Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chlorine-Bleached Paper

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students analyze the effects of pollution and other types of ecosystem devasation caused by chlorine. They examine alternative technologies that allow for the bleaching of paper without using chlorine. They discover what they can do to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aquatic Communities

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners watch a video about aquatic communities. They conduct an experiment that shows how movement of rivers change the landscape. They compare fresh and salt water communities and its wildlife.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigation 1 - Wetlands, Forests & Deserts

For Teachers 4th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cleaning Up With Decomposers

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students read and discuss decomposers and how they affect the environment. In this decomposers lesson plan, students also discuss how engineers use decomposers to help the environment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keep It Clean!

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate the how water becomes polluted and how it effects the environment, animals, and humans. They watch a video and conduct experiments.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animals and Engineering

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students study animal classification and their interactions.  In this animals and engineering lesson students study animal communities and how engineers use this knowledge to create new technologies. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hurricanes and the Importance of Wetlands

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Pupils explain how wetlands minimize the impact of hurricanes. In this earth science lesson, students investigate how different materials affect the steam plume path. They complete their worksheet after the lab.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forest Measurements

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students analyze timber and use measuring techniques to figure board feet.  In this investigative lesson students learn why accurate measurements are important and how to convert standing timber to board feet. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Timber Harvesting: A Civic Debate

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders analyze and identify the importance of our forests and how to manage them properly.  In this tree lesson students read forestry material and come up with different alternatives to the identified problems. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water: Naturally Cleaned

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers use stream trays covered in different types of rocks or soil to investigate infiltrates and runoff. In this water pollution lesson, students work in groups with stream trays that have different substrates. They write a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in a Forest Stream

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students assess macro-invertebrates from a stream. In this science lesson plan, students observe, classify and identify organisms found in a stream. A lab station is constructed at the stream sight and students study the different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Constructivist Version of the Snail & Elodea Lab

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students explain the importance of having a control when setting up an experiment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pika Chew

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work in collaborative teams with specific roles, use the Internet to research the behavior and ecology of pikas, make predictions about survival rates of pikas in different habitats and organize their data in graphs.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Pollinators

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students discover the reproductive parts of a plant.  In this biology lesson plan, students identify and categorize several different plants they dissect in class.  Students record their information using a data chart.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Acid Rain Research

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars collect samples of rainfall, cloud condensation, and water that trickles through the soil. These samples are tested for pH, conductivity, and the presence of sulfates, nitrates, calcium, and magnesium.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Resource Awareness

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders design a collage that shows natural resources or things made from natural resources. They discuss the collages and decide how they use natural resources at home and school. They listen to a read aloud of a Native American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Are the Dinosaurs?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore what the dinosaurs were like. In this dinosaur lesson plan, the teacher peaks student curiosity about dinosaurs. This lesson plan would be a great starting point for a dinosaur unit since it primarily engages student...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery Spill

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students investigate the cause of birds dying in Monterey Bay. In this scientific research activity, students use various resources, scientific investigations, and vector analysis to solve an environmental mystery.
Lesson Plan
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Erosion

For Teachers 4th
Young scientists identify erosion, explain the causes of erosion, and name some techniques that can slow the process of erosion. Learners are divided up into groups of four and perform a simulation of soil erosion in class. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rainforest Rescue

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore threats to diversity in the Central African rainforest. They use a guided website to research animals that are threatened with extinction, examine human uses of the rainforest and think about what they can do to help...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Conservation Island

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Why not walk in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt and become a conservationist? After discussing issues and reasons for animal extinction, the class creates their own conservation plans. Each small group is given mock data regarding a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trees and Their Parts

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students research trees and their parts. For this forestry lesson, students participate in various learning stations to identify trees by matching the photographs of the tree to the correct name.
Lesson Plan
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Wacky Water Critters

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students visit a local creek or stream. They collect water samples from the creek and observe and sort the "water critters" they find in the sample, observing smaller organisms under a microscope if necessary. They identify each organism...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life at Risk

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine the characteristics of the peregrine falcon. They investigate endangered and extinct species, and how the environment affects the process.