Curated OER
Ecology Club
Fifth graders measure their plants and take pictures, write down new
observations about their plants. They discuss taking plants home. When they take them home students carefully put a plastic bag over the top to keep the plants from...
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Animal Adaptations
Tenth graders participate in an arthropod scavenger hunt. In groups of two, they identify and collect two specimens of arthropods in the school area, and create a table of all the specimens and what class they belong to.
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The Story that Tracks Tell
Eighth graders observe and investigate animal tracks. They draw prints for local animals and switch with another student to guess the animal, identify animal tracks in a nearby wood lot, create plaster casts of the tracks, and write a...
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Raising an Animal
Students observe reproduction and behavior in several types of animals and nurture a sense of responsibility and cooperation. They then examine external features of several different types of animal groups.
Channel Islands Film
Santa Cruz Island Restoration Narrative
What would you be willing to do to save an animal from extinction? After re-viewing a video about the restoration of the Island Fox on Santa Cruz Island, individuals adopt the point of view of one of the key players in the debate and...
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Ecology: Factors Influencing Animal Populations
Young scholars assess the factors affecting animal populations. Working in groups they define specific vocabulary terms and complete several activities from "Project Wild."
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Create Your Own Animal
Students design and create their own hypothetical animal. For this biology lesson, students identify the factors organisms need to survive. They classify their animals according to its correct phylum.
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Folktales and Ecology: Animals and Humans in Cooperation and Conflict
Story elements such as conflict, character analysis, resolution, and moral are discussed and charted as elementary children read folktales involving animals. An element of science is also introduced as learners discover what a keystone...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Leaf Litter Ecology Lab
Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great lesson exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove leaves/twigs while...
Desert Museum
Daisy Ecology
Here's a fine lesson that combines poetry with life sciences. Learners carefully listen to a poem that's all about a food chain. As the poem is read, learners name the producer, the herbivore, the carnivore, and the omnivore. Lots of...
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Toward a Sustainable Agriculture
Learners examine how to use ecological analysis to animal production systems. In this sustainable agriculture lesson students examine where the nutrients flow in a system and complete several activities.
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Eco-enrichers
Students discover the importance of plant and animal components within soil. In this soil lesson, students test the quality of soil. Students then conduct an experiment adding different components to bags of soil to see what will...
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In the Wild
Third graders examine the concept of ecology and how animals are suited to their habitats. In this animal adaptation lesson, 3rd graders identify a variety of plants and animal species that live in a Beech forest.Students create a food...
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Tortoise Tales
Students read journal entry from a Gal??pagos field researcher, find examples of five ecological relationships (competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism) and take notes on the details they find in the entry using a...
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Tread Lightly: Visualizing Footprints
The student reflects on concepts of ecological footprints and climate changes. In this Art lesson plan, students will produce a visual representation showing understanding of how ecology and climate affects the world.
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Food Webs
Students research an animal to define its food web and life cycle. In this animal life cycle lesson, students research an animal and define its food web. Students then present their animal food webs to the class and note other animals in...
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Cypress/Tupelo Swamps
Students study the geologic history of terrain, soils, and drainage patterns. They recognize ecological processes that determine the dynamic nature of habitats. They investigate the influence of human activity on the landscape.
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Population Densities
Students explore biological impact by completing a worksheet in class. In this animal population lesson, students utilize river rocks and jars to conduct a coqui frog population role play activity. Students define a list of amphibian...
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Personal Ecosystem
Students build an aquatic ecosystem using large glass pickle jars. In this ecology instructional activity, students build and ecosystem then observe and collect data on the habitats. In this long term project students observe a...
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To Clear or Not To Clear, That Is the Question
Pupils plan how to manage a fictional timber resource. In this earth science lesson plan, students research the options and repercussions of logging a forested plot of land. Pupils consider the implications of logging to the animal...
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Taming Wild Land
Third graders consider the habitat needs of living things and how extensive farming in an area can affect the plants and animals of a region. They participate in a simulation to show how changing the habitat in one area can greatly...
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Beaver Ecology
Students explore the lives of bgeahvers. They identify the physical and behavioral adaptations that help beavers survive in their environment. Students compare and contrast how beavers influence the ecology of both forest and aquatic...
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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.
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Animal Species Richness in Tioga County, PA
Students compile an extensive list of animal species seen throughout Tioga County. For this data collecting lesson, students report daily any animal species seen during the course of their travels and adventures outdoors in Tioga County...