Will human existence define an epoch? Many scientists think we are in a new epoch, the anthropocene, defined by humans and our impact on the environment. An online interactive demonstrates the immense impact humans have had on every part...

A referenced PowerPoint is not included, but this lesson can still make an impact with emerging environmentalists. After introducing them to the facts about overfishing, they experiment with a fishing simulation using colored beads and...

Here is a lesson that walks youth through an online carbon footprint calculator produced by the University of California, Berkeley. Once learners finish inputting information, they compete a worksheet with the results. This is simple,...

Get your high schoolers thinking about the factors that lead to birth defects. They examine how environmental factors and personal choices can cause birth defects in unborn children. They discover the effects of various handicaps such as...

Can our energy resources keep up with our ever-growing population? Science scholars learn the basics of energy and Earth's energy resources during an electrifying lesson. The resource combines video clips and an engineering design...

Here is a fascinating human geography study of the Zabbaleen. They are a sub-class of people who work as garbage collectors in Cairo, Egypt. I can't say enough good things about this resource in my limited space here. It is fabulous! If...

Young scientists observe deforestation from satellite photos and discuss the importance of forests to the global environment. They then simulate a plot of forest when farmers move into the area over the course of seven years. Finally,...

Students discuss the terms exploration and technology. They read about the MESSENGER, Mission to Mercury, and answer questions. Next, they design and plan the technology for a space mission using an online interactive activity.

Fourth graders explore ballet. In this dance and music humanities lesson, 4th graders practice ballet positions and play a card game using French ballet vocabulary. Students count beats in rhythm patterns and listen to classical music...

How do those nocturnal animals see in the dark? This perplexing question does have an answer. First, little ones use their sense of touch to determine the name of a mystery object, then they listen closely to identify various animals by...

Students visit a local ecosystem to survey the plants and animals present and identify interactions between organisms. They identify interactions that occur between living organisms and their ecosystem and present their ecosystem to the...

Students assess the impact of human activity on the environment. After reading the book, "A River Ran Wild," they role-play and discuss how people changed the river. Students write stories about living along a river from the point of...

Though this is meant to be second in a two-part lesson, the two are not dependent on each other. Pupils play the roles of visible light rays, light or dark surfaces, and carbon dioxide molecules. They interact and react according to...

Students are introduced to the important geography concept of sustainability by looking at the Roseau River floods of 2002. They discuss the impact of humans on the environment. They explain how sustainability relates to everyday geography.

Third graders discuss the ways in which human interaction with the environment and production of waste products contribute to pollution. Through a pollution demonstration, they explain how various groups of plants and animals can be...

Students, while working in groups under the Operation Genesis project involve fictional elements of role playing to grasp geographic concepts concerning human/environment interaction. They create the physical features of a fictional...

Second graders study Earth's materials. In this air and weather instructional activity, 2nd graders note changes in the weather and examine tools that help us study the weather. Students analyze how changes in the environment make...

Students investigate jungles and the people who depend upon them.  In this sustainability lesson, students research wild life conservation and discover the importance of a jungle to Amazonian people.  Students create a group...

Students examine how natural disasters impact humans and how to develop a disaster relief plan. They develop a list of natural disasters, and in disaster relief teams, create an emergency plan for their families to follow if a selected...

Students investigate the food chain. They brainstorm questions about the human food chain and explain what would happen to living things in the food chain if organisms or resources were removed. They role-play situations in which the...

Learners explore their feelings about rain through art, music, and poetry. They listen to music as they think about rain and determine how they feel about rain. Students create either poetry or artwork about as they listen to music...

Learners discuss the importance and function of nautical maps for sailors. They, in groups, take soundings of a simulated bay in a shoebox and develop a nautical chart that enable them to navigate the shoebox safely.

Fourth and fifth graders explore soil by taking a simulated field trip under the earth. They go to an Internet site that runs a simulation which charges them with finding a source of pollution that could destroy all of Earth's soil, and...

Here is an astounding series of lessons, designed for high schoolers, on environmental policy. By studying water conservation in rural India, the role of the government, and the reaction of the people, learners begin to formulate...