Overcoming Obstacles
Getting Organized
If you've ever peeked inside a middle schooler's backpack, you know how valuable a lesson on organization can be. Help class members organize their binders, study habits, and schedules with a set of collaborative activities.
Curated OER
Classroom Ecosystems: Windows on our Environment
Students in a special education classroom examine their relationship with the environment. As a class, they examine the concept of a web of life and create their own classroom ecosystem. In groups, they record their observations and...
Montana State University
Climb into Action!
Climate change affects even the largest and intimidating of landforms—even Mount Everest! A resource helps teach learners the connection between global climate change and its effects on Earth. Activities include videos, class discussion,...
Teach Engineering
Trash to Treasure!
One person's trash is another man's treasure. Challenge your class to build something useful out of the trash they throw away on a regular basis. Groups design and build a practical item from trash they collect, allowing the class to...
It's About Time
The Changing Geography of Your Community
Lead your class in exploring their local communities as well as the general environment. As they determine continental distributions by investigating minerals, rocks, and fossils located in their local region, pupils construct...
Alabama Learning Exchange
WATER You Doing to Help?
Auntie Litter is here to educate young scholars about water pollution and environmental stewardship! Although the 15-minute video clip is cheesy, it's an engaging look at the water cycle and conservation. Learners start by illustrating...
Curated OER
The Risk-Benefit Factor Challenging Our Environment
Seventh graders examine the factors that are contributing to the degrading of the Earth's environment. In groups, they analyze the types of hazards when dealing with pests and give an example of each. For each situation given, they...
Curated OER
Recycling & Our Environment
Learners present information about recycling to other students. In this environmental protection lesson, learners create a puppet show or commercial about the importance of recycling for other students to view.
Curated OER
The ABCs of Our Nation
In this social studies worksheet, students are directed to a Web site to find out what makes our Nation special. Students create an acrostic poem about our country. Students then explore the need for responsible living within a community...
Curated OER
Classroom Critters Developing Our Writing Skills
Students investigate animals and how it adapts to its environment. They write notes and gather information on a chosen animal. After research is completed, students create a report about the animal's characteristics, appearance, food,...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: The Great Debate—Bottled Water vs. Tap Water in Our School
Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...
Curated OER
Acid Rain
Create a simulation of acid rain in your classroom with lemon juice and bean plants to help kids study the effects of pollution on plants. In addition, learners will listen to a story and write responses based on guiding questions.
Curated OER
Where Is Away?
Students explore garbage. In this landfill instructional activity, students investigate how much garbage is collected in landfills on average each day. Students discover hazardous materials that are disposed of improperly and the effects...
Beyond Benign
Daphnia Bioassay LD50
De-icing materials may have a harmful effect on our environment; have your class perform an experiment to test the nature of these effects. Scholars monitor the survival rate of a sample of daphnia as the concentration of a de-icing...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Make a Difference!
We are very dependent upon other life forms around us to survive. Here, scholars explore relationships in the ecosystem with the help of Auntie Litter and the pollution patrol. They imagine a world without grass, making connections to...
Curated OER
Helping Homeschoolers: Reading Critically and Analytically
Strategies for creatively monitoring reading to gauge comprehension and stimulate analysis without taking the joy out of reading.
Curated OER
How Can We Help?
Students explore ocean animals and their environments. In this environmental stewardship instructional activity, students read a story and discuss the environmental needs of animals. Students think of ways to help clean up the...
Curated OER
Keeping Our Surroundings Clean
Students define the word environment. In this environmental awareness lesson students, orally make a list of at least 6 ways to keep our environment clean. Students individually create posters that show how to keep the environment...
Curated OER
Environmental Problems
Students explore the environment by completing environmental problem worksheets. In this pollution lesson plan, students identify the biggest threats to our environment such as deforestation, global warming, and pollution. Students...
Curated OER
Keep the Environment Clean
Students discuss ways our environment becomes polluted. They make a list of ways to keep it clean.
Kenan Fellows
The Little Stuff Can Make a Big Difference
Great things come in small packages! What better way to illustrate this point than a week-long look at nanotechnology? Earth science scholars explore water quality issues through lab activities, then research new innovations in nanotech...
City and County of San Francisco
I Want It! I Need It!
Discuss wants and needs with your elementary ecologists and get them to consider what would happen to our natural resources if we all got everything that we want. Learners play a card sorting game and take an ecological footprint quiz on...
Self-esteem fund
Self‑Esteem Activity Guide (For Youth Leaders of Young Girls)
Did you know that over 70 percent of girls avoid certain activities because they feel bad about their looks? This fantastic resource includes 18 tried and true activities designed to help girls establish positive self-esteem.
Social Skills Central
Ready, Set, Respond!
When faced with a difficult situation, do you respond selfishly, face it head on, or ignore the problem? This game encourages learners to evaluate the wide range of reactions we can have to problematic situations, and how our responses...