Students work in groups to draw a map of their town or neighborhood. They include their homes, major public buildings and places. Students analyze their maps from a human rights perspective.

Students identify at least three common repercussions of developing water front property on water quality. They describe three sources of water pollution. They research the organism striped bass and observe it if striped bass is available.

Students identify the cause of indoor air pollution. In this indoor air pollution lesson, students list, group, and label sources of indoor pollution. They brainstorm a list of all of the indoor pollutants they can think of before...

Students acquire new vocabulary by reading an assigned text and determining the meanings of  unfamiliar words.  In this vocabulary development lesson plan, students acquire strategies to use in a small group as they decode...

Students identify their feelings and learn constructive ways of handling conflict. In this feelings and conflict lesson, students read a story about conflict and identify ways to understand emotions and resolve conflict.

Students examine archaeological studies to gather information on the physcial and cultural development of humankind. Using that information, they describe hunter-gatherer societies and how they developed tools and fire. Using maps,...

Using 2-liter bottles, junior ecologists create composting tubes in which they place nitrogen-rich and carbon-rich materials. They observe what changes occur over two weeks' time. Provide more specific direction to your class as to what...

Marine science classes read about the 2005 North Atlantic Stepping Stones Expedition and review climate change. They use maps to locate the seamount chains. In collaborative groups, they research how climate change may be altering the...

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...

Lab groups set up an experiment to observe what happens over time in collected pond water when fertilizer, representing pollution, is added. This website does not include student lab sheets, but background information, materials, and...

Demonstrate how ice floats on water and get the class thinking about why icebergs are so deceiving. Investigators then experiment with mixing water of the same temperature and water of different temperatures. Make sure to explain the...

Role play community members who are both for and against the construction of a dam. Research the pros and cons and then hold a classroom debate. This activity ideally follows a series of stream studies, links to which are included. Use...

Young scholars explain what biodegradable materials are and list examples of them. They design, with online partners' feedback and input, a product made of biodegradable materials and develop a marketing campaign to best sell their product.

Students review the garbage/landfill graphs included with the lesson. They discuss the information on the graphs and discuss which garbage products come from their homes. Students collect examples of over packaging to share with class...

If the only support you are in search of is lists of vocabulary terms, this presentation may fit the bill. Slides simply list terminology. These categories are included: hierarchy of structural organization, cell functions, cell...

Does the human body evolve as quickly as human culture? With a stellar 15-minute video, explore the trait of lactose intolerance. Only about 1/3 of human adults seem to still have the enzyme lactase and therefore, the ability to digest...

Here is a fascinating human geography study of the Zabbaleen. They are a sub-class of people who work as garbage collectors in Cairo, Egypt. I can't say enough good things about this resource in my limited space here. It is fabulous! If...

Your junior highers will learn about which objects are natural and classify objects as abiotic or biotic. Your class will trace human products to their natural resources using matter cycles and then create their own definition of nature.

Introduce youngsters to the term ecological footprint. Learners identify ways in which humans affect the environment. They look at the problems associated with the use of natural resources, and focus on ways to preserve natural...

Middle schoolers explain that while cities have unattractive features, the density of human life enables energy efficiency, mass transit, recycling, and other benefits which are difficult or impossible in rural areas. This is the fifth...

Upper graders identify the major characteristics of a wetland. They explore the human factors that change a wetland and write a descriptive paragraph about wetlands. This comprehensive lesson also has an interactive "Watershed Game"...

Humans can have a big impact on the environment, specifically the influence they have on the carbon cycle. First, the class will define and discuss each of the earths four major spheres, the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and...

Here is an impressive collection of lessons on sharks. In them, pupils undertake a serious study of sharks, their habitats, their social structure, and how humans adversely impact their existence. These lessons effectively integrate...

The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...