Montana State University
Everest Extremes: Biodiversity
How many animals can live in a climate as cold as Mount Everest's? Find out with a science lesson all about biodiversity. Activities include research, presentations, group work, coloring maps, and a simulation of a food web.
Curated OER
Illinois Biodiversity
Students examine the amount of biodiversity in the state of Illinois. They practice using new vocabulary and listening to stories about animals. After given time to reflect, they write their own haiku. They work together to create a...
Curated OER
The Basics of Creature Connectedness: Biodiversity Diversions
Students study biodiversity. They participate in a scavenger hunt to look for presence of wildlife and connections in nature. They create a collage about Venezuelan biodiversity in small groups and present to the class. They write a...
ARKive
Biodiversity and Evolution – Darwin’s Finches
Teens experience natural selection firsthand (or first beak) in an activity that has them act as finches foraging for food. Using different household items to act as different beak styles, your little finches will collect as much food...
Curated OER
Backyard Birds: Who's Who Out There?
Students practice techniques of field observation and data-gathering while studying local bird population, describe ecosystem as complex combination of elements, which can affect or be affected by each other, and determine effects of...
Curated OER
Measuring Biodiversity
Students explore a few key concepts associated with measuring biodiversity. They are told that biodiversity can be measured in a number of ways. Genetic diversity is a measure of the genes represented in the sample. Ecosystem...
Curated OER
The Impacts of Human Activities on Biodiversity in New Haven County
Students discover how plants and animal ecosystems are affected by the growth of a city. For this ecology lesson, students study and observe a plant over a period of time. They develop a creative presentation of their data and share them...
Curated OER
Biodiversity - Who Cares?
Students articulate some of the impacts of loss of biodiversity. They play a game that demonstrates why having a rich variety of life is important to the survival of ecosystems and how invasive species are threatening local biodiversity.
Curated OER
GPS Ecosystem (Ecotone) Scavenger Hunt
Students describe the characteristics of an ecotone. In this ecotone lesson, students pick out their area and describe the visual appearance, conditions, ecosystem, biodiversity, predators, prey, and trees in their ecotone. They create a...
Curated OER
Community Action
Fifth graders decide how one uses resources within a particular bioregion. In this decision making lesson, 5th graders consider the biodiversity and complexity of the ecosystem. Students select a resource (water, paper, electricity)...
American Museum of Natural History
Web of Life Game
Get caught in a web of learning. Classmates play a game to build a web to model the interaction of species that live in a specific ecosystem. They each assume the role of one species and work together, passing a ball of twine to indicate...
American Museum of Natural History
Life in the City
Believe it or not, biodiversity exists even in areas of disturbed habitat. An interactive activity challenges learners to look for species with a magnifying lens in an image of a city habitat. Pop-up images and descriptions explain how...
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Fifth graders visit the playground to look for signs of life. They search for insects, birds, animal tracks, feathers, nests, trees, soil, etc. They then compose a class list that shows all findings in the schoolyard and post it in the...
Montana Natural History Center
Studying Grassland Ecosystems
At first glance, grassland ecosystems might seem dull and uninteresting, but once you start to explore it's amazing the things you'll find! Through this series of engaging lessons, activities, and experiments, elementary students examine...
Curated OER
Measuring Biodiversity
Students collect species data from a mock intertidal community. In this biology lesson, students graph their data and analyze the species in it. They construct a species accumulation curve and present it to class.
Curated OER
Forest Ecosystem
Students become familiar with the temperate rainforest. In this forest ecosystem instructional activity, students identify the producers, consumers and decomposers in the forest ecosystem. Students sort cards and identify the trophic...
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Students explore the diversity of different marine sanctuaries. In this biodiversity lesson students work in groups to explore a sanctuary.
Curated OER
Introducing Biodiversity
Students investigate biodiversity by creating reports with their classmates. In this ecosystem lesson, students utilize the Internet to research the different types of life in our environment and different locations around the world....
Curated OER
Biodiversity - Does It Really Matter?
Students examine biodiversity, ecosystems, and extinction. They are divided into groups to discuss why they think biodiversity is important.
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Students complete activities to study the importance of biodiversity. In this biodiversity lesson, students find images to categorize into organism groups and illustrate their interconnections. Students use measurement tools to study a...
Curated OER
Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Students discuss biodiversity and how to preserve it before examining biodiversity first-hand in an area close to their school. They collect as many leaves as possible from trees and plants and research them when upon returning to the...
Curated OER
Schoolyard Tree Inventory and Biodiversity Project
Learners investigate the trees in their schoolyard by collecting data. In this ecosystem lesson students examine the schoolyard in sections, tagging and numbering trees and shrubbery in the specific area. Learners collect leaves for...
Curated OER
Title: Biodiversity Analysis and Comparison Within the New Jersey Highlands
Students explore the concept of biodiversity. In this environmental science lesson, students use field methods to examine the trophic relationship that allows for species diversity.
Curated OER
How Much Is An Ecosystem Worth?
Students explain and discuss the importance of ecosystems. They analyze the natural resources in the environment. They also suggest actions that would protect ecosystems.