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...
Intel
Insects: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
What would the world be like with no insects? Ponder this question using a research-based STEM unit that encourages scholars to investigate insects from both a beneficial and hazardous perspective. They learn about insect behaviors,...
Curated OER
Ecology 8 Land Biomes
High schoolers identify and describe the main features of one land biome. After researching what a biome is, they give various examples of biomes around the world and in their backyards.
Curated OER
Symbiotic Strategies
Students explore the different interspecies relationships namely mutualistic, commensal and parasitic. For this ecology lesson, students investigate an ecosystem disrupted by humans. They formulate an action plan to save it and present...
Curated OER
Natural Resources: Getting a Fair Share?
Young scholars explore the impact of human behavior on key components of the environment, examine how theirn own personal decisions have added to the problem, and explore possible solutions to the current ecological crisis.
Curated OER
Ecology 7 Midterm and Intro to Biomes
Students are able to demonstrate acquired knowledge in energy and biogeochemical cycles through a midterm test. They complete their test after finishing they each choose a biome and point of the key features of it which include: What the...
University of Kentucky
Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt
Many people think of bugs as annoying pests to be squashed, but most insects and spiders are beneficial, eating the actual pests or pollinating plants. After reviewing some of the common bugs in your area (they may differ from those...
Curated OER
Investigative Case - Living in an Alkaline Environment
Young scholars are shown many ways in which Mono Lake water and distilled water are different. They demonstrate that the survival of common soil bacteria declines as pH increases. Students examine the behaviors, adaptations, energy...
Curated OER
Ecology - Biodiversity Lab
Studnents examine the degree of biodiversity that exists in one's everyday environment, in order to develop an understanding of how scientists classify organisms and to explain why biodiversity is important for living things.
Curated OER
High School EcoHouse Curriculum
How has the level of carbon dioxide changed over recent years, and what is contributing it? Groups work together to research and present their findings in a creative way. Also built into the lesson is a visit to a sustainable house, but...
Curated OER
Deer Tracks
Students use satellite images to track to movement patterns of deer and examine deer behavior. They write stories about a day in the life of a field scientist.
Curated OER
Frozen Seas
Students research animal life in the frozen seas. In this researched based lesson, students use the Internet to create a poster about an animal that lives in an Arctic or Antarctic environment. Students will focus on the behavioral and...
Curated OER
Earthworm Movement and Landscape Structure
Students describe differences in animal usage of habitats depending upon successional status of site. They also design other experiments to test movement patterns of animals through habitats of differing structure.
Curated OER
The Rain Forest
Students acquire knowledge about the basics of the tropical rain forest ecosystem. They analyze the cause/effect relationship between humans attitudes and behavior and the evnvironment. Students list the four general layers of vegetation...
Curated OER
Desert Animals
Students survive within an ecosystem, an animal must be physically and behaviorally adapted to the conditions of its environment.
Curated OER
Jurassic Park Debate
Young scholars research behavior, phsyiology, and ecology of dinoaurs. Students role-play as scientific specialists such as geneticists and ecologists. They present their research findings in a research paper.
Curated OER
Predator-Prey Relationships
Students understand ecological systems. They provide experiences to assist citizens to increase their sensitivity and stewardship for the environment.
Curated OER
Invertebrate Research Project
Students keep a scientific research notebook on an invertebrate detailing its behavior and responses.
Curated OER
Explore the Food Web
Students identify plants and animals in the journals of Lewis and Clark's expedition. They describe the various animal habits. Students interpret the behaviors of the animals discovered on the expedition. They design a food web using...
NOAA
Deep-Sea Ecosystems – Cool Corals
Young oceanographers research deep sea corals that thrive on chemosynthesis. The lesson plan focuses on the biology of the animal, preferred habitat, associations, and interactions.
Kenan Fellows
The Little Stuff Can Make a Big Difference
Great things come in small packages! What better way to illustrate this point than a week-long look at nanotechnology? Earth science scholars explore water quality issues through lab activities, then research new innovations in nanotech...
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
Field Guide to Schoolyard Insects and Their Relatives
Your entire class works together to create an illustrated insect field guide. The intent is that they venture outside of the classroom, find a critter, and then research it using reference materials, insect books, and the Internet for...
Curated OER
Why Do Some Birds Have Two Homes When We Have One?
Sixth graders study migratory birds in the temperate forest and the tropical rainforest. In this migratory birds lesson, 6th graders participate in different activities that explain patterns of migration, research patterns of...