Curated OER
Taking Count of Biodiversity
Here is a well-designed activity on biodiversity that should intrigue your charges. In it, pupils compare a natural desert area to a school field to see how habitat destruction affects species diversity. Groups set up transects and...
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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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Insect Monitoring
Middle schoolers participate in an interactive lesson using the scientific method to study biodiversity. In this insect monitoring lesson, students simulate the layers of soil and the insects that would live there. Middle schoolers...
Curated OER
Insect Monitoring
Students practice the scientific method in the classroom, either in preparation or as a substitution for real-world field experience. They examine a simulated biodiversity research situation, using a "mini-plot" or
sampling square...
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Looking for Biodiversity
Middle schoolers explore habitats and see that there are a variety of plants that can be found and that biodiversity is an important characteristic. In this biodiversity lesson plan students complete an activity that explains how to...
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Insect Biodiversity
Students observe the process of transect sampling using insect nets, to get a chance to compare the presence of different species and populations in various vegetational areas. They study the different specimens caught and compare their...
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Biodiversity
Students investigate the diversity of temperate forests and tropical rainforests. They catch and observe local insects, sort leaves and insects on a chart, listen to the book "A Walk in the Rainforest," and create a class bar graph that...
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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...
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Spot Identification of Some of the Most Common Insect Orders
Learners investigate the basic characteristics of insect orders and develop short-cut techniques to identify insects into twelve of the most common orders. They use captured specimens and photographs to practice identification and then...
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Missing Macroinvertebrates - Stream Side Science
Field study groups collect samples of stream water and identify the macroinvertebrates found. Using their data, they calculate a water quality index to rate the health of the stream. They graph their data and discuss the value of a water...
National Park Service
Biodiversity—Bee Week
If you want scholars to fall in love with bees, this is the unit for you! Celebrate bees with a full week of material—designed for the Next Generation Science Standards—that addresses the importance of pollination and fertilization....
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Summer: Getting the Bugs Out
Students study biodiversity while examining insects. They research insects that already exist and how they adapt to their environment.
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BioKeys
Young scholars identify insect (and plant) specimens using the online resource Biokeys. They record the data that they collect in their notebooks. Students use identification characteristics and features that are shared and unique...
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Aquatic Insects: Water Quality Index & Diversity Index
Pupils search stream beds to study the life cycle and adaptations of stream insects. They explore creeks and streams to see the diversity index of creeks or streams and to find the water qualit index.
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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Relating Number of Insect Species to Water Quality
Students are asked to respond to questions such as:" Have there been surveys of the area to inventory the species?" (For example, for a wetland area, do they know what amphibians live there and how abundant they are?) Are there any...
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Suburban Ecosystems
Learners conduct simple sampling of plant and insect biodiversity at ground level in two contrasting environments of their own choosing. They recognize and record different species then compare and contrast species numbers in the two...
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Investigating comparative biodiversity of wetland and schoolyard sites
Fourth graders participate in an activity dealing with the environment.
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Biodiversity in Illinois-Pond Habitats
Second graders construct a pond habitat in the classroom using a small swimming pool partially filled with water, real cattails, a tree log adjoining, and plastic animal life appropriate to a pond setting. They examine the frog in detail...
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Who's the Baddest?
Students are introduced to the realm of social insects, their role in the environment and the biological features that make them unique.
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Discover a Pond Food Web
Students study the biodiversity of animal life in a pond. They investigate the interdependence between pond organisms by completing a pond dipping activity and completing a checklist.
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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...
ARKive
Butterflies and Blooms
The Northwoods of Wisconsin are lovely in the summer,and they are also home to many flower and butterfly species. Investigate the ways in which seasonal flowers and butterflies are interdependent on each other for survival with a fun...
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Habitat Happenings
Students examine the characteristics of the Prairie Creek Habitat in Illinois. In groups, they travel between various stations writing haikus and reading brochures. They identify what occurs in each habitat and identify the animals...