Cal Recycle
Conserving Natural Resources
Trying to plan an engaging elementary science unit on natural resources? Conserve your energy! This five-part series of lessons and hands-on activities has exactly what you need to teach young scholars about the importance of conservation.
K12 Reader
Water Carves the Land
What affect do bodies of water have on the world around us? Kids can find out by reading this passage. After reading, they answer five questions related to the text.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
What is Groundwater? Our Underground Water Supply
Learn about the consequences of groundwater with a lesson about the different ways California handles water conservation and pollution. After reading a passage about the water table, learners apply what they have read to six...
K12 Reader
Natural Resources
What natural resources are available in your area? Your learners can consider this question after reading a brief passage about natural and renewable resources. After reading, class members respond to five questions related to the reading.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
What is Drought? No Rain, No Water
How can climate change affect our water supply? Have kids read a passage about the water cycle and water conservation, which includes six questions that challenge them to use context clues.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Greenhouse Gas Emissions — Natural and Human Causes
What impact do humans have on greenhouse gas emissions? What are the natural causes of these gasses? Thanks to the carbon cycle, carbon dioxide eats away at the earth's atmosphere with the intensified help of humans. Young scientists...
Curated OER
Fracking: Positive or Negative Impact?
Your teenagers may have heard of fracking, but do they really know what it is? And could they debate the benefits and risks? Educate your environmental science class with a lesson about hydraulic fracturing, non-renewable energy...
K12 Reader
United States Geography
Encourage reading for information with a text about United States geography. Kids read a short passage about the landforms in the United States, including mountain ranges and natural resources, and answer five reading comprehension...
Curated OER
The Chesapeake Bay in Captain John Smith's Time
When Captain John Smith visited the Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 1608, what types of animals and habitats did he encounter? Your young historians will analyze primary source documents to answer this question, as well as compare...
Australian Government
The Great Artesian Basin
Covering 23% of the continent and holding 64,900 cubic kilometers of water, the Great Artesian Basin is the primary source of water for much of inland Australia. Using detailed student worksheets, experiments, and case studies,...
Calvin Crest Outdoor School
Survival
Equip young campers with important survival knowledge with a set of engaging lessons. Teammates work together to complete three outdoor activities, which include building a shelter, starting a campfire, and finding directions in the...
National Park Service
It Was a Very Good Year
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park includes whitebark pines that are over 1,200 years old, meaning they have been there since before medieval times. The second lesson of five details how to read tree rings for climate change and...
National Park Service
Living & Non-Living Interactions
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...
Cornell University
Beneficial Insects
A lot of people think of insects as pests. But actually, some insects are beneficial because they get rid of pests! After learning about beneficial insects, class members research given insects to find out if they are pests or predators.
K12 Reader
Waves & Currents
Challenge your young readers with a passage about physical science. After reading about sound waves and electric currents, kids answer five reading comprehension questions about what they have read.
PBS
Pbs: Pov Borders: Environment
Point of View is television's longest running showcase for independent non-fiction films. This particular feature provides insight regarding alternative means of energy, transport, and the consumption of natural resources. Video, games,...
Other
North Carolina Department of Energy and Natural Resources: Pollution Solutions
Try to find at least eight things in the picture that could cause litter, waste, or other pollutants to end up in the storm drain and eventually flow into nearby lakes and streams. Includes a link to an interactive page of this activity....