Curated OER
Sustainable Livestock
Students investigate healthy eating habits by researching livestock. In this food sustainability lesson, students research the negative impact factory farming has on our environment due to pollution. Students define agricultural...
It's About Time
The Nitrogen and Phosphorous Cycles
How do we affect the ecosystem, and what can we do to preserve it? Pupils explore chemicals that promote and inhibit plant growth, then discuss the importance of nitrogen and phosphorus to the survival of organisms and describe how...
Curated OER
They're Tilling that Field Behind the Mall
Unfortunately, the article for which this resource was written is not available. You can, however, find another current document on agriculture and urban development for your class to read together, and then still follow the suggested...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Non-Point Source Pollution
Investigate the different types of pollution that storm drain runoff carries into oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams with this class demonstration. Using an aquarium and an assortment of everyday items that contaminants like motor oil,...
Teach Engineering
Grow Your Own Algae!
Develop a model of a wastewater treatment center. The last activity of the unit has pupils mix a lake water sample into a tank of water containing fertilizers. Over time, the algae from the lake water grows and removes the nutrient-rich...
Curated OER
Fruit Fly Ranch Activity
Seventh graders describe how the traits of an organism are passed from generation to generation. They distinguish between asexual and sexul reproduction. Students identify traits through genes and those resulting from interactions with...
Curated OER
Prairie Scavenger Hunt
Middle schoolers take a close look at the prairie environment. They identify common plants and animals of the prairie. In addition, pupils work in teams in order to put together a presentation on a certain aspect of the prairie...
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Here is a fine lesson for fifth graders that will give them an idea of the variety of impacts that human-introduced pollutants have on the environment. After an initial class discussion and teacher-led demonstration, pupils brainstorm...
Curated OER
Peace Corps Challenge Game: Soil Runoff
Students examine the causes and effects of soil runoff. In this environment instructional activity, students look at ways in which soil runoff is controlled. Students then play a game and discuss how the Peace Corps deals with soil...
Virginia Department of Education
A Dichotomous Key of Virginia’s Native Plants
Can your class correctly classify plant species? Individuals explore native plants of the local environment and correctly classify them into their respective categories. They investigate differences in the plants and discuss similarities...
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
Flatworm Experiment
Sixth graders participate in an experiment in which they view flatworms and hypothesize the effect fertilizer has on flatworms when it is added to their environment. Students work in groups of four or five and view a slide, under a...
Curated OER
Field Crops in the Agro-ecosystem
Ninth graders explore how to apply ecological analysis to cropping systems. In this agro-ecosystem lesson students study management practices including soil and fertility.
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
Biology Jeopardy
Play Jeopardy as you review what might possibly be an entire year's high school biology course! The vast variety of questions requires that you read through the slides to make sure that they all relate to your curriculum. You could make...
Curated OER
Water Pollution
Fifth graders study the impact of human activity on water quality and on the ecosystems of Earth. After a discussion on the various ways that water can be polluted, groups of youngsters get together to figure out the best way to clean a...
WK Kellogg Biological Station
N2O: It’s No Laughing Matter!
While the layout of the lesson is not very detailed and the link to the PowerPoint is no longer valid, there are some great exercises to examine the role of nitrous oxide in the environment. For middle level learners, the resource listed...
Curated OER
Where the Buffalo Roam
Second graders explore what life in the Chicago area was like hundreds of years ago. They discuss how settlers impacted the environment, and why there are no longer herds of buffalo in the Chicago area today. They read an article and...
Curated OER
Prairie Scavenger Hunt
Here is a simple lesson for young learners on the plants, animals, and flowers found in the prairie environment. There are worksheets embedded in the plan that pupils use once a teacher-led discussion and demonstration has taken place....
Curated OER
Household Chemicals & the Environment
Students conduct a laboratory experiment designed to investigate the effects of chemicals, soil quality and pollution on seed growth and plant yield. They consider how best to maximize agriculture in the long term.
SF Environment
Sort and Color!
Sorting is a very important skill that can be used in math and even science. Learners get familiar with some environmentally friendly vocabulary terms as they practice separating objects that can be recycled from those that can't. They...
K12 Reader
Summarize It: President Theodore Roosevelt's 7th Annual Message to Congress
How did Theodore Roosevelt stress the importance of conservation during his time as president of the United States? Take a closer look at the language Roosevelt used himself in a 1907 address to Congress, and have your young...
Curated OER
Biotechnology
A continuous cascade of information comes through this PowerPoint on biotechnology. The topic is defined, a history is presented, and basic genetic engineering techniques are explained. The topic is covered in an objective manner,...
Curated OER
Four Ancient River Civilizations
Students explore how the environment shapes man, how man transformed his world, nd how art became part of the human process. The group is divided into clans and their migratory routes developed in the eight lessons of this unit.