Curated OER
Nutrient Enrichment vs. Oxygen Depletion
Learners investigate how excess nutrients enter a body of water, and the harmful effects they have on aquatic organisms.
Curated OER
Nutrition and Food Security
Examine the three basic nutrients and their effects on the body. Fifth graders will research data to construct a bar graph and then demonstrate the relationship between malnutrition and food security. This is a very comprehensive...
Curated OER
Managing Nutrients in Livestock Manure
Livestock managers reinforce math and science skills while learning about the nutrients found in manure. They predict which animal produces the largest amount and which animal's manure contains the most nitrogen. Finally, they compare...
Curated OER
Nutrients In Chesapeake Bay
Students perform pH and turbidity test to determine water quality. In this environmental science lesson, students analyze NASA database on chlorophyll-a in the bay. They explain how a small river area affects Chesapeake Bay.
Curated OER
Soil Nutrients - Phosphorus Lab Lesson Plan
Learners list sources of phosphorus in soil. They explain how phosphorus is removed from the soil and used by plants. Students list the symptoms of insufficient or excess phosphorus. Learners perform experiments to examine the effect of...
Curated OER
Identify Nutrient Sources
Students identify the nutrients in food and its functions. In this nutritional needs lesson, students create a chart that identifies the food source, the function of the nutrient, and the effects of a deficiency or excess of the nutrient.
May Media Group
Treatment Plants
Young scientists explore nature's water treatment plants in this simple science demonstration. By placing a stalk of celery in a cup of water mixed with food coloring, children are able to observe how plants absorb nutrients and...
Curated OER
Geography Action! Rivers 2001-Runoff
Students experiment with how rain affects topsoil using dirt and red tempera paint. At the end of the activity, students find red water in their collection jar, representing nutrients in the soil.
NOAA
The Dead Zone
The fifth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program defines dead zones and how they form. Pupils then examine data from the Gulf of Mexico to determine dead zone formation.
Curated OER
The Marvels of Mud
Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine the role that...
Curated OER
Protein - Complete and Incomplete
The relationship between how an individual looks and feels and the nutrients he or she eats. Identify proteins (complete and incomplete), their sources, and functions in the body. National Standard 14.2.1 Define amino acids, complete and...
Curated OER
Making Healthy Food Choices
In this well-designed nutritional activity, learners are given the opportunity to create their own daily food record, compare their nutrient with minimimun requirements, and think critically about their own food choices. Materials and...
Curated OER
Non-Point Source Pollution
Learners study non-point source pollution. They research the concept of bio-degradation and/or Nutrients/Fertilizers and discuss how non-point source pollution impacts the environment. Afterwards, they participate in an interactive...
Curated OER
Mud in the Water
Sixth graders investigate erosion. In this erosion lesson, 6th graders explore how farming changes the environment. Students construct an erosion model and research ways to protect the soil from excess mud generated by farming.
Curated OER
Your Blooming Pond
Students model a pond system that becomes enriched with nutrients (fertilizer). They manipulate variables, make observations over time, and draw conclusions that may lead to further inquiry. They, in groups, simulate a pond environment.
Curated OER
What's on Your Plate?
Students analyze the calorie content of food. In this health science lesson, students discuss how excess calories affect our body. They write a healthy meal plan for their family.
Virginia Department of Education
Changes in Ecosystems
How does water pollution affect the environment? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question as they learn about eutrophication and ecosystem changes. Over two weeks, they simulate the effects of pollution on the...
Curated OER
Water Filtration
As an example of nature's water filtering system, young ecologists conduct an experiment in the lab. They construct a funnel out of a plastic bottle, fill it with specified layers of materials that simulate layers of soil, then run muddy...
Curated OER
Sewage Matrix and Field Experience
Students visit a sewage treatment plant and use an exercise to identify the effects of given sewage components on humans and the environment when sewage treatment is bypassed or fails. They read the provided "sewage matrix" worksheet and...
Curated OER
Algae Blooms
Your microbiologists explore a changing algae population and build an exponential function modeling algae concentration from the description given of the relationship between concentrations in cells/ml and days of rapid growth.
Kenan Fellows
Let's Learn About Stewardship and River Basins
What does it mean to be a good steward? Middle school environmentalists learn to care for their state's waterways through research, a guest speaker, and poster activity. Groups must locate and learn more about a river basin and the human...
Curated OER
Hypoxia and the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico
Students investigate the causes of hypoxia, the characteristics of a watershed, and how the actions and management practices of people can both negatively and positively affect aquatic ecosystems.
Curated OER
Pollution Solutions
Students visit a local park to test the quality of the aquatic environments. They search for sources of pollution and examples of pollution control. Based on their obeservations and experiments, they rate their local environment.
Michigan Sea Grant
Water Quality
Learners observe water samples and measure the samples' water quality. Students develop their own criteria for measuring water quality and test for temperature, acidity, oxygen levels, turbidity, conductance, sediment and hardness.