National Park Service
Living & Non-Living Interactions
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in learning about the...
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EEEK! A Spider!
Youngsters complete a unit of lessons based on the story "Little Miss Muffet." They predict what will happen in the story, and use context clues to look for meaning in the words. They research information about spiders using the Internet...
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Camouflage, Protection, & Adaptations—Who am I?
Students explore ocean animal adaptations. In this animal adaptations instructional activity, students examine how different ocean animals use adaptations other than camouflage to protect themselves.
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Comprehension: The Poison Dart Frog
In this comprehension: the poison dart frog worksheet, 5th graders read the page-long passage, then answer five comprehension questions about it.
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Martha Who?
Students explore how the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, a range of temperatures, soil composition. They are...
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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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Food chains and webs
Here is an extremely simplistic look at food chains and webs. It depicts three different food chains, each containing a plant, plant eater, and meat-eater. Learners fill in the missing part of each chain by using the images provided at...
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Getting Through the Day Duck Style
Students observe ducks at a local wetland. They answer various questions about the ducks behavior and write the answers on a downloadable worksheet.
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Week 8 - Sea Life
Using a magnifier, mini marine biologists examine the barbules of a bird feather. They swirl the it into a mixture of oil and water and then re-examine the feather. After the activity, discuss how the oily feathers pose a problem to sea...
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Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Learners explore the concept of extinction by studying dinosaurs. In this extinction lesson, students watch dinosaur video clips or complete a puppet finger play about dinosaurs. Learners may then complete a dinosaur diorama or a...
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Migrating Across Borders
High schoolers research and map the migratory patterns of the golden-winged warbler. They develop a strategy to protect this species and, in teams representing different countries, negotiate treaties with each other to protect the bird.
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Build an Anchialine Pond
Students explore biology by conducting a nature experiment. In this pond examination lesson, students utilize recycled materials, play-doh and water to recreate a pond and its inhabitants. Students identify the different elements within...
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Elephants
Students study elephants and the features they have that help to keep them cool. In this elephants lesson plan students research a feature of the elephant.
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Problem Based Learning Scenario
Students research about the function of MPA's. In this marine science lesson, students explore how humans influence changes near these areas. They explore different MPA's in the Great Lakes region.
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Backyard Birds: Who's Who Out There?
Students practice techniques of field observation and data-gathering while studying local bird population, describe ecosystem as complex combination of elements, which can affect or be affected by each other, and determine effects of...
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Sharks: Scavenging Stomachs
Students examine the role played by sharks in the marine food chain. They conduct a scavenger hunt collecting items that have actually been removed from the stomachs of sharks, and create a display that includes the items and newspaper...
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Using Venn Diagrams to Compare Two Ecosystems
Students explore the distribution of two ecosystems on a global scale; and map the distribution of tropical and temperate rain forests throughout the world. They use a Venn Diagram to describe these ecosystems and the differences between...
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Exploring Forest Objects
Students explore the forest. In this ecosystems lesson, students rotate through sensory activity centers, brainstorm, and read about temperate forests.
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Life on the Edge
Students participate in a variety of activities about endangered animals. They read books, watch videos, and, in pairs, choose an endangered animal to research. They create a 2 slide presentation to be compiled into a class slide show.
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Forests, Deserts, & Grasslands
Third graders complete activities to become familiar with the content and vocabulary related to biomes and ecosystems in order to mainstream into the classroom.
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Carnivorous Plants: A Bugs Nightmare!
Learners research carnivorous plants and how they trap insects. They role play as botanists to write a research field guide about a newly discovered imaginary carnivorous plant.
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Biodiversity: El Imposible National Park, El Salvador
Fifth graders explore the concept of how the more diverse an ecosystem is, the more interdependence of species exists within that system. The complex relationships among diverse species are difficult to identify. As species disappear or...
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Changing How Things Look
Third graders use a literature study in order to investigate how organisms effect an ecosystem. They are asked questions about change taken from the book. Students also take a nature walk to make field observations.