Middle schoolers discuss any news article or video about the environment. They develop their own questions relating to radon and how it effects people and the environment. They answer each others questions to end the instructional activity.

Students participate in a demonstration in which they examine the effect on temperature by carbon dioxide. They discuss the effects of carbon dioxide on the environment. They also examine summer safety rules to end the lesson.

Students realize that aging is a "natural, continuous process" and develop sensitivity to the needs, desires, and capabilities of the elderly by interviewing elderly community members and photographing age related things.

Students explore the structural biology of corals. Working individually, students identify how corals become bleached and which conditions produce more and less coral bleaching. Students explore how this effects the environment and...

Students discover the effects of El Nino on the global climate. As a class, they role play the role of a cold or warm wind and act out a skit in front of the class. They discuss the results of the role play once it is completed.

Young scholars explore the political, social and economic effects of the division of North and South Korea.

What is an urban heat island? Middle school meteorologists find out by comparing temperatures at different locations on campus. They relate their findings to what might be happening in a concrete jungle and how it impacts local weather....

Pupils discuss the similarities between the Earth's atmosphere and a greenhouse. In this science lesson, students make their own greenhouses out of plastic bottles and thermometers. Pupils record the temperature different times of the...

Pupils record temperatures at different locations around campus. They examine the results and draw conclusions about how materials and colors affect the amount of heat produced. They also analyze Los Angeles' temperature records over a...

Discuss different sources of energy and how much greenhouse gas each might emit. The six sources are then ranked according to emissions from greatest to least. Finally, the true cumulative emissions are revealed to show the class how...

Accept or except? Advice or advise? Eminent or imminent? Which is which witch? In order to select the correct word to complete 20 sentences, learners get out their dictionaries and check the meaning and usage of the commonly confused pairs.

Take a look at climate change from another angle. Readers learn about the MISR instrument on the Terra satellite and how it studies Earth. Pupils experience how the multiple cameras give scientists multiple views so they can better study...

All types of energy are presented here, with neat pictures and labels to illustrate the technology typically used. Ways of harnessing the energy most efficiently are discussed, and good examples provide starters for further research....

Explore the food chains that support Arctic ecosystems. A class discussion on interdependence and the different roles plants and animals play in ecosystems provides students with the knowledge to complete a worksheet asking them to...

It's time to save endangered species through engineering. The third lesson in a nine-part Life Science unit has young environmentalists study species extinction. An engaging discussion leads to some ideas on how to use engineering design...

Students explore how to assess and weigh the risks and benefits associated with innovations in science and technology.

While the layout of the instructional activity 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...

Learners investigate mosquitoes. In this mosquito bytes lesson, students consider reasons why mosquitoes transfer disease and ways to combat them. Learners read an article, discuss, and complete a quiz.

Learners explore the Chernobyl incident and the resulting environmental health impacts. They explore three different isotopes that were released into the atmosphere. Through inquiry, students determine the difference between types of...

Students explore the population explosion. They view a video depicting the exponential growth of human population. Students research the internet to project future population data. They perform hands-on, multimedia activities to study...

Students investigate climate changes by graphing and analyzing ice core data from Greenland and Antarctica. They create, explain and report the pattern of data on a graph of ice core data. In addition they find relationships between the...

Students read an article about alternative energy and complete the associated worksheets. In this ESL/ELL alternative energy instructional activity, students read or listen an article about research at MIT in which scientists designed a...

High schoolers research and discuss the risks and benefits of cell phones and driving. They analyze the mechanical and administrative causes of the accident of the Space Shuttle Challenger. They write an essay explaining the risks and...

Students investigate the link between countries' population growth rates and levels of industrialization. They observe that, over time, as a country becomes more industrialized, its population growth rate decreases.