Curated OER
Endangered Species in the Sonoran Desert
Students identify and explain some caused of endangerment and extinction for species as well as explain the effects of extinction on an ecosystem. Teachers use this lesson plan before teaching students about collecting insects or plants.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Survival of the Fittest - Variations in the Clam Species Clamys sweetus
It's not often that you come across a clever laboratory activity that is both imaginative and comprehensive! Using M&M's and Reese's peanut butter candies to represent two different clam species, young biologists test for "relative...
Curated OER
Species Charades
Students identify endangered species. In this endangered species lesson, the teacher leads a discussion about endangered species, then the class plays a game of charades to pantomime animal behavior.
Teach Engineering
Working Together to Live Together
Whose home is it anyway? Design teams plan a housing development in which they must also protect a native species. The teams consist of a project manager, civil engineer, environmental engineer, and graphic designer. Teams present their...
Curated OER
Species Interactions
Students research desert species to find where it lives, what it eats, and what species it interacts with directly. Upon completion of research, students construct a web of all the species as a class. This emphasizes the role each...
Curated OER
What Are Endangered Species?
Students explore the concepts of endangered and extinct animals. In this animal protection lesson, students discuss and define the words endangered, extinct, and habitat. Students share why they think it is important to protect...
Curated OER
Salmon and the Non-Native Species
Young scholars investigate the affect of non-native species on Pacific Salmon. In this non-native species and Pacific Salmon lesson plan, students participate in a competition and habitat loss game. They play the game in groups, while...
Curated OER
Endangered Species and Extinction
Eighth graders determine the difference between extinction and endangered species. Using the internet, they research one endangered species, identify its common and specific name, where it lives and what it eats. To end the...
Curated OER
Species Charades
Students are introduced to a unit on endangered species. They study the diversity of endangered animals through a game of charades. After the game, students will discuss the animals that were acted out and why some of them are endangered.
Curated OER
HABITAT for the other 90%
Learners examine the connection between the habitat needs of endemic species to the habitat needs of humans. In this habitat lesson plan students research the habitat requirements of a given family then develop an idea to improve the...
Curated OER
Sustainable Forestry
High schoolers evaluate a forest for timber harvest and discuss potential impacts of logging. In this sustainable forestry lesson, they work in groups in a forested plot to choose trees to cut based on species and stem diameter and then...
Serendip
Changing Biological Communities – Disturbance and Succession
After cutting down a forest to make a farm, how long would it take the environment to turn an abandoned farm back into a forest? Scholars study this exact scenario while they interpret many charts and graphs of the changing ecosystems as...
American Physiological Society
Sticky Adaptations A Lesson on Natural Selection
Now you see it, now you don't! The stick bug exhibits the ability to disappear into a wooded environment. Why does this adaptation manifest in some species, but not in others? Life science high schoolers explore animal adaptations in...
Curated OER
Alien Invaders: An Invasive Species Game
Learners are introduced to invasive species and how they affect the ecosystems they now occur in. They explore the basic life histories of several invasive species that are of regional and or national importance. Pupils investigate how...
Curated OER
Competition/Cooperation Relationships
Students view the PowerPoint slide of a lynx and hare and discuss what would happen if all the lynxes were destroyed. They then take notes on the lesson and brainstorm about other competitive/cooperative relationships as well as discuss...
Curated OER
Endangered Animals
Students discuss animals then research endangered animals using the computer and the Internet. They organize information then create a report on a chosen animal using Appleworks.
Michigan Sea Grant
Survival Game
Musical chairs may be a classic game, but Ruffe Musical Chairs is a unique instructional activity on invasive species! Using the time-honored game, pupils role play the behaviors of the invasive fish called Eurasian ruffe. Learning about...
Curated OER
Population Biology
High schoolers define the following terms: predation, competition, carrying capacity and population. They can explain the patterns of growth and the limitations of growth. Students explain the difference between density-dependent and...
Alabama Wildlife Federation
How Many Butterflies
Learners become butterflies to complete an activity that has them collect tokens that represent food, water, and shelter. They must collect their necessities while in competition with other butterflies in the same area. Once the...
Curated OER
Countdown Calendar
Students create a calendar of endangered species. In this preservation lesson, students research endangered species of plants and animals around the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Students gather facts about the endangered species and create...
Curated OER
Population Growth
Students examine the factors that affect population growth such as, the length of life cycles, carrying capacity and competition. In this population lesson students conduct an experiment on population growth and collect data and analysis.
Science 4 Inquiry
Snakes in the Everglades
The Burmese python is on the loose ... and he's hungry! Illustrate the differences between causative and correlative relationships through an inquiry lesson plan. Pupils examine several sources of information to determine if there is a...
Desert Discoveries
Keepers of the Prairie
Young ecologists examine the case of the prairie dog, and their near extinction. They read a terrific student handout embedded in the plan, and engage in a class discussion that's based on what they read. Learners perform research on...
Curated OER
Wolves
Students explore wolves. For this ecology and wolves lesson, students research predator-prey relationships on the Internet and complete a related worksheet with a partner. Students interpret data on bar graphs to determine growth and...