Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...

Set your environmental studies class up to debate a current topic regarding your choice of six suggested statements about energy use in the United States. Teams read material that you have gathered and then form their arguments. The...

In order to give young scientists experience with critical thinking skills, introduce them to a current controversy and prepare them to debate. Choose a topic, such as genetically modified organisms, and assign groups to represent...

A debate is a forum for discussing controversial topics and environmental chemistry definitely fits that category. The lesson provides everything necessary to run a mini debate tournament. Use the suggested topics or come up with some as...

Students take a medical issue and explore it, debate it, and convince others of their point of view. They improve research skills and writing skills. Students are able to define a problem, debate it, and identify which is the best...

In a mock senate hearing regarding the development of ethanol as a fuel source, each person in the class is assigned a role to play and must uphold the stance of their character. Once the senate hearing is complete, each person writes a...

If you knew that you were likely to develop Alzheimer's disease in your future, how would it affect your life in the meantime? This and other similar thought-provoking questions are discussed in a lesson plan about the availability of...

Engage in a class debate dealing with the allocation of organs to those waiting for a transplant. How do they decide who gets a transplant and who doesn't? Learners attempt to determine what is fair for the individual requiring an organ...

The dress color debate of 2015 taught the importance of understanding how we see light. Scholars view a shirt under two different colored lights and then must predict what color the shirt will appear under a third light. They apply color...

High schoolers research controversial issues surrounding the energy debate in the U.S. They role-play as stakeholders in this debate and testify to a mock congressional committee responsible for making decisions about public lands and...

The debate over genetically modified organisms is on! Young biologists imagine that they have been asked to choose which corn chips will be sold for a fundraiser, one made with GMOs or one without. This four-day lesson plan requires...

Culminate a bioethics unit with the implementation of a instructional activity that incorporates the Socratic method to encourage class feedback and participation. Pupils participate in a discussion on bioethics and morality,...

What's the future of biotechnology? Explore a hot topic in the fourth and final unit in a series of Biotechnology lessons. Learners develop an understanding of the many issues in bioethics, then create an argument for or against the role...

Your teenagers may have heard of fracking, but do they really know what it is? And could they debate the benefits and risks? Educate your environmental science class with a lesson about hydraulic fracturing, non-renewable energy...

Civil rights meets biotechnology in a instructional activity that scrutinizes the collection of DNA of citizens who have been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Real-life cases are examined in which the DNA of a relative was...

Disease prevention or designer babies? Use a set of slides to introduce the growing practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. Teens read related articles and then break into groups to address different scenarios. Afterward,...

Students conduct a debate. For this wildfire and controlled burning lesson, students watch the video "Legacy of Fire" and discuss the topic of wildland fires and controlled burns. Half of the class researches the arguments for these...

Students select topics relating to bioethical questions which they research and debate. They, in groups, select topics and are given two to three weeks to research their topics, taking advantage of their school libraries and local public...

Students study the 'Marine Protected Areas' process.  In this ocean lesson plan students work in groups, conduct research and present it to the class.

Each of the three activities submitted presents difficult science topics in the context of the human experience. The activities focus on real-world problems, which have science components, from the learners' perspectives.

Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...

Many have debated which came first, the chicken or the egg, but this lesson debates which came first, the hydrocarbons or the carbonate reef. After a discussion on deep-sea corals, scholars receive a set of questions to research and...

The climate change debate, in the political arena, is currently a hot topic! Learners explore carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere and what this means for the future in the 11th installment of 12. Through an analysis of carbon dioxide...

Is a college education necessary for success in today's world? The class investigates the question, along with others at the end of the sixth workshop in a 15-part series. The lesson has four parts with multiple activities and...