Curated OER
Dirty Decomposers
Seventh graders design and conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrot for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic...
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 fun role...
Curated OER
The Macaroni Lab
Pupils are given an introduction to the "ecosystem", what factors make up an ecosystem (biotic factors, abiotic factors, food chain, producers, consumers and decomposers) and how those factors interact.
Curated OER
Habitat Unit - Day 2
Students explore abiotic factors that affect habitats. After a class lecture, students work in groups to answer questions about plant tissue, production and growth. They share answers, complete a crossword puzzle, and create a habitat...
Curated OER
Urban Safari: A Walk on the Wild Side
Students discover the urban ecosystem through a series of activities. They explore both the biotic and abiotic factors of the urban environment.
Curated OER
Our Schoolsyard is Full of Biology
Students study the habitats found in their schoolyard. They apply firsthand, what they have learned in the classroom to something familiar to them. Students look at biotic, abiotic habitats. Small groups will present their findings to...
Curated OER
Principles of Ecology
In this ecology worksheet, students will fill in a graphic organizer showing the relationship organisms have with their environments and with each other. This includes biotic and abiotic factors, tropic levels, and ecological pyramids....
Curated OER
The Portable Niche
Third graders, in groups, research animals, plants, and conditions found in ecosystems.
Curated OER
Biosphere II
Students continue their examination of the existence of life on Earth. In groups, they determine the role of the water cycle and other biogeochemical cycles play in keeping balance on Earth. They participate in experiments to discover...
Curated OER
Dirty Decomposers
Students explore the ecosystem by conducting a ziploc bag experiment. In this recycling lesson, students identify decomposer organisms in our environment and how they speed up the recycling process. Students utilize a ziploc plastic bag,...
Curated OER
Ecology Vocabulary Exercise: Wetlands
In this ecology vocabulary exercise: wetlands worksheet, students read the definitions of 8 words, then categorize a species found in a wetland in their region. This page has numerous links to helpful web resources.
Curated OER
Pharaoh Mountain Hike: Investigating Adirondack Life Zones
Students hike a local mountain and examine its life zones. They measure various components at each zone and collect leaf litter at the sites. At the mountain top, students make descriptive observations and complete a handout about the...
Curated OER
Fire Ecology
Fourth graders examine the role fire plays in maintaining the physical factors of the scrub ecosystem. They see that world ecosystems are shaped by physical factors that limit their productivity.
Curated OER
Teaching about the Effect of pH on Aquatic Organisms
Students perform experiments to determine the PH, acidity, and buffering qualities of a lake that make them sensitive to acid deposition.
NOAA
Marine Ecosystems
Be at the top of the food chain when it comes to understanding marine ecosystems. The 21st installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates marine ecosystems, ocean zones, and food...
Curated OER
Bering Sea Buffet - A Foodweb Activity
Life in the Bering Sea, food webs, and the ocean ecosystem are introduced with a map activity. The lesson plan starts as kids explore maps and images of the Bering Sea, then it kicks into high gear as they start to discuss the types of...
Curated OER
Lotic Environment Lesson Plans
Students create and conduct experiments on a "classroom river habitat." They manipulate the biotic and abiotic factors so that they are able to compare an artificially prepared river model to a naturally occurring lotic ecosystem.
Curated OER
Lotic Environment
Learners assemble a classroom river model as an example of a lotic system. They control and measure biotic and abiotic information for the in-class system and compare data with a lotic system in a natural environment.
Curated OER
Prairie Tic-Tac-Toe
In this prairie organisms worksheet, 8th graders name the role of 18 prairie organisms and tell if they are a biotic or abiotic factor. The organisms include plants and natural forces such as wind and fire.
Curated OER
Nature of Science and Ecology
Young scholars identify the different biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem. In this ecology lesson, students perform a case study on current environmental problems. They write a position statement about their chosen topic and...
Curated OER
Chihauhan Desert Journaling Activity
Learners explore U.S. geography by completing an observational activity with classmates. In this New Mexico lesson plan, students research the Chihuahuan Desert by visiting several Internet sites. Learners write the data they've...
Curated OER
Our World A Complex Eco-system
Sixth graders set up an ecosystem, investigate conservation techniques, develop an action plan for conservation, and various other activities to explore the ecosystem.
Curated OER
Hatching Brine Shrimp
Third graders investigate the environment that is considered favorable for brine shrimp hatching. The salinity level is of particular interest in the observations because the optimum level is needed for survival. They make daily...
Curated OER
Survivor
Seventh graders investigate changes in the ecosystem within the school year. They see that ecosystems, communities, populations, and organisms are dynamic and change over time. They, in groups, collect data in quadrants in the fall,...