Curated OER
Ecology - Reproduction and heredity
Students correlate signs of spring with reproductive strategies of varioius organisms. They describe how organisms inherit traits from generation to generation.
Curated OER
What If There's No Light?
young scholars discuss the importance of light and the consequences of living without it. Using a plant as a demonstration, students predict and observe what happens to a plant when it does not receive enough light. In groups, they...
Curated OER
Invasives and Marsh Birds
Students are taught that invasive plant removal can have a variety of impacts. They are shown this by using graphs. Students view maps of vegetation change on Iona Island. They discuss implications of changes on marsh birds using data...
Curated OER
Plants for Pleasure and Profit
Young scholars study about some of the specimens collected or diagrammed by Lewis and Clark, discuss their usefulness, and rank their importance. They write a persuasive essay detailing the plants they thought the most important.
Curated OER
Ecology And the Conservation of Natural Resources
Students study Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift and how the continents were connected in one large land mass called Pangaea. They examine plate tectonics and the theory that the earth's surface is composed of large moving...
Curated OER
What Parts Are There to a Plant?
Students explore botany by completing plant science worksheets. In this plant anatomy lesson, students examine real vegetables in class using magnifying glasses. Students identify the plants anatomy and complete worksheets discussing...
Curated OER
Mini-Ponds
In this mini pond worksheet, students create a mini-pond ecosystem with soil, water, and plant life. Students let their ecosystem sit for a day and they observe a sample the next day. Students identify all the pond water microorganisms...
Curated OER
Identifying plants, animals, insects, reptiles, and birds on the prairie
Students identify all of the plant an animal life on the prairie. In this plant identification lesson plan students divide into groups and draw sketches of things they saw on the prairie.
Curated OER
Species and Specimens: Exploring Local Biodiversity
Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...
Curated OER
Beetle Collection and Release
Young scholars investigate plants and compare them to the purple loose strife. As they observe the plants they predict possible impacts on plant populations based on their observations. They work in groups and present their findings to...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen and Photosynthesis: 1
Learners are taught that plants produce oxygen underwater, and they design an experiment that test this question. They discuss whether plants give off oxygen, and how to measure this. Students measure the increase in dissolved oxygen...
W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
Succession: Patterns in the Field and in Seeds
Have you been wondering how to use that natural trail at or near your school? This activity gets kids outside with a purpose: learn about ecological succession through field observations and collecting seed and soil samples. The resource...
Curated OER
Exploring Ecosystems
Students examine the relationships between plants, animals, and the environment in ecosystems. They sort animal cards, collect natural materials from the schoolyard, and record an ecosystem web in the form of a poster.
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Adaptation and Diversity on Sheffield Island
Written for an exploration of shoreline ecosystems on Sheffield Island, this gives ecology or marine biology buffs a hands-on experience. Using GPS or visual triangulation techniques, they lay transect lines on a high and a low energy...
Curated OER
Everybody Needs a Little Sunshine
Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...
Curated OER
Casual Patterns in Ecosystems
Ecology explorers or beginning biologists view a time-lapse film of decaying strawberries. They discuss how decomposition occurs and what factors might affect the rate of decay. Alone, the lesson plan is lacking engaging attributes....
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #11: How Light Affects Water
Scientists listen to the story of Wadja Egnankou who works to save African mangrove forests. They experiment with refraction and the introduction of particulate matter to water. They conclude with creative writing about the need for a...
Curated OER
Phytoremediation
Students participate in a lab designed to facilitate the clean up and remove of substances ranging from heavy metals to dynamite. They focus on the remediation of copper. They discuss their results of this open ended inquiry experiment.
Curated OER
The Basics: Life Science
Young scholars develop an understanding of the different fields of study that are encompassed by the term, life science. They view and discuss a video on the topic. In small groups they focus on on of the examples shown in the video to...
Curated OER
Pollen & Pollination
Students identify the different ways things are pollinated and how to manage pollen. In this pollination lesson students complete an experiment on how moths pollinate flowers.
Curated OER
Science in the Past
Students research the science of ancient Native American people. They compare native science to the present time. They create a project that they can present to their classmates. The project could be a report, poster, Power Point...
Curated OER
Building YOU from MOO
Students build protiens according to whether they are suppose to be a plant, a cow, or a person. They discover that all proteins are made from the same amino acids and it is just the order of these amino acids that change.
Curated OER
Impacts to the Open Ocean
Young scholars investigate how human beings impact ocean ecosystems. In this ocean ecosystem lesson, students explore how marine debris affects marine life. Internet resources are provided.
Curated OER
Interactions Among Living Things
Students role play predators and prey, classify organisms as predator or prey, and describe factors that affect population growth and size.