Curated OER
Climate Change Challenge
Students participate in a demonstration in which they role-play polar bears and habitat components to demonstrate the impacts of climate change on the Arctic Ocean ecosystem.
Curated OER
Too Cool for School-The Greenhouse Experiment
Students create a town model and analyze the type of greenhouse gases their town emits. In this earth science lesson, students build greenhouses to investigate how trapped heat causes temperature change. They relate this activity to...
Curated OER
Use Concept Maps to Teach the Transfer of Energy
Practical tips, lessons, and ideas for teaching the transfer of energy.
Curated OER
Marine & Aquatic Habitats Activities - Terrestrial Forests vs. Kelp Forests
Students discuss concept and specificity of habitats, both marine and terrestrial, list similarities and differences in the habitats of a kelp forest and a terrestrial forest, compare types of organisms that occupy corresponding types of...
Baylor College
They're Everywhere: Bacteria
Totally gross out your class with the eighth lesson in this series on food science. Explore the microscopic world of bacteria by taking swabs of different classroom objects and growing colonies in petri dishes. An engaging activity that...
Reed Novel Studies
Flush: Novel Study
Standing up for beliefs sometimes leads to trouble! The father in Flush takes knows this all too well when he sinks a boat in protest to its illegal dumping. With his dad behind bars, the son, Noah, takes matters into his hands by...
LABScI
Botany: The Plant Dissection Lab
Study everything about plants! The 12-part series of lessons continues with an examination of many aspects of plants. Components of the laboratory activity address the growth and structure of plants by evaluating familiar plants. The...
Curated OER
Wetland Metaphors
Students are presented with a selection of hands on objects for investigation as metaphors for natural functions of wetlands. A 'Mystery Metaphor Container' is presented to the class with everything having to do with a wetland in some...
Teach Engineering
Dirty Decomposers
Do not let the class just sit and rot. Pupils learn how decomposition and nutrient recycling is important to an ecosystem. Groups design an experiment to determine how environmental conditions affect decomposition. They develop a poster...
Curated OER
Bat Ecology
Students, through hands on games and activities, discover how bats live and how bats benefit ecosystems. They play a game designed to show them how echolocation works and another to show how mother bats locate their young through their...
Curated OER
Wild Thing!
Sixth graders view several segments of the video, "How Animals Survive." They discuss elements of survival. Students list living and nonliving things found in their backyards and schoolyards. Students work in groups to complete the...
Curated OER
Endangered Ecosystems Grades 4-5
Students read about research at the field sites. They read field reports from team members at the site. Students conduct their own research on ecosystems in their lives. They explore and build an interactive food web. Students create...
Curated OER
What Critters Tell Us About Water Quality: A Macroinvertebrate Lesson
Students explore our ecosystem by investigating the quality of our water. In this aquatic insect lesson, students examine a group of random insects collected from different streams and ponds in the area. Students record their...
American Museum of Natural History
Make a Home for Microbes
Make a Winogradsky Column to discover how microbes live within the digestive tract. First, participants take a tour of the stomach. Then, gather supplies and start building using a variety of materials. Over eight to 10 weeks,...
Curated OER
Biomes -- Part 1
Students use the internet to locate and gather information on the world's biomes. They compare and contrast biomes to ecosystems and describe the human effects on ecosystems. They answer questions to end the lesson.
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Students complete activities to study the importance of biodiversity. In this biodiversity lesson, students find images to categorize into organism groups and illustrate their interconnections. Students use measurement tools to study a...
Curated OER
Columbus Travel Agency
Eighth graders research about their chosen ecosystem. In this life science lesson, 8th graders play the role of travel agents and create a travel brochure. They share this in class.
Curated OER
Seals, Corals, and Dollars...
Students explore the interdependence of animals and their habitat. In this Hawaiian ecology lesson, students work in groups to research the necessity of preserving precious coral as a habitat for monk seals. Students prepare...
Curated OER
Wilderness Survival: A Field Practicum
High schoolers use hands-on field-testing of authentic application from principles pertaining to: Psychology- A. Develop a positive, can-do attitude with a high degree of self-reliance that is transferable to human interactions outside...
Curated OER
Wilderness Survival: A Field Practicum
Students are provided with hands-on-field testing of authentic applications from principles pertaining to: Psychology A. Develop a positive, can-do attitude with a high degree of self-reliance that is transferable to human interactions...
Curated OER
Hawaii's Sandy Shores
Investigate Hawaii's sandy shore ecosystem! Start by creating a vocabulary list and having your class complete a KWL chart. Next, pass out the "I think of" sheet. Each learner will then choose a word from a beach bucket and add it to...
Curated OER
Quote Poker
Students work in small groups in order to find environmental quotes. The quotes are passed around and they decide which one is liked the most. Then students read the quote out loud to the class and explain the reasons for picking the quote.
Curated OER
Field Guide to Schoolyard Insects and Their Relatives
Your entire class works together to create an illustrated insect field guide. The intent is that they venture outside of the classroom, find a critter, and then research it using reference materials, insect books, and the Internet for...
Wildwood Trust
Habitats
The circle of life is all around us, from the black bears in the nearby mountains to the pile of dead leaves in the backyard. Encourage young scientists to take a critical look at the world around them with a set of lessons...