Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...

As part of a unit, this lesson familiarizes youngsters with components of a rain garden. They speculate about the role of an assigned component in contributing to a rain garden, and ultimately, in the health of the local watershed. Each...

What occurs following a natural disaster? High schoolers research this question and others as they investigate natural succession after a disaster. First, as they differentiate between primary and secondary succession, they explain...

Around the world, about 2/3 of adult humans are lactose intolerant. Scholars work in small groups to discuss a few statements about lactose intolerance. Then, they watch a video on the topic and readdress each statement. Whole-class...

If you teach a man to fish, he will never go hungry—or he will overfish and permanently damage the ecosystem? Address the traditional biomes as well as the human-included ecosystems and contrasts the biotic and abiotic factors in each....

A helpful worksheet encourages pupils to make environmentally-friendly choices at home. The packet presents many ways that learners can help the environment, such as taking shorter showers in order to conserve water.

During this game, kids become migratory shorebirds and fly among wintering, nesting, and stopover habitats. If they do not arrive at a suitable habitat on time, they do not survive. Catastrophic events are periodically introduced that...

After cutting down a forest to make a farm, how long would it take the environment to turn an abandoned farm back into a forest? Scholars study this exact scenario while they interpret many charts and graphs of the changing ecosystems as...

What tactics are used in civil disobedience? Learners study the conditions in Alabama that led to the establishment of the Atlanta Student Movement, as well as consider the nature and effectiveness of civil disobedience.

High schoolers research storm preparedness in local community, identify ways citizens are notified of impending weather emergencies, contact city administrators to discuss disaster plan and whether it has ever been implemented, and...

Future scientists are introduced to the chemical consequences of burning fossil fuels, learning that fossil fuel combustion leads to the formation of oxides of three nonmetals: carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, all of which end up in the...

Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...

Through a fishing simulation, environmentalists discover consequences of over fishing. Afterward, they discuss how the activity relates to the impact of real-life commercial fishing. They also consider sustainability in the fishing...

When nature calls, you need to answer. Physiology learners discover that it is a just your body's way of regulating pressure and water content. Along with osmoregulation, they also examine thermoregulation, two vital processes with which...

Less than one percent of the earth's water is available for human use. A hands-on activity models the phenomenon for young scientists. Beginning with a specific volume of water, learners remove water that correlates to the percent of...

While teaching about endangered species, you can incorporate this activity as a take-home reminder of what is threatening the sea turtle population. It is one of those paper plate projects in which a wedge is cut out to reveal a picture...

Ecosystem, human body system, weather system. We hear the word system a lot, but what does it really mean? In the activity, pairs or groups of learners discuss how a bicycle is a system and then analyze objects in their classroom and...

Lesson 21 in a series of 36 specifically focuses on elements and their compounds from groups 13, 14, and 15 on the periodic table — including boron, carbon, aluminum, silicon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Classes learn how some of these...

Being an agent of change is no easy task! What are some of the common challenges that peacebuilders face every day? The 14th portion in a series of 15 explores the lives of peacebuilders. Grouped pupils discuss these challenges before...

The Massacre of Tlatelolco is the focus of a discussion-based instructional activity. Civil-minded learners consider the nature of student movements that have ended in violence based on over-reaction and government oppression. They...

How has our relationship to energy changed over time? An engaging exploration challenges learners to create a timeline showing human energy needs and uses over time. Scholars review what timelines are, choose a 50-year period in history...

Examine the nature of landfills through experimentation. Scholars build miniature landfills and monitor changes over a six-week period. Observations allow individuals to draw conclusions about the different types of trash and their...

Lead your class on a search for precious bones. Using a presentation, the class investigates the golden ratio in art and nature. Groups of pupils measure specific bones and find the average ratio for the class. To further cement the...

How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...