National Wildlife Federation
I Speak for the Polar Bears!
Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Special Order 40
The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...
Science 4 Inquiry
Enzymes in Action
Enzymes play a role in almost every function in the human body. Scholars explore three variables related to the use of enzymes. They observe a catalase reaction, experiment with substrates, and examine reactions rates.
Curated OER
Letters to Local and State Legislators
Young scholars locate their local or state legislator's address. They write and send letters to their local and state legislators critiquing their voting record on environmental issues and sharing their own views on these issues.
Curated OER
Air Conditioning
Learners explore the roles that the United States government agencies play in weather forecasting, climate control, and other climate-related environmental issues. They then write letters to President Bush recommending how a new National...
Curated OER
Arsenic Globally
Students, using directed questions, identify five internet resources. They use these resources to identify relevant information by highlighting those sections that address the provided questions. Students present the answers to these...
Curated OER
High Rollaway Heroes
Students work collaboratively with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to preserve a local historical and environmentally fragile site. They conduct a survey of the plant and animal life at the site, and create an informational...
Curated OER
And Your Point Is . . .? Part I
Students, in groups, complete a WebQuest titled "Love Canal Debate". They follow the WebQuest to research and write papers on different points of view regarding the Love Canal environmental disaster.
Curated OER
Earth: the Apple of Our Eye
Learners dissect an apple to model the percentage of land on Earth that can be used as a food-producing resource. They use fractions to determine the habitable and agriculture area of the apple.
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The Fish Trade
High schoolers read and discuss a document regarding how the global fish trade is important to humans all over the world. Students conduct Internet research and write a scenario about what would happen if other countries did not help...
Curated OER
Need vs. Wants in Creating Sustainable Communities
Ninth graders create a T chart of their needs and wants. In this environmental science lesson, 9th graders brainstorm ideas on how to create a sustainable community. They decide what they would give up and keep to make the community...
Curated OER
Progression's Price
Students reflect upon their regional and national environments, analyze causes of environmental problems as well as their implications, and examine effects of population growth as they participate in "The Popcorn Game."
Curated OER
Investigative Case: The Nancy Creek Challenge
Young scholars examine a case study of fish kill in Nancy Creek and identify the environmental conditions that favor life in a fresh water ecosystem. They work in small groups to assess the situation and gather resources from various...
Curated OER
On the Brink
Students view a film about environmental issues. They discover how environmental degradation can lead to disease. They identify the relationship between population growth and the environment.
Curated OER
Global Weather and the Greenhouse Effect
Students discuss how local weather patterns effect or relate to global weather and environmental changes, explore connected nature of our planet, and examine global weather patterns, their changes, and their possible connection to global...
Curated OER
What Makes Up a Healthy Watershed
Students, after observing the elements of a local watershed, explore the need to protect watersheds as water resources for the future. They examine the factors involved with a watershed: geology, ecology, and the effect of man's...
Curated OER
The World in Our Food
Students explore the history of ingredients in one of the recipes they prepare in class. They examine where each ingredient is produced and under what conditions. In addition, they brainstorm alternatives that are environmentally...
Curated OER
Avalanche And Landslide Hazards in Canada
Students explore where the natural disasters, avalanche and landslides, are most frequent in Canada and investigate their associated causes and effects. They navigate the Atlas of Canada Web site for natural hazards.
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Yellowstone Fires
Students assume the role of environmental biologists and help several government agencies resolve the debate surrounding "let it burn" policies in national parks.
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Super Stream Keeper's
Students are introduced to Delaware's waterways as precious resources used for drinking water, water for agricultural and industrial uses, recreational areas, and as habitats for wildlife. They are introduced to wastewater discharges,...
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Soil Acidity and Leaching
Students are introduced to the concept of acids and bases and arouse curiosity about acids and bases in daily life. They are introduced to the measurement of soil pH. Pupils are introduced to the effect of soil pH on nutrient cycling...
Curated OER
Allosaur Survival Game
Students uses this game to see how difficult survival is even for a fierce predator, especially when it is young. It stresses: How much energy it takes to keep a large animal alive or a small one growing, The differences in the fauna...
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Ecology
Students make connections between their daily lives and the usage of natural resources as they relate to the importance of environmental quality. In this ecology lesson, students listen to the story The Lorax by Dr. Seuss...