Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 2: Why Are There Cities? A Historical Perspective
Students investigate the importance of food surpluses to the historical development of urban ecosystems.
Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 4: Metabolism of Urban Ecosystems
Middle schoolers discover that material and energy uses by a city come from outside the city boundaries. They realize that the pathway of these material is linear instead of cyclical as they are in natural ecosystems.
Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 3: Cities as Population Centers
Middle schoolers discover that throughout history cities have been centers of population but that human exploitation of fossil fuels was key to the growth of large cities worldwide. They research urban growth through a number of websites.
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time in Areas of Deforestation and Urbanization
Is qualitative or quantitative research more convincing when it comes to climate change? In the eighth instructional activity during this 21-part series, scholars begin by performing a quantitative analysis of deforestation and...
Virginia Department of Education
Succession
The final instructional activity in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen...
Curated OER
A Tour Down the Hudson River
Pupils discuss how the Hudson River is an ecosystem made up of both biotic and abiotic factors. They view the PowerPoint the Journal Down the Hudson River. Students become aware of where the Hudson River begins and ends, the plant and...
Curated OER
The Urban Explosion
Students investigate the uncontrolled development of the world's major cities. They define key vocabulary terms, view and discuss video excerpts, and complete a project that involves drawing a "perfect city," developing a plan to...
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time Using Landsat
"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...
Curated OER
Selecting Trees for Urban Environments
Young scholars consider the best place to plant a tree. In this environment lesson, students identify urban locations that are compatible with particular tree types. Young scholars decide what trees would go where and why they would...
Curated OER
The Mechanisms of Decay and Decomposition
Eighth graders study how all living things die. They are introduced tot he life cycle and the concept of an ecosystem. Students have a introductory exposure to trophic levels (producer-consumer-decomposer) in the environment.
Curated OER
Images of Our Changing Earth
Students identify and explain that remote sensing can detect changes on the Earth's surface that occur over time, and name at least three: urbanization, deforestation, and succession. They select a global change issue to investigate and...
Forest Foundation
Fire - How Does it Relate to You?
Forest fires can be a necessary step in keeping a forest healthy, but what happens when they get out of control? Learners investigate the causes and effects of forest fires in two specific areas, culminating in a report about the ways...
NOAA
Exploring Potential Human Impacts
Arctic sea ice reflects 80 percent of sunlight, striking it back into space; with sea ice melting, the world's oceans become warmer, which furthers global warming. These activities explore how humans are impacting ecosystems around the...
Curated OER
Gwynns Falls
Students investigate the question: What is the impact of urban development and expansion on the health of a decidious forest ecosystem and humans? They examine the issue of land development by responding to a specific scenario and...
Curated OER
Examine the Trees in Your Community Forest
Twelfth graders examine selected tree species. In this tree lesson, 12th graders examine twenty selected tree species, identify them, and correctly map out the trees in the area.
Curated OER
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Young scholars complete a population pyramid for a city they are studying. They may complete a population pyramid for their city and another one for the country in which the city is located. They compare and contrast the results of the...
Curated OER
Environment: Assess Your Habitat's Health
Students research their ecozone in Canada and label on maps various parks and wildlife areas. They role-play as doctors with their ecozones as patients and search for symptoms from pollution, urbanization, loss of habitat, and decline of...
Curated OER
Habitats Past and Present
Students explore the changes in animal habitats. In this ecosystem lesson, students use the Internet to explore the changes in the environment since the 1700's. Students complete a Venn diagram to compare the differences in the animal...
Curated OER
Fire Wars
Students identify fire risk factors for a property located near a wildland area. Students discuss ecosystems subject to wildland fire and consider what could be done to eliminate the problem.
Curated OER
How Big Is Your Landscape?
Learners explore how an organism perceives its landscape and how changes to its landscape can effect its survival. Of particular focus is the effect of urbanization and the organisms survival in the cities.
Desert Discoveries
Keepers of the Prairie
Young ecologists examine the case of the prairie dog, and their near extinction. They read a terrific student handout embedded in the plan, and engage in a class discussion that's based on what they read. Learners perform research on...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
The last activity in the series of four has individuals determine steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprints and then analyze their schools' recycling programs. Through a sustainability audit, they identify how and where their...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
How big is your footprint? Activity three culminates the series by having groups complete carbon footprint audits with people in their schools and/or around the districts. Groups then gather their data, create a presentation including...
Curated OER
Protecting Holy Cows
Young scholars study the interrelationships of organisms and their environments. They study ecological communities and determine what is necessary for survival. Students discuss and answer questions concerning a group's biome, habitat,...