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 plan, 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
Understanding Interactions Among Local Species and the Local Environment
Students 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 activity students trace the path of...
Curated OER
Organisms and Their Environment
Students explore Earth's biosphere. In this biosphere instructional activity, students participate in group activities regarding biotic and abiotic factors, population density, and species' habitats.
Curated OER
The Environment and Interactions of Living Organisms
Students study the environment and interactions of living organisms. They identify abiotic and biotic factors and create a foldable and vocabulary cards. They create a poster illustrating soil and watch a video to study symbiosis.
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
The Gaia Hypothesis: An Approach to Problem Solving in the Environment
Learners 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...
NASA
Is It Alive?
Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or not.
Curated OER
Aliens Among Us
Learners identify plants growing in the school yard and choose one for further investigation. They investigate the plant's biotic potential and environmental resistance. They predict what would happen should they introduce an exotic...
Curated OER
Hands On Biome-Building
Students create a model biome to understand the abiotic and biotic factors that go into creating a biome. In this biomes lesson plan, students should display plants, animals, temperature, precipitation, and more.
Curated OER
Build the Arctic Tundra
Students build a model of biome in order to comprehend the abiotic and biotic factors that are prevalent in a biome. In this hands on building lesson, students use a box to build a biome. . Students decorate the inside and outside of...
Curated OER
Hands On Biome-Building
Learners create a desert biome to understand the abiotic and biotic factors of that biome. In this desert biome lesson plan, students include elevation, precipitation, temperature, plants, and more.
Curated OER
Scavenging the Sandy Shore
Students explore oceanography by examining a beach. In this living things lesson plan, students define the terms abiotic and biotic and practice identifying living and non-living things that have been previously found on a beach....
Curated OER
Nature of Science and Ecology
Students 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 share it...
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...
EduGAINs
Go Eco! Ecosystems
How is a movie theater like a desert biome? Compare systems to ecosystems with a set of activities that focuses on accessing multiple intelligences and building upon knowledge. As learners discuss the ways elements of an ecosystem depend...
Science Matters
Seed Adaptations for Dispersal
After a grand conversation about seeds, adaptation, and dispersal, scholars work collaboratively to examine seeds and record their findings on a four-column chart. Small groups share their observations and further discuss seed...
Curated OER
That Is Predictable
Students investigate the changes that can take place in an aquatic environment. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The research is used to report different possibilities of change because of abiotic or biotic factors.
Curated OER
Particles and Prairies Sampler
Learners explore the prairie and Fermilab's reconstruction project. They observe the abiotic and biotic aspects of the prairie, the savannah and the aquatic environments of Fermilab. Students perform lab and field studies.
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
Limiting Factors/ Evolution Game
Learners will understand the relationship between limiting factors and evolution. They will be able to hypothesize possible evolutionary pathways for modern day organisms.
Curated OER
Building an Ecosystem
Students research a variety of local and world ecosystems. Students will create a collage to represent the biotic and abiotic factors and interactions important to their given ecosystem.Students will understand that an ecosystem is...
Curated OER
Ecosystems Connect
Learners investigate ecosystems near their school and across the world. They examine both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) elements of each. They recognize ecosystems from various continents around the globe. The use of computers...