Learners examine the relationships between plants, animals, and the environment in ecosystems. They sort animal cards, collect natural materials from the schoolyard, and record an ecosystem web in the form of a poster.

Learners analyze three different strategies for controlling the spread of malaria. They examine the disease and how people catch it. Students explore the life cycle of the malaria parasite.

Second in a pair of activities, young ecologists continue to examine the food pyramid of a freshwater ecosystem. They take a look at the food pyramid drawn in Activity A and consider what would happen if a reservoir was created on the...

Young scholars examine the genetic relationships of different organisms. In groups, they discover the importance of genes and how different amino acids show various evolutionary relationships. They use an online database to continue...

Students use a journal to record observations. They make notes about what research may be needed to answer questions that have come up in the field and sketch or make connections in the curriculum. They research bioinformatics and...

Seventh graders engage in critical thinking skills about personal health and safety to prevent the acquiring of the HIV disease. The project is an extension of this thinking designed for students to think about all the different ways...

Students analyze graphs and make conclusions about climate change.  In this climates lesson students produce graphs and identify relationships between parameters.

Students discuss the importance of the Polymerase Chain Reaction for biologists. They explain what factors make the Polymerase Chain Reaction possible. Students explain the steps in thermocycling and what happens during each step.

Students practice writing research proposals to test the color fastness of a dye once it has been exposed to a t-shirt. Each proposal needs details of experimental design, length of treatment, and means of cleaning the shirt. All...

Learners produce a research project on an animal. Using the Internet, they find pictures and information about animals. They are also given a list of items that should be covered in their report, including the appearance of the animals,...

Eighth graders study the earth's surface.  In this planet structure lesson plan students view a PowerPoint presentation then draw and label the earths layers. 

Fourth graders experiment to find the effects of exercise on the heart rate.  In this exercise and heart rate lesson, 4th graders create questions about exercise and heart rate. Students use the scientific method to test and analyze...

Students gain a better understanding of what it means to eat seasonally through learning about traditional hunting, gathering, and food preparation methods of Athabascan tribes. By interacting with Native American Elders and...

Students observe and create artistic representations, technological images, and scientific diagrams. They explore the five senses, the structure and function of the corresponding organs, and how the senses are connected to the human brain.

Students practice the scientific method in the classroom, either in preparation or as a substitution for real-world field experience. They examine a simulated biodiversity research situation, using a "mini-plot" or sampling square...

Fifth graders identify the parts and functions of the body's five senses. In this biology lesson, 5th graders create a replica of the nervous system highlighting its parts. They create a scrapbook containing information on the senses...

Students maintain a field journal as they follow penguin parents raising their chicks during the breeding season. They formulate testable questions. Students reflect on animal behavior in the field related to survival and chick rearing.

Students participate in a culminating activity for a unit on Energy and Simple Machines. They are challenged to incorporate simple machines in to a complex mechanical system. While designing and testing their machine they will also...

Students explore how the earth is a magnet and that magnets have two "poles".  In this magnetic lesson students complete an activity by designing their own compass. 

Students infer the use or meaning of items recovered from a North Carolina Native American site based on 17th-century European settlers' accounts and illustration.

Fifth graders focus on the various types of fish living in different water environments. In groups, they research the different methods used to fish and participate in experiments to determine the effects of mercury on fish, the...

Students discover new ways to preserve the ecosystem by completing graphic organizers.  In this environmental lesson, students read an article from the Natural Inquirer in small groups and fill out a graphic organizer based on the...

Students examine the current technologies used in mapping resources in the marine environment. They look at remote sensing, sounding, and underwater vehicles. They examine image from the benthic habitat produced by the GIS in order to...