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...

An online reading and interactive game bring the path of a carbon molecule to life for your earth science explorers! As an assessment, learners can map out or write about their experience in the carbon cycle. Thoroughly written...

The relationships within and between ecosystems can be explored. after examining an area for living and non-living things students complete the same examination in the forest ecosystem. Students identify abiotic and biotic elements in an...

What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...

Reading comprehension and note-taking skills are practiced as young ecologists embark on this journey. Explorers visit a website where they will read about three ecosystems that are in danger. They use interactive programs to build a...

Seventh graders complete a virtual online salt marsh tour. In groups, they observe and identify the various types of animals found in the marsh. After categorizing the animals, they create a food web based on the animals role in the...

It is a tangled web the ecosystem weaves. Learners begin an activity on ecosystem interactions by building a food chain and then a food web with yarn as a group. To finish, they research local environmental changes that may impact the...

Students are able to draw a diagram of the light reactions and briefly describe what is occurring throughout the process. They are able to explain where each reactant/product in the photosynthesis equation comes from/goes during the...

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...

Seventh graders create a closed ecosystem and place it where is it visible to others in the school. They label it with posters describing the interdependence of living things in the ecosystem. They discuss what might happen to the...

Sixth graders explore how organisms interact with one another other in their environment. In this organism instructional activity, 6th graders understand abiotic factors and or biotic components of their environment. Students decide if...

First in a two-part lesson on the greenhouse effect, this lesson involves a classroom demonstration of the phenomenon, and a lab group experiment with color and absorption. Although there are easier ways to demonstrate the greenhouse...

Addiction is a big deal! Playing a game of cards helps learners understand the concept of addiction. Through their analysis, they examine the potential for addiction and how it varies for each individual.

Second graders identify insects and plants in the forest ecosystem in a structured field trip with stations and activity booklets.  In this bugs lesson, 2nd graders explore the ecosystem of the forest, complete the booklet and play...

Seventh graders examine the factors that affect the number and types of organisms that an ecosystem can support.  In this ecosystem activity students study the barn owl and where it is on the food chain, then dissect an owl pellet.

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...

Responsible farming is important for maintaining natural resources. Eager scientists complete a WebQuest to explore what happens to nitrogen when it enters the soil. They learn about the chemical makeup of nitrogen-based molecules...

Fourth graders examine how the different organisms living in an ecosystem affect one another. In groups, they research a specific ecosystem and present their findings to the class based on the type of organisms found in it. To end the...

Students explore animal characteristics by participating in an environment identification activity. In this animal habitat lesson, students discuss a range of different wild life and the ecosystems that they are a part of. Students view...

Dinnertime on the African savanna is a highly choreographed event! Introduce young ecologists to the concept of niche partitioning through a hands-on activity. Pupils research animal behaviors and use data to develop an understanding of...

Sixth graders explore, analyze and study the effect and impact that humans have on the environment based on their choices as individuals, businesses and governments. They assess the balance between human activities and aquatic pollution.

Ninth graders research the average temperature and precipitation of a prairie region to determine the type of climate it is, and how it differs from other biomes. They examine the types of adaptions animals have made to live in the...

Ninth graders conduct an environmental inventory on one ecosystem. They collect data, and write an environmental impact statement on that area. Students explain the interactions between different systems found within an ecosystem....

Be at the top of the food chain when it comes to understanding marine ecosystems. The 21st installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates marine ecosystems, ocean zones, and food...