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Earth Systems Science
High schoolers perform experiments designed to grow plants and bacteria in a controlled environment. In this ecosystems lesson students investigate varying conditions for growing plants and bacteria.
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The Rainforest Community
Young scholars create a miniature rainforest ecosystem, a terrarium. Students then explain how the continuous flow of energy and food in the ecosystem allows it to sustain itself.
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Pond Ecology
A lab activity is a great way to incite thoughtful questioning and scientific processes. Pupils will collect organisms with a Petri dish, make observations, sketch the organism, ask questions, then attempt to identify the specimen...
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Food Chain
Students explore the cycle of how each living thing gets food. In this food chain unit, students participate in four lesson plans that highlight animal vocabulary, habitats, and the role of humans in our ecosystem. Students demonstrate...
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Let's Create an Ecosystem
Seventh graders discover how an ecosystem works by creating one in class. In this Earth science lesson, 7th graders study vocabulary terms associated with ecosystem and read environment handouts. Students create an observatory...
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Let's Create An Ecosystem
Seventh graders create ecosystems in a jar which they observe over the course of the school year.
Virginia Department of Education
The Cycles of Nature
Encourage peer collaboration and assist with the creation of visual aids to identify carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles as your class learns more about nature. They discuss relative information, create a visual aid depicting the chosen...
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Regents High School Examination: Living Environment 2010
This exam touches upon every topic within the typical first year biology course.. A broad variety of question styles give high schoolers every opportunity to show what they know. Why start from scratch when a comprehensive final exam is...
NASA
Biology Training Conclusion
Gravity is just one consideration when determining human habitability on a new planet. The lesson plan connects four different units and starts with connecting the various systems: planetary systems, human body systems, etc. After...
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What makes up YOUR Environment!
Middle schoolers create their own land or water environment. They make their environment livable for all the different animals they collect to put in it. Students research the types of animals that they can have in their environment,...
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Exploring the Water Cycle
Students investigate the water cycle. In this water cycle instructional activity, students create an ecosystem within a 2-liter bottle. Students record scientific observations as they observe the water cycle within their ecosystem.
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The Gaia Hypothesis: An Approach to Problem Solving in the Environment
Learners are introduced to the Gaia hypothesis by examining a conceptual sketch. In groups, they analyze the way they can use Dewey's method for problem solving to solve problems within the environment. They are given a problem facing...
Channel Islands Film
Human Impact on the Food Web of Santa Cruz Island
What happens when a non-native species is introduced onto an island? Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Island chain located off the coast of southern California, provides the perfect laboratory for young environmental scientists to...
Forest Foundation
Fire - How Does it Relate to You?
Forest fires can be a necessary step in keeping a forest healthy, but what happens when they get out of control? Learners investigate the causes and effects of forest fires in two specific areas, culminating in a report about the ways...
Polar Trec
Arctic Smorgasbord!
Two blooms of phytoplankton, instead of just one, now occur in the Arctic due to declining sea ice, which will have widespread effects on the marine life and climate. In small groups, participants build an Arctic food web with given...
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Aquatic Ecosystems
Students study ponds and wetland ecosystems and examine the food chains and webs in them. For this aquatic ecosystems lesson students answer questions about the diversity of the flora and fauna in a pond.
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The Living Environment
Students explore the cycles of an ecosystem. In this environmental science lesson, students work in groups to research the nitrogen cycle, the water cycle, or the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle. Students prepare a PowerPoint or other...
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Web of Predators and Prey
Students investigate the components food chains and food webs in various ecosystems. They describe how living things depend on one another for food energy (food chain) and how more than one food chain exists in an ecosystem
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Web of Predators and Prey
Middle schoolers investigate the food chain by researching the Internet. For this ecosystem lesson, students view the video "Competitor and Predator" and read a book from the series "The Magic School Bus." Middle schoolers utilize a...
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Columbus Travel Agency
Eighth graders research about their chosen ecosystem. In this life science instructional activity, 8th graders play the role of travel agents and create a travel brochure. They share this in class.
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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.
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Marine Food Web
Students investigate the effects of the food chain on all animals by creating a food web. In this seafood lesson, students discuss energy flow and research a specific marine organism of their choice. Students create a food web in their...
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Circle of Life
Students consider why we eat and where our food obtains its energy. They illustrate food chains that might be found on an open field, dissect owl pellets, identify the remains of animals in the pellets, watch videos and participate in...
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Field Crops in the Agro-ecosystem
Ninth graders explore how to apply ecological analysis to cropping systems. In this agro-ecosystem instructional activity students study management practices including soil and fertility.