Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Red Mangroves Of Southern Florida

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers engage in a unit plan to examine the ecological background for the Mangroves of southern Florida. They conduct research using print and computer technology sources. They use the information in a number of other extension...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Threatened Species and Public Policy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discuss the Endangered Species Act and its impact on people and the environment. They read the act and watch video footage. They examine why sea turtles are endangered and efforts to protect them. They analyze numerical results...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design a Wildlife Habitat-Habitat Detective

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discuss ways people have changed landscapes and how this effects wildlife. They map the area around their school and keep a journal of wildlife they see. They predict how to preserve the wildlife they see for future generations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bats

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students model how the bones in a bat wing are organized. They develop questions about bat body parts based on photographs. They hypothesize how bats locate their food.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sustainability: Our Environment

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Pupils explore the sustainability of our environment, the trend in rising temperatures and the emission of greenhouse cases. Using given data, students test and construct a confidence interval and the difference between two population...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wacky Water Critters

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students visit a local creek or stream. They collect water samples from the creek and observe and sort the "water critters" they find in the sample, observing smaller organisms under a microscope if necessary. They identify each organism...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tread Lightly: Our Changing Climate

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the concept of climate change. In this environmental studies lesson plan, students research Internet and print sources regarding global warming and discuss their research findings as well as their impressions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Far Away is a Tropial Rainforest?

For Teachers K
Students explore how far a rainforest is from their home. In this rainforest lesson students examine how far they live away from the rainforest. Students use the length of their school day to compare how long it will take to travel to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Siberian Arctic

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers, in groups, research the topics: habitats of northwestern Siberia, reindeer, oil and natural gas, and other threatened regions of the Arctic. They answer specific research questions based on their topic. They use online...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History of Wildlife Management Lesson Plan

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore how others maintain the balance between humans and wildlife.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planet of Plenty

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students examine a small piece of land to determine the diversity of life on Earth. They role play as visitors from outer space seeing life on Earth for the first time. They measure and observe their plots while working in small groups....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gene Scene

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars investigate the concepts of micro and macro evolution. They also research the effects of mutations in the process of genetic adaptation to different environments. They develop a hypothesis of how the environment can...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Protect Me, Protect Me Not?

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students brainstorm natural resources found in Canadian National Parks. They, in teams, defend and support conservation efforts and give a presentation. Evaluation consists of speaking on both pro and con sides of a national parks' issue.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Most Troublesome Exotic Invasive Plant Species Web Quest

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students participate in a Web Quest activity in which they identify common exotic invasive plant species of the Southern Appalachian Region. After identifying the top 10 exotic invasive species, they choose one to research in depth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Wildland/Urban Interface Dilemma

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine all sides of the issues surrounding wildland fire. Groups assume the roles of different people who must decide what to do about a fictitious wildfire. They have a discussion to analyze the issue. A good, real life lesson!
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Are You Related?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study microsatellite markers and explain how they might be used to identify populations. They use data to make inferences about the populations of deep-sea corals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Community Action

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of decisions that students make daily that affect the welfare of the environment categorizing them as being either helpful or harmful. They then trace local actions to distant consequences to determine how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Communication in Bees

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify and interpret a scientific investigation and a hypothesis through experimentation and testing a hypothesis. They identify what scientists hypothesized about the communication of stingless bees. Finally, 8th...
Lesson Plan
The Wonder of Science

The Wonder of Science: Ms Ls2 5: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Solutions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Work samples, phenomena, assessment templates, and videos that directly address standard MS-LS2-5: biodiversity and ecosystem services solutions.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Biodiversity: Local Ecosystem & Food Web

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This is a hands on lesson in which students will explore their local community to identify living things. It can be used as part of a unit on biodiversity and energy transfer within a biology, zoology, or environmental science course, or...
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

National Geographic: Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this unit students explore major marine ecosystems by locating them on maps. Students use marine examples to learn about energy transfer through food chains and food webs and then they discuss how food webs can illustrate the health...
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

National Geographic: Marine Ecosystems and Biodiversity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A collection of three lessons where students learn about abiotic factors in marine ecosystems, about marine food chains and biodiversity, and about marine food webs and trophic levels. Includes handouts, website links, and a vocabulary...
Lesson Plan
US Geological Survey

Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation: Ecosystems in Delicate Balance

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learning activities to investigate how organisms interact in a functioning ecosystem. Students will explore the role organisms play in food chains and preserving biodiversity in ecosystems. Lake Pontchartrain Basin ecosystem is featured...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Using Plant Surveys to Study Biodiversity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
An extended field investigation intended as launch into several concepts in environmental science including biodiversity, human impacts on natural systems, and energy transfer in ecosystems.