Curated OER
Prairie Plant Investigation
Students carefully observe prairie plants and record their observations in a science journal. They examine the root systems of grasses and flowers and surmise how these plants can grow together on the prairie.
Curated OER
Soil Scrolls
Third graders examine soil samples and explore the what happens in each layer of the subsoil. They work in cooperative groups to create a scroll that shows what takes place in each layer, and discuss why much of the activity is in the...
Curated OER
Wetland Ecosystems: Non-living and Living Components and Brine Shrimp
Students explore wetland ecosystems. In this wetland lesson, students discuss and observe salt ponds and the organisms that live there. They explain how abiotic and biotic factors of species are important to survival.
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...
University of Florida
Unhealthy Forests and the News
Everyone knows a tree makes a sound when it falls, but what do we know about dying trees? Class members learn background information about Laurel wilt disease from a teacher-led presentation. Team members work with partners to read and...
Curated OER
Design a Reef!
Young scholars explore coral reef ecosystems. In this ecosystems science instructional activity, students research coral reef ecosystems to determine the major functions the participating organisms must perform. Young...
Curated OER
Forest Decomposition
Young scholars explore decomposition. Students define and describe components of the decomposition process. Young scholars make a composter in a terrarium. Students record observations and changes weekly, drawing conclusions about...
Curated OER
Dirty Decomposers
Students explore the ecosystem by conducting a ziploc bag experiment. In this recycling lesson, students identify decomposer organisms in our environment and how they speed up the recycling process. Students utilize a ziploc plastic bag,...
Michigan Sea Grant
Survival Game
Musical chairs may be a classic game, but Ruffe Musical Chairs is a unique lesson on invasive species! Using the time-honored game, pupils role play the behaviors of the invasive fish called Eurasian ruffe. Learning about this aggressive...
Forest Foundation
Forest Families
Class groups play a Forest Families card game to reinforce concepts presented in the first six sessions of a nine-activity study of tress and forest ecosystems.
Curated OER
What's in Wetland Soil?
Students examine the organic and inorganic components of soil. In this environmental science lesson plan, students identify the factors that influence soil formation. They collect soil samples, conduct tests, and analyze the results.
California Academy of Science
Discovering Rainforest Locations
How many rainforests are there, where are they, and do global factors effect their locations? These are great questions that have great answers. Children in grades four through eight use several different maps to determine why...
Virginia Department of Education
Building a DNA Model
It has been decades since the discovery of DNA. Still, activities such building this DNA model allow blossoming scientists to better understand the components that form this overall structure. During this activity, they will also...
Curated OER
Lord of the Rings - A Study of Tree Rings
Students examine trees and discuss how the environment effected the tree. They also predict what the area look like in fifty years.
Curated OER
Surveying and Assessing the Environmental Compatibility of a Building Construction Site
Students examine an area of land and assess its suitability for construction purposes. This project requires a vast amount of hands-on experimentation, data analysis, community involvement, and job shadowing/career awareness.
Curated OER
Food Chains & Food Webs
Tenth graders examine how energy is lost through different trophic levels. In this trophism lesson students construct a food web and view a video.
Curated OER
Sea Scape
Students learn about and make models of coral reefs. In this reef ecosystem lesson, the class locates a number of coral reefs on a map. They learn how a coral reef is a balanced ecosystem that depends upon all of it's plant and animal...
Curated OER
Nature of Science and Ecology
Students identify the different biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem. In this ecology instructional activity, students perform a case study on current environmental problems. They write a position statement about their chosen...
Curated OER
Land Use
Students examine ecosystems that covered Illinois 200 years ago, investigate some living and non-living components of ecosystems, identify components of prairie system, create food webs, and observe human effects on environment. Lessons...
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
Bering Sea Buffet - A Foodweb Activity
Life in the Bering Sea, food webs, and the ocean ecosystem are introduced with a map activity. The lesson plan starts as kids explore maps and images of the Bering Sea, then it kicks into high gear as they start to discuss the types of...
NOAA
Marine Ecosystems
Be at the top of the food chain when it comes to understanding marine ecosystems. The 21st installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates marine ecosystems, ocean zones, and food...
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...
Curated OER
Point- vs. Non-point Pollution
Students differentiate between point and non-point pollution and determine how the different types of pollution are harmful to aquatic ecosystems. They complete a series of tests on a sample of "polluted" water and a sample of "pure" water.