NOAA
Build Your Own Ocean Ecosystem
Hold the sea in the palm of your hand! Amateur oceanographers work together to create models of an ocean ecosystem in the sixth and final installment in a series. Raise awareness of global ocean health issues through guided research,...
Curated OER
Wetlands in a Pan
Fifth graders explore the wetlands to discover its benefits in removing pollutants in the water. In this wetlands lesson, 5th graders discuss how stormwater wetlands are created to purify water. Students test the water.
Curated OER
Plants and Animals
Seventh graders discover the interconnectedness of plants and animals in ecosystems. In groups, they create a food web and discuss the problems when one link of the chain is broken. To end the lesson, they set up a balanced environment...
University of Washington
The Carbon Cycle
When it comes to the carbon cycle, the sky really is the limit. The lesson begins with observing a closed ecosystem in a bottle. Then, scholars discuss and answer questions on the carbon dioxide and oxygen cycles.
Curated OER
Prairie In A Bottle
Second graders observe images of prairie ecosystems and discuss the needs of living things. They create a prairie habitat in a closed jar to observe the water cycle and plant growth.
Curated OER
Populations and Ecosystems
Sixth graders examine the factors that influence the stability of ecosystems. They construct a miniature ecosystem in a jar that includes plants, small fish, and snails, record the population changes over a period of four weeks, and...
Curated OER
Ecosystem Study
Students collect an ecosystem in a jar from a local pond and record what happens in the ecosystem. In this ecosystem lesson plan, students observe the food chains and human impact that occurs in ecosystems. Students also take readings at...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen and Respiration
Learners are presented with the question, "Do plants that grow underwater use oxygen?" They create an experiment to test the presence of dissolved oxygen in the water using provided materials. Student experiments include a control jar as...
Curated OER
Let's Create an Ecosystem
Seventh graders discover how an ecosystem works by creating one in class. In this Earth science lesson plan, 7th graders study vocabulary terms associated with ecosystem and read environment handouts. Students create an observatory...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
How Can a Dam Affect a River? Activity A
Written for Washington state students in life science, this lesson provides an opportunity to examine the residents of local freshwater habitats. You or the class collects a water sample, and learners try to examine what organisms live...
NOAA
Stressed Out!
Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...
Curated OER
Let's Create an Ecosystem
Seventh graders are introduced to the concept of ecosystems by allowing student to create their own ecosystem in a jar.
Curated OER
Ecological Succession in Pond Water Cultures
Students collect samples of pond water, dried grass, and soil in a jar. They predict the order of ecological succession in their pond water cultures. They compare their expected results with their observed results.
Curated OER
Interdependence: Discovering What Makes a Balanced Ecosystem
Students demonstrate that plants and animals are interdependent in a balanced ecosystem.
Rain Bird Corporation
Rain Forest Teaching Curriculum
Take young naturalists on an exploration of the world's tropical rainforests with this extensive collection of lessons and activities. Whether its creating leaf and flower prints or investigating the absorption spectrum of chlorophyl,...
Curated OER
Soil Scrolls
Third graders examine soil samples and explore the what happens in each layer of the subsoil. They work in cooperative groups to create a scroll that shows what takes place in each layer, and discuss why much of the activity is in the...
Curated OER
Ecosystems: Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Seventh graders examine proper journaling techniques, and record observations about at tree after listening to a read aloud of "Four Worlds: The Dine Story of Creation." They study the difference between living and non-living things, and...
Curated OER
Forest as a Filter
Students experiment using soil and water. In this forest as a filter lesson, students identify the role of forest cover, vegetation, and foliage impacts erosion and evaporation. Students conduct a simple experiment, form a hypothesis,...
Curated OER
Teaching Kids about the Environment
Fifth graders identify the species of plants and animals found in an environment. They compare these findings to plant and animal species found in an unlike environment. Students acquire and compare soil samples from the two sites chosen.
Science Matters
Energy Flow
Budding scientists work collaboratively to reenact energy flow in a food chain. Scholars take on roles such as producer and consumer and perform tasks that symbolize energy flow in order to provide evidence of how much energy passes...
Curated OER
What Kind of Garden Would Grow in Our Schoolyard?
Students perform soil tests for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, composition and water percolation rate and assess the conditions in the schoolyard.
Curated OER
Examine an Ecosystem
Students examine an ecosystem and record what they see. In this ecosystem lesson plan students use a worksheet to help them identify the organisms in their ecosystem.
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Here is a fine lesson for fifth graders that will give them an idea of the variety of impacts that human-introduced pollutants have on the environment. After an initial class discussion and teacher-led demonstration, pupils brainstorm...
Curated OER
Habitat Mural
Students build a collage of an ecosystem. The goal is for them to understand interactions in a community, plant and animal adaptations, and how all life depends on plants. This activity is based on Wump World and students describe what...