Demonstrate to your middle school science learners how chalk breaks down in a weak acid. Discuss what affects acidic rain might have on ecosystems. Lab groups then choose one of two questions: "How does acid precipitation affect an...

Producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, decomposers. To begin a study of the forest ecosystem, learners examine the connections among the members of ecological communities.

What's in the water? Encourage your class to further explore this question and learn about pond ecosystems, food chains, and food webs as they complete this hands-on activity. They view the environment from a new perspective...

A professional and comprehensive presentation on Chesapeake Bay water quality is in store for your ecology class. If you live in the Chesapeake Bay region and want to get learners involved in conservation efforts, this slide show will do...

How do we affect the ecosystem, and what can we do to preserve it? Pupils explore chemicals that promote and inhibit plant growth, then discuss the importance of nitrogen and phosphorus to the survival of organisms and describe how...

Searching for an activity that allows emerging biologists to explore symbiosis up close and personal? Pupils collect samples and view lichens through a microscope and conclude with a discussion about the relationship they have...

Every living thing requires a food source, thus the interconnections in ecosystems become complex. Scholars learn about these interconnections in a presentation on energy flow. It starts with the sun and moves through many different...

First, biology pupils research land and marine habitats along the route of skipper Rich Wilson's Great American II. Then, using colored paper clips scattered across a colored paper background, they play the predator-prey game to...

Young scholars practice analyzing images, maps and graphs from Internet-based educational resources. They explore the correlation between sea surface temperature and coral bleaching. Students comprehend that coral reefs are collections...

Compare various types of biological diversity in a coral reef and calculate a numeric indicator that describes the diversity found in coral communities. Your class can work in groups to look at the abundance and distribution data of...

Design a public information campaign to improve understanding of the coral reef crisis. Read about and discuss the biology and threats to the coral reef. The class creates a public information program about the problems facing the coral...

Lovely pictures help to summarize the different characteristics of fungi in this PowerPoint which covers structure, function and the way that fungi get nutrients.  Symbiotic relationships are examined, and some commercial uses are...

The general characteristics of fungus types are presented here. Your class will love the pictures of the amazing features found on these strange living things. The internal and external structures and their functions are highlighted. By...

A thorough background and nitrate sampling lab sheet are provided to share with your young scientists. After discussing the nitrogen cycle with the class, you will break them into small groups and show them how to use their inquiry...

Anytime you make concepts clear with role playing or hands-on experience, it's a win for the whole class. Ping-Pong balls are used to represent carbon in a carbon cycle role-play activity. In small groups, children first discuss what...

Classify living things with a set of worksheets that has pupils sorting and indentifying living and non-living things. Learners use the worksheets as a basis for finding their answers. 

How can you tell if a microorganism is helpful or detrimental to an ecosystem? Learners inspect slides or pictures of microorganisms and record their observations to...

Show me what you know about the sea. Learners answer 10 questions about marine biology. The questions range from what evidence points to the origin of life to the biggest threat to oceans.

Students examine lichens in an outside field trip. Students explore the diversity of this organism and ask questions about them.

Here is a well-designed science lesson that shows learners that everything that organisms do in ecosystems, including running, breathing, burrowing, growing, requires energy. After a thorough discussion of their own eating and drinking...

Marine biologists research sea ice communities. Assign some groups to construct paper models of sea ice communities in winter, and some to construct models of them in summer. The lesson is simplistic, but the Internet resources provided...

Study biological diversity by analyzing given data, and make inferences about the possible effects of oil drilling operations on specific benthic communities. This lesson allows learners to use their statistical analysis skills asweel as...

Groups of students create magazines that contain stories and images of one aspect of the ocean, and ocean life. The expectations for the final products are quite high, so this lesson will require some effort to properly implement. A...

Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...