Curated OER
Down in the Dumps
After an introduction to municipal sludge, middle school ecologists consider the pros and cons of dumping in the Hudson River Canyon. The class is split into two groups: one to debate in favor or dumping and one to debate against the...
Curated OER
It's the Law
Learners explain various scientific laws used in SCUBA diving. In this theory based instructional activity, students examine and explain how temperature, density, and salinity relate to SCUBA diving using various scientific laws to...
Curated OER
A Frog's Life Story
Students investigate the lives of frogs by completing several worksheets. In this biology lesson, students discover the life cycle of a frog from tadpole to death. Students complete frog life cycle puzzle as well as create a...
Michigan Sea Grant
Sea Lamprey
Learners discuss the types of technology that are used to control the population of sea lamprey in the Great Lakes. They explain the parasite/host relationship and understand the devastating impact invasive species have on ecosystems....
Curated OER
Staying Up
Young scholars will explain the Archimedes's Principle. In this lesson on plankton, students will describe three factors that can affect the buoyancy of plankton. This lesson contains extensive background information, extensions, and...
Michigan Sea Grant
Wetlands
Wetlands may not sound particularly ornate, but they are as important as any habitat! With a hands-on activity, young scientists build a wetland model and observe its many functions in action. They discover the importance of wetlands to...
Curated OER
Great Blobs of Jelly!
Learners explain how zoo-plankton have an impact on the global process. In this ocean zoo-plankton lesson plan students calculate carbon flux and plankton densities.
Curated OER
Do You Have the Key?
Students practice using a dichotomous key. In this classification lesson, students read an article about scientific exploration and identification of new species. They use a dichotomous key to identify objects and create their own key.
Curated OER
Outta Gas
Learners explore practical problems that are related to scuba diving. In this oxygen lesson students complete a lab activity.
Curated OER
Ocean Drifters
Students define terms, and identify three ways in which plankton are adapted for life in the open ocean. In this ocean drift lesson students design a planktonic organism.
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
Design a Wildlife Habitat-Habitat Detective
Students discuss ways people have changed landscapes and how this effects wildlife. They map the area around their school and keep a journal of wildlife they see. They predict how to preserve the wildlife they see for future generations.
Curated OER
Good Inventions
Students explore global challenges and technological solutions to them. They curate a related museum exhibit titled 'Technology Benefiting Humanity.'
Curated OER
Bats
Students model how the bones in a bat wing are organized. They develop questions about bat body parts based on photographs. They hypothesize how bats locate their food.
Curated OER
Water Pollution, Stream Ecosystems
Students participate in a series of simulated activities designed to demonstrate the interconnectedness between the environment and the organisms that live there. They explore how polluting one element of an environment affects the...
Curated OER
A Coastal Arctic Food Web
High schoolers create a food web of the arctic ecosystem. In this biology lesson, students explain how global warming affects this ecosystem. They explain how losing a species affects the entire community.
Curated OER
Ecological Organization
Students examine the concepts in the ecological organization unit. For this ecological lesson students explore news articles that have to do with the study of ecology.
Curated OER
Are You Related?
High schoolers study microsatellite markers and explain how they might be used to identify populations. They use data to make inferences about the populations of deep-sea corals.
Curated OER
Into the Pond
Seventh graders use a pond to explore macroinvertebrates and other organisms. They use a dichotomous key to classify the organisms and maintain a journal recording their findings.