Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build a Model Watershed

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Collaborative earth science groups create a working model of a watershed. Once it has been developed, you come along and introduce a change in land use, impacting the quality of water throughout their watershed. Model making is an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ozone Hole - Changes in the Stratosphere

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Halting the depletion of the hole in the ozone layer has been one of humanity's happy recoveries from previous damage done to the environment. Meteorology masters muse the Montreal Protocol and examine data on changes in the ozone....
Lesson Plan
Pulitzer Center

Exploring Downstream: Water Resources

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The lack of clean water is a life-threatening plight for millions of people around the world. Through an extensive WebQuest, young environment or social studies classes compare our water availability to that of the cxitizens of Ethiopia,...
Lesson Plan
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

What is My Carbon Footprint?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Here is a lesson that walks youth through an online carbon footprint calculator produced by the University of California, Berkeley. Once learners finish inputting information, they compete a worksheet with the results. This is simple,...
Lesson Plan
Michigan State University

Bug Lyphe!

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...
Lesson Plan
3
3
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

One Ocean: It Matters!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is the first of four poignant lessons on how humans and oceans interact, even if people live far from the coast. This particular instructional activity also examines studies that are taking place in Antarctica of how climate change...
Lesson Plan
National Gardening Association

Migration Mishaps

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Elementary ecologists pretend to be migratory hummingbirds. They fly between wintering and nesting grounds, trying to reach a habitat haven. In a musical-chair fashion, some birds will miss out, and are removed from the game. To further...
Lesson Plan
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Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation

Greenhouse Gas Game

For Teachers 7th - 12th
You will need to gather a number of tokens, bags, and other various game components in order to incorporate this activity into your curriculum. Different tokens represent carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Printable 8.5"x11"...
Lesson Plan
ARKive

Human Impact on the Environment

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Study the ways that humans have impacted the environment, particularly the spread of plastic waste. After watching a short film about the Laysan albatross population, learners complete a worksheet and research other ways that plastic...
Lesson Plan
Advocates for Human Rights

The Right to a Clean Environment: Water

For Students K - 2nd
First, young citizens learn about water consumption by doing some research themselves on their home water usage and sharing their findings with the class. Then, they do some brainstorming and devise a plan to reduce water consumption.
Lesson Plan
1
1
Beyond Benign

SLS Today

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Lather is not necessary for an effective shampoo. After learning of the industry created consumer misinformation, individuals investigate the toxicity of the most popular additive in shampoos to create lather. They use their results to...
Lesson Plan
Beyond Benign

Decision Graphic Introduction

For Teachers 6th - 8th
E is for economics, environment, and social equity. The fifth installment of a 15-part series has scholars first considering ecological impacts, such as determining how much water it takes to produce a can of soda. They then use decision...
Lesson Plan
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Beyond Benign

12 Principle Match Up

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Can you find a match? Scholars review the 12 principles of green chemistry by playing a matching game. The second lesson of the series reinforces the principles from the first lesson. Individuals play the matching game and also complete...
Lesson Plan
California Department of Education

Safe at Work

For Teachers 8th Standards
From minimum wage to minimizing injuries, young workers need to know their rights! The sixth and final lesson plan in a series of college and career readiness activities gets eighth graders thinking about safety and labor laws. 
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Life in the Cold: Climate Challenges

For Teachers K - 8th
What does it take to make it in the Arctic? Learners examine the cold weather adaptations of a polar bear that help it survive. With everyday objects, they model these characteristics as they become make-shift polar bears. Modeling helps...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Where In the World Is the Arctic?

For Teachers K - 8th
Exactly how far away is the Arctic? Learners use maps to orient themselves to their locations on the globe. They then make calculations to describe how their location relates to the location of the Arctic regions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wheel of Trouble

For Teachers 1st - 4th
While teaching about endangered species, you can incorporate this activity as a take-home reminder of what is threatening the sea turtle population. It is one of those paper plate projects in which a wedge is cut out to reveal a picture...
Lesson Plan
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National Museum of the American Indian

The A:Shiwi (Zuni) People: A Study in Environment, Adaptation, and Agricultural Practices

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Discover the connection of native peoples to their natural world, including cultural and agricultural practices, by studying the Zuni people of the American Southwest. This lesson includes examining a poster's photographs, reading...
Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

How Many Leaves on a Tree?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
This is great go-to activity for those spring or fall days when the weather beckons your geometry class outside. Learners start with a small tree, devising strategies to accurately estimate the leaf count. They must then tackle the...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

How Will We Create a Future without Waste?

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Many young people act globally by reducing, reusing, and recycling, Now they take it to the next level by upcycling. Middle schoolers design a proposal to eliminate waste by exploring the new material cycle and applying...
Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

A Vanishing Island

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The effects of rising sea levels on Isle de Jean Charles, located off the coast of Louisiana, are documented in Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's poignant short video. Viewers are asked to consider not only the plight of residents but also what...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Hazards: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers K Standards
The last unit in the series allows kindergarteners to see the dangers and hazards associated with each of the natural disasters learned so far in the series—earthquakes and volcanoes. They listen to sounds associated with the...
Lesson Plan
1
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Reflecting on What I Learned About Climate Change

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
After three eye-opening lessons about our environment, scholars revisit a 10-question survey, reflect on their new-found knowledge, and take action by writing to a representative or creating a public service announcement about...
Lesson Plan
1
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Nature Walk and Ecosystem Introduction

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
A food web has no organism higher than a tertiary consumer because there wouldn't be enough energy left to sustain them. The fourth installment in a seven-part series begins with a nature walk to get pupils thinking about their...

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