Curated OER
Birds, Baths And Oil Spills
Students examine effects of an oil spill on birds and animals that inhabit marine or freshwater ecosystems, and simulate procedures used by rescue workers who rescue and rehabilitate birds and other animals coated with oil.
Curated OER
Heat Misconceptions
Third graders determine that gloves do not provide heat, but rather, they insulate or hold in any heat that is in their hand. They discuss the different temperatures found in ecosystems around the world. What do animals that live in...
Curated OER
Why Are Thinning Trees Important?
Learners investigate thinning trees and why they are important to the forest. In this sustainable environment lesson, students role-play as if they are trees in the forest and simulate the overcrowding and inability to move spaces,...
Curated OER
The Wetlands
Fourth graders learn what a wetland is, where they can be found, and what types of plants, animals and characteristic are associated with the wetlands. They also participate in an activity to explore and enhance their knowledge of...
Curated OER
What Can You Do?
Students explore reasons for the destruction of the wetlands and identify ways people can help protect them. They create and design a wetlands conservation poster to be presented to the class.
Curated OER
Ladybugs in the Garden
Fifth graders estimate the size a population (ecosystems) Students make a chart from information collected then create a graph (line or bar) from this information. Students do a instructional activity where they observed, examine, and...
Curated OER
Temperature Changes in the Atmosphere
Students analyze how different variables affect atmospheric temperature. They construct a model of an ecosystem, select a variable, design and conduct an experiment, and record and analyze the data to present to the class.
Curated OER
The Day the Water Ran Out
Young scholars explore ecosystems by researching desert characteristics. In this drought instructional activity, students identify the potential impacts of a drought on their home state and interview people who are familiar with water...
University of Georgia
The Power of Peanuts
Measure the amount of energy in a peanut by igniting a chemical reaction. Classes use a laboratory setup to burn a peanut and measure the amount of heat it releases through a temperature analysis. They calculate the number of Joules of...
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Conservation: Water
Here is a fantastic experiment-based lesson on water conservation, waste, and filtration. The lesson plan is well-developed and provides background information, discussion leads, and six scripted lab activities anyone can do. The class...
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Waste and Recycling: Recycling and Energy Recovery
Reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover. Young environmentalists learn about the overwhelming amount of garbage produced and discover better ways to minimize their impact on Earth by learning the difference between garbage and recyclables.
Curated OER
Investigation 1 - Wetlands, Forests & Deserts
Fourth graders examine surface terrain and how plants and animals are affected by the temperatures and precipitation that elevation and terrain creates. Then students predict what type of environment plants and animals live in.
Curated OER
Storage, Use, Pollution,& Clean Up of Water
Students synthesize water resource educational posters into class presentations based on the poster's theme. Working in groups, they make presentations on wastewater, water uses, watersheds, groundwater, wetlands,water quality, and...
Rainforest Alliance
Investments in Forest Carbon
One hundred metric tons of CO2 can accumulate in one acre of forest over time—that's a lot of carbon! In the activity, groups of middle school learners determine what makes forests important. They then solidify the concept by using a...
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.
Teach Engineering
Extinction Prevention via Engineering
It's time to save endangered species through engineering. The third lesson in a nine-part Life Science unit has young environmentalists study species extinction. An engaging discussion leads to some ideas on how to use engineering design...
Curated OER
Water, Water Everywhere
Young scholars recognize that all of the water on earth cannot be used for drinking and that the percentage of ground and surface water is a small percentage. In this water lesson plan students identify ways to conserve water.
Curated OER
White-tailed Deer Issues
Ninth graders examine the white tail deer population in Pennsylvania and explore the impacts that the deer have on the flora and fauna. In this white-tail deer lesson students complete an activity and graph their results.
Michigan Sea Grant
Food Chains and Webs
Starting with a simple food chain, young scientists interpret the difference and interrelatedness between herbivores, carnivores and producers. They answer questions related to cause and effect of food chain disruptions, including the...
Teach Engineering
Introduction to Environmental Engineering
A series on environmental engineering introduces the class to issues that environmental engineers work to solve. This first lesson focuses on air and land issues, and looks at ways to reduce pollution.
Curated OER
Habitat Basics
First graders get out and explore two different habitats to examine how each one meets the needs of the plants and animals that dwell there. They discuss what they've learned about animal habitats as they explore the outdoor environment....
Curated OER
MATERIALS, Using What’s Local: Native Materials, Local Sources
Middle schoolers consider the development of different societies. In this environmental building lesson, students consider local resources and how societies choose to use them. Middle schoolers use their findings to design a 'green'...
Curated OER
Environmental Exchange Box
Students examine the characteristics of their own environment and compare them to another region. They prepare a box filled with items and stories about their own region, exchange the box with another class in another region, and...
Curated OER
How Can Clear of Tress Destroy a Community?
Fifth graders brainstorm the relationship between trees and humans to determine how humans benefit from trees and how they benefit from us. They discuss oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, soil stablization, animal habitat, shade, medicine...