Curated OER
Landscape Garden Makeover
A project-based learning plan focuses on landscapes in the community. After identifying problems, such as dead trees or misplaced automatic sprinklers, learners design solutions, contact local organizations to fix the problems, and do...
California Academy of Science
Discovering Rainforest Locations
How many rainforests are there, where are they, and do global factors effect their locations? These are great questions that have great answers. Children in grades four through eight use several different maps to determine why...
Wild BC
Carbon Sinks and Sources
Earth or environmental science pupils are assigned to be carbon sources or sinks. They ask yes-or-no questions to try to figure out which one they are. Then they discuss ways people can have positive effects on the changing climate by...
Curated OER
Using GLOBE Data to Study the Earth System (College Level)
Students use the GLOBE Website to locate and study environmental data. They use the GLOBE Graphing Tool to display data. Students describe the role of solar energy in the annual fluctuations of soil moisture. They describe reservoirs and...
Curated OER
Newspaper Articles
Seventh graders summarize a newspaper article. In this writing lesson students choose a newspaper article about an environmental issue. The students summarize the article and devise a solution to the environmental issue.
Curated OER
Energy is Everywhere
Students differentiate between renewable and non-renewable resources and identify the different forms of energy and list the advantages or disadvantages of different forms of energy. They also determine the benefits as well as the...
Curated OER
Environmental Studies: The Environment Rocks!
Rock exploration, so exciting! After reading the book Everybody Needs a Rock, the class makes sandwiches to better understand that the Earth is made in layers. They then use a description of the 3 types of rock to conduct an observation...
Curated OER
Let's Make a Compost Cake
Learners create a compost cake. In this gardening and decomposition science lesson plan, students review and describe the "nutrient cycle." Learners create a compost pile, measure and record the dimensions and temperature of the pile,...
Curated OER
My Forest or the Rainforest?
Students explore the flora and fauna of temperate forests and rainforests. They examine the environmental conditions that allow certain plants and animals to live in the rainforest.
Curated OER
The Effects of Trash and Garbage On the Environment
Students recognize the importance of solid waste management. In this science lesson plan, students analyze individual solid waste management habits as they enhance their knowledge of solid waste disposal and the recycling process.
Curated OER
Watershed Landscape
Students demonstrate how water flows by building a human watershed using themselves. In this ecology lesson, students compare and contrast point-source and non-point source pollution. They write what they have learned from this activity...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Introducing Ecosystem Services
Purifying air and water, providing soil in which to grow crops, and moving water through its natural cycle are all services an ecosystem provides that benefit humans. Lesson four in a series lets learners explore and discuss the value of...
Kenan Fellows
Making Connections with Water Quality
What's in your water? And, why is water quality so important? Enhance your class's level of water appreciation through a lesson that demonstrates the necessity of water quality. Environmental enthusiasts explore the EPA's Clean Water...
Curated OER
Earth: Our Big Blue Marble
Students investigate Earth and its resources. For this Earth, space, and nature lesson plan, students collaborate to design presentations on the Earth, its cycles, and how humans have impacted the planet. Images, diagrams, and background...
Curated OER
Class Conservation Corps (CCC)
Learners investigate how the loss of soil, a valuable natural resource, affects their lives through loss of productive land to grow food, loss of coastal land mass, and poor water quality from runoff. They design a project to keep soil...
Curated OER
What's Happening Below The Surface?
Students determine the soil composition of soil layers in their area. They collect soil samples, calculate the percentage soil water content, analyze data, and evaluate each site for future tree growth.
Curated OER
Fossil Fuel and the Ticking Clock
Students study energy sources to learn about fossil fuels and environmental concerns. In this energy sources lesson, students watch demonstrations for various energy examples. Students find hidden pennies, make a bar graph on their data,...
Curated OER
What Is Sustainability
Students investigate the concept of how people are dependent upon natural resources and how they can apply them to be maximized in usefulness. The students are encouraged to develop an appreciation for the environment. They conduct a...
Curated OER
Stakeholder Debate: Ethics and Lead
Students work in teams to develop a presentation and handout representing a particular point of view in a Lead Debate. They synthesize their varied knowledge of lead and its issues, organize this knowledge, and present it persuasively to...
Curated OER
Mushrooms Can Save the World
Middle schoolers use mushrooms to solve problems. In this environmental lesson, students study how fungi have been used to combat environmental problems. Middle schoolers design strategies that employ mushrooms to combat other...
Curated OER
Be the Kiwi
Students explore aspects of New Zealand's environment. In this environmental geography lesson, students research the geography, resources and climate of New Zealand. This lesson includes a game, rubric, and extension.
Curated OER
Watershed Model
Students view a presentation of water and land and how we need to protect our water resources. In this water lesson plan, students discuss how we rely on water, and complete activities in all subjects related to water.
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Permafrost Gas Leak
Pair earth scientists up to use an amazing online arctic portal mapping tool and Google Earth to analyze permafrost changes. They compare changes to data on atmospheric concentrations of methane to see if there is a correlation. Then...
Wilderness Classroom
Pollution
Educate scholars on pollution—air, water, and land—with a series of lessons that begin with a thorough explanation of each type. Learners then take part in three activities to reinforce the importance of reducing pollution. They...