Virginia Department of Education
Owl Family Natural Selection
How do genetic mutations within a population lead to future variations? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question and more upon completing an activity on natural selection. The entire class participates in a...
Virginia Department of Education
Biomes of the World
Incorporate knowledge about biomes and ecosystems in multiple ways while encouraging creativity. Emerging ecologists collaborate and perform research to complete a graphic organizer about various biomes of the world. They conclude the...
NorthEast Ohio Geoscience Education Outreach
Ecosystems and Change
Pairs of ecologists select an animal and investigate an ecosystem from its point of view. This simple instructional activity involves Internet research and putting together a presentation of collected information.
Curated OER
Energy Flow and the Food Chain
Students complete discussions and worksheets about the Hawaiian food chain. In this food chain lesson plan, students research decomposers, consumers, and producers.
Curated OER
Plant Diversity and Distribution
Students construct a defined plot on school grounds and observed patterns in plant life. They count trees, shrubs, cacti and record on a data sheet. They compare data and generate a plant diversity overlook for their school.
Curated OER
U.S. History: Antebellum Heroes and Villains
Eighth graders research and write reports on key figures of the Antebellum Period. The projects also include pictures, bibliographies, and timelines about their assigned figure. In addition, 8th graders present oral reports to classmates.
Curated OER
Understanding Interactions Among Local Species and the Local Environment
Young scholars examine the differences between biotic and abiotic factors, explain the difference between habitat and niche and compare how organisms get their nutritional needs. In this local environment instructional activity...
Curated OER
Ecosystem Organization
Eighth graders engage in a lesson plan about ecosystems with the intention of looking at how it is organized. They cover the biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem while looking at the seven types of terrestrial biomes. Students...
Curated OER
Biomes in a Box
Middle schoolers construct a three-dimensional model of a biome which illustrates the various biotic and abiotic factors unique to that biome. They use everday materials to represent the important characteristics of a particular biome...
Curated OER
Limpet Shell Exercise
Students review the terms and concepts: evolution, selection, biotic, and abiotic factors. They come up with hypotheses about limpet shell types based on what we discuss about intertidal environments. Students use ratios to compare...
Curated OER
Flowering Phenology: How Do Plants Know When to Flower?
Students study the process of plant reproduction and the biotic and abiotic factors that affect flowering phenology. In this plant reproduction lesson, students describe the interaction of environmental factors as it relates to...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Environmental Interactions
Students design a web that shows the interactions between the living and non-living parts of the environment. They determine what an environment is and how engineers work together to solve problems. They complete a tally chart that they...
Curated OER
Capturing Watershed Experiences
Young scholars observe organisms found in the water. In this activity on organisms, students collect water from local streams and tributaries in order to study the organisms found in the water. As a culminating activity, young scholars...
Curated OER
Strands Walk-An Ecological Obseravtion
In this ecosystem instructional activity, students investigate an ecosystem at a local park or national forest, they make observations for five minutes, they complete a grid of their observations and they construct a hypothetical food...
Curated OER
Organisms and Their Environment
Young scholars explore Earth's biosphere. For this biosphere lesson, students participate in group activities regarding biotic and abiotic factors, population density, and species' habitats.
Curated OER
Limiting Factors/ Evolution Game
Students will understand the relationship between limiting factors and evolution. They will be able to hypothesize possible evolutionary pathways for modern day organisms.
Curated OER
Ecosystems - Plants and Animals Together
Students study the biotic and abiotic factors of an environment. In this exploratory lesson students examine the different trophic levels and how organisms are connected.
Curated OER
Ecosystems: Can I Help?
Students study how some activities effect the environment and ecosystems.
Curated OER
Populations and Ecosystems
Sixth graders examine the factors that influence the stability of ecosystems. They construct a miniature ecosystem in a jar that includes plants, small fish, and snails, record the population changes over a period of four weeks, and...
Curated OER
Biotic Factors
Students identify individual organism, a species, and a population within the study community. They identify biotic factors at the site and attempt to characterize the site's species diversity.
Curated OER
Animals and Plants of BC's Rocky Shore: lesson 3
Students create a mural of the food chain of the animals and plants of BC's rocky shore. In this food chain lesson plan, students also play a food chain matching game.
Curated OER
The Gaia Hypothesis: An Approach to Problem Solving in the Environment
Students are introduced to the Gaia hypothesis by examining a conceptual sketch. In groups, they analyze the way they can use Dewey's method for problem solving to solve problems within the environment. They are given a problem facing...
Curated OER
Food Webs and Making Miniature Ecosystems
Students model a food web and create a miniature ecosystem. For this animal interactions lesson, students engage in a role playing game which simulates a food web. Students then build miniature ecosystems using pop bottles, snails,...
Curated OER
Hands on Biome--Building
Students create a model biome. In this ecology lesson, students use materials to create a model biome. There is an extension activity that allows students to write about plants and animals and their specific biome.