Core Knowledge Foundation
Ecology Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A read-aloud anthology provides informational texts about ecology to boost reading comprehension. Third-graders listen and discuss readings where they answer questions and focus on vocabulary. Pupils complete extension activities,...
Curated OER
Measuring Animal Sizes (and Relative Sizes in our Animal Environment)
Learners discover the actual size and weight of many insects and animals. In this biology lesson, students investigate animals and insects to determine their actual weight and size. In groups, learners create an animal or insect of their...
Curated OER
Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!
Research animals and develop a non-fiction presentation. Students will complete research on a particular animal and determine the animal's characteristics as well as habitat before choosing a differentiated project to present using the...
Curated OER
Animal Colors and Shapes
Students investigate the natural characteristics of animals by completing a coloring activity. In this animal properties lesson, students investigate the reasons different animals have specific colors, and how it is essential for...
American Museum of Natural History
The Legend of the Flying Frog
Young conservation biologists have an opportunity to get involved in the effort to save endangered species. After reading and illustrating the tale of the Flying Frog, they craft a tale about another fictional endangered species.
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Respect for Land
Youngsters examine how people show respect and care for the land. Specifically, learners see how the Native Americans truly did care for and respect the land, and still do so to this day! They also explore how they themselves can care...
Curated OER
Readings in Hudson River Natural History
Reading and understanding informational text is a key element to understanding every discipline. Elementary learners read three different articles focused on various animals and habitats in the Hudson River. They answer comprehension...
Curated OER
Carrying Capacity
Young biologists identify how plants and animals are affected by changes in their ecosystem and environment. The concepts of succession, maintenance of habitats, interrelationships, and adaptation are all discussed. This...
Curated OER
Ecology Integration Using IMovie
Amazing! Any 5th grader would be more than willing to participate in this project. Students are broken into groups, each group reads one book from a list of five. They use their book as the basis for choosing an animal and environment to...
Curated OER
Sheltering and Caring for Animals
Students learn about animal shelters and adoption agencies. In this animal care lesson, students watch a video about the ASPCA and discuss what an animal shelter is, how it operates and what services it provides animals and the...
Curated OER
Animal and Plant Habitats
Second graders write and illustrate a story. In this habitats lesson, 2nd graders learn about different types of plant and animal habitats. Students view video segments about habitats, answer comprehension questions, complete a crossword...
Curated OER
Animals Finding Rice Paddies
Fourth graders examine the animals who live in rice paddies and create a chart. In this rice lesson, 4th graders link the types of animals living in each ecosystem with a bar graph. Students use colored bars to show...
Curated OER
Describing Animals
Young scholars investigate different types of pets. For this pets lesson, students discuss a variety of animals and their habitats. Young scholars complete activities such as pet pictionary, pets as fashion accessories, role...
Curated OER
Plants and Animals
Students find common needs between plants and animals. In this plants and animals lesson students compare that both plants and animals need food and water. They also find the differences between plant and animal needs.
Curated OER
Teeth and Eating
Students examine pictures of different animals and decide if they eat meat and/or plants. They inspect models of pairs of upper and lower teeth and discuss which teeth are most useful for cutting grass and tearing meat.
Curated OER
Habitats
Students examine how different living things interact with their environment. As a class, they discuss the characteristics of a habitat and write the list on the board. In groups, they focus on one habitat and create a mural of the...
Curated OER
Vacancy: Habitats Available!
Sixth graders pick a native animal and write a classified housing ad to match the animal's habitat requirements, paste it on posterboard and then try to match each habitat with the animal it represents.
Curated OER
Habitats: must live with them....cannot live without them.
Learners conduct an internet study regarding habitat, ecosystem, biome and the region they live in. They observe the habitat by visiting a State Park and observing the organisms in their habitat. In addition, they create their own...
Curated OER
A Way with Words
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read and discuss a short paragraph on choosing the right words to describe animals and then answer two short answer questions.
Curated OER
Adaptation and Diversity on Sheffield Island
Written for an exploration of shoreline ecosystems on Sheffield Island, this gives ecology or marine biology buffs a hands-on experience. Using GPS or visual triangulation techniques, they lay transect lines on a high and a low energy...
K12 Reader
Adapting to Survive
Life science and language arts come together in a passage about animal adaptation. After kids learn about how organisms adapt to conditions in their environments, they complete five reading comprehension questions based on context clues...
ARKive
Adaptations for Movement
What animals are best suited for moving around a rainforest, or a desert? Design your own animal species based on a particular habitat, focusing on the characteristics it will need for optimal movement. Great as a group lesson or...
WolfQuest
The Return of Gray Wolves to Yellowstone National Park: Right or Wrong?
Should gray wolves be removed from Yellowstone National Park? After researching the complex relationships between the various habitats and species at Yellowstone National Park, including humans, class members take a position...
National Wildlife Federation
Habitat Web
Young scientists weave together an understanding of ecosystems with this fun collaborative activity. Taking on the roles of different living and non-living elements of specific habitats, learners use a ball of yarn to create...