Curated OER
Fertilizers & Grass Growth
Students design an experiment to test the effects of common fertilizers on grass growth. They write or present a laboratory report responding to their observations and consider how fertilizers may affect the soil environment.
Curated OER
Mulch
Students conduct a series of experiments on mulching. In this earth science instructional activity, students discuss the benefits of mulching on soil. They explore how different types of mulch affect plant growth.
Curated OER
Determine Soil Particle Size
Students examine various soil samples in groups. Using the samples, they identify the characteristics of them and calculate percolation and infiltration rates. They use this information to discover why some species can survive in one...
Curated OER
Groundwater as Part of the Water Cycle
Make sure to read through the activity procedures thoroughly before teaching this lesson because the materials list is incomplete. Also, the mentioned worksheets and booklet are not available. However, there is no need to discard this...
Curated OER
Burt County, NE, Soil Survey
Students identify the soil types and textures, and locate the waterways in or near the towns of Lyons and Decatur, Nebraska. They analyze soil profile maps, and answer conclusion questions.
Curated OER
Planning and Preparing a Vegetable Garden
An anticipatory slide suggests personal benefits from gardening. Then the presentation goes into choosing a location, considering soil type, the use of fertilizers, and the variety of crops available to choose from. If you are teaching...
Curated OER
Bedrock Learning
Students test and identify soil and rock samples. In this rock and soil lesson plan, students video themselves gathering samples. Students test the samples and create graphs showing the results.
Curated OER
Erosion
Students examine soil erosion and what causes it. In this soil lesson students complete several experiments on soil erosion and the weathering process.
Curated OER
Reflecting on Reflectivity
Students plan and construct a "mini-lab" to measure the reflectivity of different earth surfaces. They measure reflectivity of materials, including ice, soil, rocks, etc., and then extrapolate from what they have learned to consider the...
Curated OER
Soiled Again
Students propose and perform an experiment using the scientific method. The purpose of the experiment is to discern some earth materials or combinations of earth materials that best increases the pH of "acid rain". From the results of...
Curated OER
Usefulness of Irrigation
Students explore irrigation. In this science lesson plan, students show that water is necessary for plant growth and show how a dam can turn a nearly useless water way into a valuable form of irrigation.
Curated OER
Air Quality and Transportation
Second graders observe car pooling patterns and the important role car pools play in reducing air pollution. They explain how they get to school and graph the types of transportation that is used. Students make a list of the different...
Curated OER
Wonderful Wetlands
Fifth graders describe a wetland habitat and its components. They provide, in writing, at least one example of a wetland food chain, relate wetlands to ecological functions, and relate the importance of wetland functions to their own...
Curated OER
Compost and Composting Experiments
Students investigate the composting process through a variety of experiments. In this ecology lesson, students discuss the benefits of composting. They examine how compost affect plant growth.
Curated OER
Living Environment
For this environmental lesson students complete a series of multiple choice and short answer questions on animal populations, cell structure and chromosomes.
Curated OER
Investigative Case - Living in an Alkaline Environment
Students are shown many ways in which Mono Lake water and distilled water are different. They demonstrate that the survival of common soil bacteria declines as pH increases. Students examine the behaviors, adaptations, energy transfer,...
Curated OER
Aerobic and Anaerobic Microbe Analysis in a Subarctic Setting
Students investigate the relationships between protozoa, algae and monera in freshwater, shoreline soil, and reindeer rumen. They publish reports of their findings.
Curated OER
What is Life?
Students investigate the characteristics of living things. In this life science instructional activity, students examine several living and non-living specimens. Students determine which things are living and non-living.
Curated OER
Failing Ecosystems: Haiti and the Caribbean
Ninth graders study the impact that climate has on the land. They discuss how deforestation leads to erosion and soil damage and how trees and vegetation help to stabilize the land. They draw a large map of the Caribbean and show Haiti...
Curated OER
Dishing the Dirt Part 1
Learners create a soil center on their school grounds. They begin to write in their science journals. They participate in an experiment that helps the community begin their own gardens.
Curated OER
Dishing the Dirt Part 2
Students explore the differences between specific soil characteristics. They participate in an experiment in which they discover soil texture. They write their observations in a journal.
Curated OER
Sediment Tubes
Young scholars observe how different density soils and rocks behave in wind and in water. They make predictions and careful observations as they explore sediment transport and sediment rates in streams and rivers.
Cornell University
Discovering Enzymes
Explore the function of enzymes through a series of lab investigations. Learners use household enzymes such as hydrogen peroxide to model the role of enzymes. The enzymes break down proteins with and without a catalyst.
Curated OER
Osmosis
Second graders discover the process of osmosis. In this science lesson plan, 2nd graders learn how different kinds of solutions move through selectively permeable membranes, understand the role of osmosis in the movement of molecules,...