecological Landscape Design
Students are able to transcribe to scale the plant features of a common landscape. They determine true north and south and collect and record data on a table. Students calculate a rating for and describe a definition of insulation and...
LABScI
Botany: The Plant Dissection Lab
Study everything about plants! The 12-part series of lessons continues with an examination of many aspects of plants. Components of the laboratory activity address the growth and structure of plants by evaluating familiar plants. The...
Curated OER
Prairie Restoration and Prairie Ecology
Students collect data as they identify and classify native prairie plants and insects. They create their own population study using a variety of sampling techniques to determine the population density of various species. Students...
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Science: Fossil of a Carbonized Plant
Students classify leaves by shape and margins and use them to create models of plant fossils. By using paper over a leaf, they simulate fossilization of organisms onto sedimentary rocks. Following instructions on worksheets, students...
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Hedgerows
Hedgerows prevent soil erosion, capture pollutants running off fields, store carbon to help combat climate change, and provide homes for predators of many pest species. The biodiversity lesson begins with an activity that discusses why...
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Habitat Basics
First graders get out and explore two different habitats to examine how each one meets the needs of the plants and animals that dwell there. They discuss what they've learned about animal habitats as they explore the outdoor environment....
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Wetland Transects
Students lay out transect lines beside a local stream or river. There they record species of plants and insects living around the stream. By doing so, students explore how to use transect sampling techniques, use a variety of methods to...
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Give Me Back My School: A Back to Basics Approach to Ecological Restoration
Ninth graders research local geography to create successful, ecological school landscaping. They determine soil type, average weather patterns and temperature graphs and use the information to select ideal plants and plant maintenance...
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Coastal Ecology of the Bahamas
Sixth graders investigate the Bahamas through presentations and charts. For this ecology lesson, 6th graders utilize their library and Internet to research the life forms and species that inhabit the Bahamas. Students observe a...
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Forest In A Jar
Tenth graders are introduced to the process of succession and gain awareness of the changing nature of ecosystems. They demonstrate a comprehension of the dynamic nature of ecosystems, including the relationship between ecological...
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Teaching Kids about the Environment
Fifth graders identify the species of plants and animals found in an environment. They compare these findings to plant and animal species found in an unlike environment. Students acquire and compare soil samples from the two sites chosen.
Curated OER
Seeds of Wetland Life
Learners participate in several activities on seed exploration. For this biology lesson, students classify seeds according to their dispersal method. They explain the different adaptations plant have to disperse their seeds.