Curated OER
Biofilms Are Everywhere
Students research biofilms and create brochures. They role play as advertising firm members assigned to educate the general public about biofilms. They create "wanted dead or alive" posters about harmful and helpful biofilms respectively.
Curated OER
Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave
Fifth graders investigate the food chain by viewing video clips. In this food web lesson, 5th graders investigate populations and ecosystems by viewing a video in class as well as visiting web sites. Students utilize the Internet to...
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...
Michigan Sea Grant
Food Web II
A food web consists of complex food chains and the more complex the web, the better likelihood of survival. Learners compare and contrast food webs and food chains and discuss concepts like the predator-prey and consumer-producer...
Curated OER
Ecology 5 - Carbon and Oxygen Cycles
Students construct their own diagrams outlining the pathway of carbon and oxygen in our atmosphere. They listen to a lecture on the carbon cycle while drawing an example of the carbon cycle on the board. Students comprehend that CO2 is...
Curated OER
Exploring Forest Objects
Young scholars explore the forest. In this ecosystems lesson, students rotate through sensory activity centers, brainstorm, and read about temperate forests.
Curated OER
Habitat Art: Florida Panthers
Students discover the lifestyles of a Florida Panther by investigating its habitat. In this wild animal lesson, students utilize the Internet to research the habits of a Panther and what their habitat is. Students create an...
Curated OER
Forest Food Chains and Webs
Students explore forest ecological systems. For this ecology lesson, students classify forest plants and animals according to their ecological roles. Students play a related vocabulary guessing game. Students choose a card on which...
Curated OER
Food Web Mobile
Students explain the main concepts of food webs and food chains. They
describe the role of animals, plants, and other organisms in cycling energy and matter through a food web by creating mobiles. Lesson contains adaptations for all levels.
Curated OER
Food Chains and Food Webs
Fourth graders study intertidal organisms and their role in the food web. In this food web lesson, 4th graders read the book The Sea That Feeds Us and discuss food webs. Students study pictures of intertidal creatures and discuss their...
Curated OER
Food For Thought
Students create an individual menu for one of their peers. They must examine their peer's activity level and family history.
Curated OER
Historical Harbor Habitats
Tenth graders create food web displays in the classroom. For this ecology lesson, 10th graders identify the different pollutants in the environment and their effect on organisms. They collect samples of sediments from the harbor and...
Curated OER
Watershed Lesson Plan
Students are introduced to the concepts of a watershed, stream flow and water quality. This five-day plan is an excellent way to introduce students to the concepts involved. They create their own watershed using a paper bag, water and...
Curated OER
Marine Food Web
Students investigate the effects of the food chain on all animals by creating a food web. In this seafood lesson plan, students discuss energy flow and research a specific marine organism of their choice. Students create a...
Curated OER
What Goes Around Comes Around!
Students create an ecosystem in a jar to show a model of the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle. Working in small groups, they research and present orally the information they find on this cycle.
Curated OER
Marine Protected Areas (MPA)
Ninth graders explain the purpose of MPA's. In this biology lesson, 9th graders identify MPA's in Southern California. They simulate coastal sampling using candy from two buckets. Students analyze their results and share it with the class.
Curated OER
Predator and Prey Game
High schoolers explore the why the balance among producers, predators and prey is necessary in order for an ecosystem to be sustained over time. Through web games and activities, they discover how each component of the food chain works...
Curated OER
Connect the Species
Fourth graders, in pairs, explore energy transfer and species interrelationships by viewing slides on a microscope. hey explore phytoplankton (producers) and zooplankton (consumers)
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
A Walk in the Woods
Eighth graders observe and identify the different levels of the forest. In this forest zones lesson students observe, identify and name a variety of forest components and describe how humans impact the forest ecosystem.
Curated OER
The Sonoran Desert
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...
Curated OER
Genetic Disorders with Cultural Roots: International Insects
Students recognize that certain populations have specific genetic disorders that could benefit or harm them in their environment, work out punnett square problems and infer offspring probabilities from results, and provide advantages and...
Curated OER
Fun Photosynthesis
Second graders, using large colored poster board, explore photosynthesis and its effect on the food chain and survival of organisms.
Curated OER
Dirty Decomposers
Seventh graders design and conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrot for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic...