Curated OER
Exploring Marine Ecosystems in the Caribbean and Maine
Students compare the marine habitats of Maine and the Caribbean using temperature, tides, ocean currents, latitude and longitude. In this marine ecosystems lesson, students analyze maps to complete graphic organizers that evaluate the...
Curated OER
Making A Terrarium
Students make a terrarium from common household items that are brought to class. They can be creative with materials but the method is set for how the mini-lab is set up. Students read a book about an ecosystem to stimulate the topic for...
Curated OER
What Is El Niño?
Students access information at remote sites using telecommunications, identify impacts by reviewing past El Ni??o events, make and use scale drawings, maps, and maps symbols to find locations and describe relationships.
Curated OER
Personal Ecosystem
Young scholars 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 young scholars...
Curated OER
Get to Know a Fish
Learners discover the anatomy of a fish by identifying its body parts. In this oceanography instructional activity, students view a live fish in their classroom and draw a poster of the fish one body part at a time while identifying it....
Forest Foundation
The Web of Life
Producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, decomposers. To begin a study of the forest ecosystem, learners examine the connections among the members of ecological communities.
Curated OER
Invisible Life
By setting up an aquarium in the classroom, learners are able to describe some macroscopic and microscopic organisms that are found inside. This well-designed, and educationally rich instructional activity requires pupils to use...
Curated OER
Naturalist Activity Workbook
In this Webelos naturalist worksheet, students list short answers to 13 questions and assignments. The worksheet also includes a list of online resources.
Curated OER
environment: Fresh and Saltwater Habitats
Students compare and contrast fresh and salt water coastal environments. After describing how sea animals adapt to their habitats, they design a variety of sea creatures and explain how the adaptations aid in the animals' survival. ...
Curated OER
Classroom Aquaponics: Exploring Nitrogen Cycling in a Closed System
Students investigate nutrient cycling in a simplified desktop ecosystem involving aquarium and hydro-ponically grown plants. They set up an aquarium with 10 gallons of water at least a week before the lab is planned and place...
Florida International University
Pipeline to the Coral Reefs
Discover firsthand the effects of internal waves on coral reefs. Through a series of experiments, learners simulate internal waves and upwelling events as they make observations on the movement of water and other debris. They then...
Curated OER
De-composers - Terrarium
Students explore the environment by building a mock ecosystem. For this rainforest analysis lesson, students define many environmental and rainforest related vocabulary terms and discuss the current status of our planet's rainforests....
Curated OER
Pond Ecology
Fifth graders examine pond ecology, testing how temperature affects the respiration rate of fish. They collect various living things found at a pond, and identify the animal and plant life discovered. They observe a pond community in an...
Curated OER
World of the Pond
Field trip! The class will review what they know about organisms that dwell in freshwater ponds, then trek down to the old water hole to collect specimens for examination. This includes several web links, useful tips, and an excellent...
NOAA
Stressed Out!
Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...
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...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis and Respiration
Pupils comprehend the relationship between plants and animals in an aquatic ecosystem. They predict the effects of low dissolved oxygen on the organisms. Students create microcosms with plants, animals, or both. They determine which...
Curated OER
How Do Plants and Animals Change the Environment Around Them?
If you have elodea and snails in your classroom aquarium, or if you have access to a pond with these organisms, your young biologists can set up a controlled experiment to determine how certain ecosystems respond in light and dark...
Curated OER
Empty Oceans
In groups of four, pupils brainstorm about seafood. They view the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website to examine the problems caused by the seafood industry. Learners are then brought back together to discuss what they...
Curated OER
The Effects of Agricultural Fertilizer Runoff Upon Aquatic Ecosystems
Students measure the toxic levels of runoff and discuss the effects it would have on the aquatic system. For this runoff lesson plan, students answer questions to how runoff would affect the animals in an aquatic system.
Curated OER
Lotic Environment Lesson Plans
Students create and conduct experiments on a "classroom river habitat." They manipulate the biotic and abiotic factors so that they are able to compare an artificially prepared river model to a naturally occurring lotic ecosystem.
Curated OER
Where are all the Animals?
Students view animals that camouflage at the Shedd aquarium website. In this camouflage lesson, students recognize that there are different types of camouflage, cryptic coloring, counter-shading, warning coloration and mimicry. Students...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Making and Observing Life in a Terrarium
Young scholars understand the parts of the terrarium and why they are important in establishing an ecosystem. In this ecosystem lesson, students recall background information on aquariums, terrariums and the water cycle. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Myth-try Cards Activity
Students read creation myths to learn various cultural explanations for natural phenomena. They select sharks and write myths to explain physical structures, behaviors or roles in ecosystems. They research the animals to provide...