University of Kentucky
Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt
Many people think of bugs as annoying pests to be squashed, but most insects and spiders are beneficial, eating the actual pests or pollinating plants. After reviewing some of the common bugs in your area (they may differ from those...
Science Matters
Basic Needs
Scholars take part in a grand conversation about the basic needs of living things. Working collaboratively, pupils brainstorm and identify similarities to come to the conclusion that the environment meets the needs of all living...
EnLiST
Trap Your Own Insects: What’s in Your Backyard?
Young entomologists construct three types of insect traps—pitfall, pollinator, and panel—before setting their traps out and observing what they caught. They then observe what types of insects the different traps attract.
Curated OER
Unique Ecosystems
Fourth graders explain how in any particular environment, some kinds of
plants and animals survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. They research the ecosystem of which each animal or plant is natively a part.
Curated OER
Ecosystem Organization
Eighth graders engage in a lesson about ecosystems with the intention of looking at how it is organized. They cover the biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem while looking at the seven types of terrestrial biomes. Students write...
Curated OER
Adopt An Ecosystem
Tenth graders choose an ecosystem to observe the interaction of living organisms with biotic and abiotic factors in that ecosystem. They keep journals of observations and reflections in order to have a resource for further...
Curated OER
Ecosystems at School
In this ecosystem worksheet, young scholars use a string and make a large circle. Everything in the circle is part of the ecosystem the students will study. They identify everything in their ecosystem and classify their data. They answer...
Virginia Department of Education
Go with the Flow
How does nature's hierarchy relate to our local human environment? Answer this question, along with others, as the class visually depicts the natural hierarchy provided by nature. Pupils discuss each piece of the pyramid and its energy...
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. Pupils examine several sources of information to determine if there is a...
Alabama Wildlife Federation
Life in a Pond
What living things call an aquatic habitat home? Young learners consider the question after they discuss the characteristics of a typical pond habitat. They identify an animal and then determine if a pond would have all the components to...
LABScI
Botany: The Plant Dissection Lab
Study everything about plants! The 12-part series of lessons continues with an examination of many aspects of plants. Components of the laboratory activity address the growth and structure of plants by evaluating familiar plants. The...
Curated OER
Survival Of The Fittest
Seventh graders examine the concept of an ecosystem and how there is a variety of representations of life that exist there. They look at the equilibrium that is reached in stable communities and how the variable of change in...
Curated OER
The Living Environment
Students explore the cycles of an ecosystem. In this environmental science lesson, students work in groups to research the nitrogen cycle, the water cycle, or the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle. Students prepare a PowerPoint or other...
Curated OER
Forest Ecosystem
Students become familiar with the temperate rainforest. In this forest ecosystem instructional activity, students identify the producers, consumers and decomposers in the forest ecosystem. Students sort cards and identify the...
Curated OER
Ecosystems
Seventh graders create a closed ecosystem and place it where is it visible to others in the school. They label it with posters describing the interdependence of living things in the ecosystem. They discuss what might happen to the...
Curated OER
LEAF (Learning Exercises and Activities in the Forest
Students observe populations and determine the functions (e.g., decomposers, producers, consumers) they serve in an ecosystem. They investigate the energy flow ecosystems. Students investigate factors (.g., Resources, light, water) that...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Cycles, Systems, and Webs
Fourth graders review the parts of the plant and their functions. In this plant lesson, 4th graders recognize that plants must transfer energy to make food. Students understand the interdependence of organisms in an...
Curated OER
Local Area - Ecosystems
Students examine ecosystems in the Connecticut River Valley. They view and discuss photos of ecosystems within their community, and create a picture web of an ecosystem.
Curated OER
SIM Ecosystem
High schoolers identify and interpret the concept of an ecosystem and the potential impact humans have on ecosystems. They also proficient in organized and methodical Internet searches. Finally, students become proficient with public...
Curated OER
Design a Reef!
Using a miniature coral reef aquarium kit, young ecologists model this unique ecosystem. They research various coral reef organisms and their niches, and they culminate the project by working together to write a report. Use this activity...
Science Matters
Oh Heron
Two teams—the environmentalists and herons—play four rounds of the game, Oh Heron. Using hand symbols to represent food, shelter, and water, players locate their match to produce more herons while those unmatched decompose.
Curated OER
Animals of the Arctic
Sixth graders research an Arctic animal. They survey the questions in the Animal Report in order to conduct their research. They investigate their chosen animal by using the Internet, library books and reference books.
Columbus City Schools
Photosynthesis and Respiration
Thirty percent of the world's oxygen is produced by rainforests found throughout the world. Seventh grade learners explore the processes of photosynthesis and respiration through 10 days of labs, manipulatives, and discussions. They...
Curated OER
Web of Predators and Prey
Students investigate the components food chains and food webs in various ecosystems. They describe how living things depend on one another for food energy (food chain) and how more than one food chain exists in an ecosystem