Curated OER
The Influence of Human Activity on the Environment
The surge in human population in the last 2,000 years, due in large part to better health care, has brought a surge in the demand for resources and in pollution. The graphics, photographs, and real-life examples in a thought-provoking...
Henry Ford Museum
Human Impact on Ecosystems
An environmenta science unit includes three lessons plus a cumulative project covering the ecosystem. Scholars follow the history of the Ford Rouge Factory from its construction on wetlands and how it destroyed the environment to its...
NOAA
What's the Big Deal?
Who knew that a possible answer to Earth's energy resource problems was lurking deep beneath the ocean's surface? Part four of a six-part series introduces Earth Science pupils to methane hydrate, a waste product of methanogens. After...
Carnegie Mellon University
International Perspectives to Climate Change 1
After a lecture about how the first industrial revolution triggered the path to climate change, your environmental studies class discusses what the impacts are. In a culminating activity, they get into groups and identify countries on a...
NOAA
Ocean Layers I
How is it possible for ocean water to have layers? The sixth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates factors that cause different water densities to occur. Experiments...
NOAA
The Dead Zone
The fifth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program defines dead zones and how they form. Pupils then examine data from the Gulf of Mexico to determine dead zone formation.
NOAA
Technology I
Isn't technology great? The 12th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces technology that marine scientists use. Pupils take part in an activity using conductivity,...
Wilderness Classroom
Pollution
Educate scholars on pollution—air, water, and land—with a series of lessons that begin with a thorough explanation of each type. Learners then take part in three activities to reinforce the importance of reducing pollution. They...
Science Matters
Oh Heron
Two teams—the environmentalists and herons—play four rounds of the game, Oh Heron. Using hand symbols to represent food, shelter, and water, players locate their match to produce more herons while those unmatched decompose.
Curated OER
Unit 2: Global to Local: Understanding My Place in the Hydrosphere
What does the ground around your home have to do with water pollution? Young ecologists learn about their local watershed and create their own cause-and-effect models of the hydrosphere.
NOAA
Ocean Acidification
If tap water is more acidic than ocean water, why are we so concerned about ocean acidification? The third installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on carbon dioxide levels in...
Redefining Progress
Have and Have-Not
Is there a correlation between a country's wealth and the extent of its ecological footprint? What exactly constitutes an ecological footprint, and how does one country stack up against the rest? This is a unique lesson to incorporate...
American Chemical Society
The Legacy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
How do we protect crops and protect the environment at the same time? Using reading materials, learners explore the history of the use of pesticides and biocides. They create a timeline and then explore the current practices.
Brown University
Youth Activism and the Dakota Access Pipeline
Do young people have a role in social movements? Should they? The involvement of young people in the Dakota Access Pipeline is the focus of a resource that asks class members to examine letters written by native youths who oppose the...
Teach Engineering
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of several garbage patches around the world where garbage accumulates naturally. As part of a GIS unit that combines oceanography, environmental science, and life science, class members investigate...
Columbus City Schools
Diversity of Living Things
Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have changed along...
NOAA
Marine Policy
Save the oceans! The 22nd installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on laws and marine policy. Pupils take part in an activity investigating fisheries stock data.
NOAA
El Niño
El Nino, La Nina ... and the Santa Maria? The 11th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explains the mechanism of El Nino/Southern Oscillation. Pupils use previous data to determine...
Curated OER
GM Crops: Friends or Foes?
Genetically modified crops—How do you feel about them? Here, explore the benefits and risks of GM crops to inform your opinion.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
New England's Ground Water Resources
Learn all about where ground water is stored, how it moves, and how it is accessed in a detailed and thorough 10-page reading. Whether supplementing reading for an existing environmental or earth science course or providing background...
National Energy Education Development Project
Exploring Hydropower
In 2006, about 20 percent of the world's electricity was generated from hydroelectric power. In the presentation, scholars review the water cycle and gravitational energy to begin to understand how humans harness the power of water. They...
Rainforest Alliance
How Do Jaguars and Howler Monkeys in Belize Depend on Us?
How does weather play a role in the lives of land and sea creatures? Find out with a instructional activity focused on habitats and the ways animals from different homes are connected. Here, learners explore how the life of a jaguar and...
Curated OER
Weather and Climate
It's hot today, but is that the weather or the climate? This colorful presentation isolates both concepts to allow for better understanding by covering the positioning of the planet, making comparisons of land versus water, and looking...
International Technology Education Association
Team Up on the Weather
There's a little bit about every aspect of weather in this trivia game. The lesson resource provides 36 questions and answers pertaining to four different topics related to weather: effects, science, technology, and statistics. Groups...