Curated OER
Roving Reporter
Students write a report about energy use. In this conservation lesson, students interview adults about their use of renewable and nonrenewable energy. Students synthesize this information and write a report from the point of view of a...
Curated OER
A Tree is a Tree and a Lot More
Students listen as the teacher reads "The Giving Tree." they discuss all the things the tree gave the boy throughout his life. They discuss ways they benefit from trees. This studying culminates with a tree walk and planting a tree in a...
Curated OER
The Energy Task Force
Students simulate a meeting of the President's energy task force in order to observe how energy policy may be developed with the input of various groups. Students will form groups with the following roles: lobbyists, members of the...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 1
First of three lessons, this is a great start to a unit on energy. As you demonstrate, learners discover different types of energy and how it is converted from one form to another. They then focus in on the generation of electricity by...
United Nations
Compost Monitor Training
What should go in the trash, and what can be composted? Guide your young conservationists through the process of composing their trash with a activity about the different ways we can dispose of garbage. Using a trash bag with clean...
Kenan Fellows
Electricity: Sources, Usage, Challenges, and the Future
What does the future of energy look like? Junior engineers collaborate to discover a solution to the global energy crisis during a very hands-on lesson. The unit focuses on learning through collaboration to develop a deep understanding...
Curated OER
Water: Access and Use
Students get a personal sense for another culture's way of doing things. Develop a list of sources for water. Practice using the scientific method. Examine means for conserving, or for generating, reliable sources of water.
Curated OER
Conservation Collage
Students identify many different ways the environment is polluted, and determine ways to prevent pollution. They create a collage of pictures describing how the earth becomes polluted.
Curated OER
Earth Day Lesson
Students analyze Earth science by answering environmental study questions. In this Earth Day lesson, students read the book The Lorax and identify the themes within it. Students define several recycling vocabulary terms and create an...
Curated OER
To Fish or Not to Fish?
Learners demonstrate the decision-making process for marine reserves designations. In this role-playing lesson students analyze maps and data relating to a proposed reserve. They formulate the best decisions based on overall issues.
Curated OER
Supermarkets, Sustenance and Sustainability
Students investigate jungles and the people who depend upon them. In this sustainability lesson plan, students research wild life conservation and discover the importance of a jungle to Amazonian people. Students create a group...
Curated OER
Save a Drop for Me
Middle schoolers discuss the meaning of philanthropy and how it applies to people caring about the water supply. For this water conservation lesson, students explore possible water conservation activities and select a project. Middle...
Curated OER
Introduction to Waste Management
Students research the difference between hazardous waste and municipal solid waste. Different companies in their community are researched to determine which are contributing waste in their region, what type of waste is generated, the...
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree - Economic Impact of Deforestation
Students read "The Great Kapok Tree" by Lynne Cherry. They, in groups, research the economic impacts of deforestation in areas with rain forest and identify resources that humans use from the rain forest.
Curated OER
Green Space in the City
Students identify the different kinds and uses of green space that exist in an urban area. They create maps of local parks and research the history of each park. They conduct a survey of residents near the park and interview a park...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuel and the Ticking Clock
Learners study energy sources to learn about fossil fuels and environmental concerns. In this energy sources lesson, students watch demonstrations for various energy examples. Learners find hidden pennies, make a bar graph on their data,...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 2
In this second of three lessons on power plants, future engineers find out how we generate electricity and how coal-powered plants operate. They work in small groups to make electromagnet generators to light LED bulbs. A set of...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 3
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Find out what drives a turbine to generate electricity and whether or not it has an impact on the environment. A discussion and lecture is divided by a hands-on activity in...
Curated OER
These Lakes are Great
Students examine the Great Lakes Basin and water conservation. In this Great Lakes and water lesson, students study the location of the lakes before reading the book, The River Ran Wild. They discuss the associated vocabulary and in...
Curated OER
Using Land
In this using land worksheet, learners determine if effects on the environment are due to natural or man-made causes. This worksheet has 10 fill in the blank and 4 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Desert Adaptations: Water
Young scholars experiment with methods of water conservation. In this water conservation lesson, students explore the importance of water for plants and animals in a desert biome.
Curated OER
Let's Roam Together
Learners collect information about buffalo and transform their classroom into a wildlife park. In this conservation lesson, students work in groups to research a question pertaining to buffalo populations and habitat requirements. They...
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Fifth graders study the impact of human activity on water quality and on the ecosystems of Earth. After a discussion on the various ways that water can be polluted, groups of youngsters get together to figure out the best way to clean a...
California Academy of Science
Greening Your Middle School
Middle schoolers redesign their school to make it more energy efficient, and create a model of their design. Learners get together in groups of 5, and they take on the task of making their school more energy efficient. To do this, they...