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...
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...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
The Mighty Hudson Stretches its Mussels
Students brainstorm possible causes of zebra mussel migration and population expansion. They identify the key causes and effects of the disturbance of the Hudson River ecosystem and research causes and effects in the disturbances of...
Curated OER
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...
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...
Curated OER
The Consequences of Extinction
Students participate in a class discussion on site of an older style bridge to help connect the significance of each organism in an ecosystem by using an analogy of bolts slowly being removed from a working bridge.
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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.
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...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Habitat survival
Sixth graders study different environments and how the food chain affects the survival of different animals. In this environments lesson plan, 6th graders share the visuals which describe the characteristics of the environment that they...
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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...
Curated OER
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.
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Food Webs
Students research rainforest animals and use that information to make a flow chart to show the order in which energy is transferred through several organisms. They label the producers, consumers, and decomposers in their chart.
Curated OER
The Portable Niche
Third graders, in groups, research animals, plants, and conditions found in ecosystems.
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Understanding Interactions Among Local Species and the Local Environment
Students examine the differences between biotic and abiotic factors, explain the difference between habitat and niche and compare how organisms get their nutritional needs. In this local environment activity students trace the path of...
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Oh Panther
Students play a game that replicates the balance of prey and predators in an ecosystem. In this physical education lesson, students follow the instructions to play "Oh Panther!" Students collect data regarding the game and discuss the...
Curated OER
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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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.