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.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
EarthViewer
Can you imagine Washington DC and London as close neighbors occupying the same continent? Learners will be fascinated as they step back in time and discover the evolution of the earth's continents and oceans from 4.5 billion years ago to...
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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...
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Climate Watch
Students participate in a national survey of biological indicators of climate change by gathering and submitting data on local plants and animals.
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California Biodiversity
Pupils examine several maps of California exhibiting features such as precipitation, topography, and vegetation. They look for patterns that might be the source of or influence biodiversity in different regions. They pay particular...
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Biodiversity - Does It Really Matter?
Students examine biodiversity, ecosystems, and extinction. They are divided into groups to discuss why they think biodiversity is important.
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March of the Polar Bears: Global Change, Sea Ice, and Wildlife Migration
Learners study global change and how these changes impact wildlife. In this polar bears lesson students analyze maps and data to understand climate change.
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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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Plant Life in Action
Sixth graders examine various habitats and record the living creatures they found. In this biodiversity lesson, 6th graders complete a worksheet recording their observations. Students draw conclusions about the climate and its effect on...
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Biological Sciences
Students examine biodiversity and interrelatedness concepts. In this ecology lesson students go on a field trip and fill out a data sheet.
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The Good, The Bad and The Arctic
Learners examine the impact of a major climate change in the Arctic Ocean on the rest of the world. They use the Internet to research the Arctic region and the wildlife that lives there.
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Tropical Regions/Mapping Biodiversity
Students use a world map to locate the country of Puerto Rico. In groups, they identify the various types of vegetation found on the island. They compare and contrast the biodiversity of the country to the United States. To end the...
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Biodiversity in Sixth Grade
Sixth graders explore the nature of habitats on an ABC hike. In groups, they collect items that make up habitats including plants, feathers, and leaves among other materials. Students then classify and organize the collected materials...
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Flora and Fauna of the Hill Neighborhood
Students compare and contrast the characteristics of plants and animals. For this ecology lesson, students observe the outdoors and describe the relationship among different living things. They relate plant diversity with animal diversity.
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Great Blobs of Jelly!
Students explain how zoo-plankton have an impact on the global process. In this ocean zoo-plankton lesson students calculate carbon flux and plankton densities.
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Forest Ecology or Who Lives Here?
Students explore a hardwood forest. In this forest ecology lesson, students examine the diversity and animals and plants as they explore their habitats at Poricy Park Conservatory. Students determine how biodiversity and abiotic elements...
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Rainforest Complexity and Diversity
Second graders investigate the diversity of plants and animals in a rainforest. They watch an online story developed by the Rainforest Alliance, observe and record animals in their local area, explore various websites, and compare and...
LABScI
Population Dynamics: The Predator-Prey Lab
Wolves eat better when the bunny population increases, but how long does that last? A series of 12 biology lessons uses the sixth installment to explore the predator-prey relationship between bunny and wolf populations. Young scientists...
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Paper Makers
Students make recycled paper out of scrap paper, water, and leaves. In this natural resources lesson plan, students learn about conservation of the forest and how we can use recycled paper to fuel our paper supply.
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Giants of the Animal Kingdom
Fourth graders examine the megafauna found in Australia. They create a food web using cut-outs and develop a timeline to show changes in the fauna over time. They draw their own megafauna scene for their classroom.
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Coral Reefs
Young scholars research coral reefs and identify their benefits to humans, threats to the reef, how to reduce and eliminate threats, and more. In this coral reef lesson plan, students research the reefs, and take a field trip to an...
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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...
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Looking At Leaves
Students investigate the different leaves of Wisconsin. They gather samples of leaves in order to compare to the samples taken from Puerto Rico. They make observations and collect data recording the size, shape, and texture of the...
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Pond Life Identification Kit
Learners explore ecology and biodiversty. They use the wet-mount procedure to make several slides to view using the microscope and draw what they see.