What is it like in the desert? Inform your class on what makes a desert, the type of climate they'll find there, and the interesting plant and animals that live in the desert environment. This is a text-rich presentation that will...

What can a quarter possibly teach young learners about desert ecosystems? More than you might think. After displaying and discussing the included picture of the Arizona state quarter, the class participates in a series of...

Elementary schoolers study the geographic location of the Sonoran Desert. They pay close attention to the characteristics of the plants and animals found in this desert environment. The student handouts embedded in this plan are...

Learners explore the challenges of building a thriving human civilization in a desert environment. They design new technologies to assist people living in the desert.

Learners are able to identify adaptations that plants have developed to deal with harsh desert conditions, as well as explain how these adaptations help to protect these plants.

Students determine how animals and people adapt to the desert environment. For this desert lesson, students review vocabulary about the desert and how humans have to make changes to accommodate their environments. They listen to and...

Students make observations of their own backyard. In this environment lesson, students keep records of the plants and animals they see in their home or school yard. Students make notes of how the weather and environment changes over...

Here is a well-designed lesson on biodiversity that should intrigue your charges. In it, pupils compare a natural desert area to a school field to see how habitat destruction affects species diversity. Groups set up transects and collect...

Learners experiment with models to find how plants survive in the desert environment.  In this plant mechanisms activity, students make leaf models to understand how leaves conserve water. Learners collect cactus in bags and observe...

Little learners examine a map of the southwestern United States and identify the Sonoran Desert. They locate different cities and rivers, determining whether or not each is found within this special ecosystem. A student handout is...

In this land environments worksheet, students will complete a table by filling in the climate, dominant plants, and characteristic animals for 6 different habitats.

Students explore, experience and experiment identifying the human impact on the environment of vegetative differences within the same biome. They assess what causes deserts, rain forests, savannahs, tundras and saguaros and how these...

Second graders identify what constitutes as a desert by reading a habitat checklist.  In this environment lesson, 2nd graders read a nature website to discover facts about the desert and where they are located.  Students...

Students survive within an ecosystem, an animal must be physically and behaviorally adapted to the conditions of its environment.

The saguaro cactus has an amazing ability to survive in a harsh environment. Learners identify the many adaptations for desert life that the saguaro employs. They look at each part of the saguaro and determine what role it plays in the...

Learners examine and categorize plants in their own schoolyard desert garden and then observe other plant areas of their schoolyard.

In this desert adaptations worksheet, students are given a water filled sponge which represents an animal. Students observe their "animal" for a 24 hour period and conserve the water in the sponge as best they can. They measure and...

Students explore the concept of adaptation as a means of surviving in varied environments. They discuss human adaptations and then view slideshows and video that present animal adaptations in the following environments: cold regions,...

Students explore earth science by completing several environment activities. In this desert instructional activity, students identify where the U.S. deserts are and what types of wild life inhabit them. Students utilize arts and crafts...

Arthropods are the stars of a fine science lesson. Learners look at the diversity, characteristics, adaptations, and important roles that these insects play in the Sonoran Desert environment. A terrific document called "Amazing...

Third graders identify ways that cactus plants survive in the desert. They distinguish between water acquisition and water conservation and create their own plant that could survive in a desert climate.

Students experiment with methods of water conservation. In this water conservation lesson, students explore the importance of water for plants and animals in a desert biome.

First graders investigate and identify a variety of animals that live in the desert. They complete a class KWL chart, then listen to the book Way Out in the Desert. Next, 1st graders observe a presentation of live desert animals, and...

How is a movie theater like a desert biome? Compare systems to ecosystems with a set of activities that focuses on accessing multiple intelligences and building upon knowledge. As learners discuss the ways elements of an ecosystem depend...