Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Succession

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The final lesson in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen in the future...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploration of "Pillbugs"

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders define vocabulary terms, identify the characteristics of a pillbug, and create a dichotomous key. Then they examine the pillbugs and make observations and record these observations. Finally, 5th graders observe specific...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Go with the Flow

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How does nature's hierarchy relate to our local human environment? Answer this question, along with others, as the class visually depicts the natural hierarchy provided by nature. Pupils discuss each piece of the pyramid and its energy...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food Webs

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discover how organisms depend upon each other in an ecosystem. In this ecosystems lesson, 4th graders use food webs to discuss the interdependence between organisms in an ecosystem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marketing the New Hybrids

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students work together to develop a hypothesis on the natural and applied hybridization of certain species in an ecosystem. Using the internet, they research this topic and read any recent articles or studies. They must note the...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Predator-Prey Simulation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Do your pupils have the misconception that environmental predators are "bad" and harm smaller creatures? The simulation explains, in detail, the important role predators play in maintaining a stable ecosystem. Through web-based research,...
Lesson Plan
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Channel Islands Film

Human Impact on the Food Web of Santa Cruz Island

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What happens when a non-native species is introduced onto an island? Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Island chain located off the coast of southern California, provides the perfect laboratory for young environmental scientists to...
Lesson Plan
1
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Food for Thought: Climate Change and Trophic Cascades

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Learners examines the arctic food web with a short video about polar bears and an article about bears and warming temperatures. They design an arctic food web and discuss the trophic cascade that could come from climate...
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Population Dynamics: The Predator-Prey Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Wolves eat better when the bunny population increases, but how long does that last? A series of 12 biology lessons uses the sixth installment to explore the predator-prey relationship between bunny and wolf populations. Young scientists...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Leaf Litter Ecology Lab

For Students 7th - 9th Standards
Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great lesson exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove leaves/twigs while...
Lesson Plan
Nature Works Everywhere

Recording the Rainforest

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Animals have evolved to communicate in different frequencies so they can hear each other throughout the rainforest. The first lesson in a three-part series begins by exploring an interactive story map online about the Borneo rainforest....
Lesson Plan
Rainforest Alliance

Climate Educator Guide

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Climate change is a hot topic in the news. Class members examine carbon dioxide data to analyze trends of our atmospheric makeup over time. They also discuss climate and climate change, and determine how these changes are affecting life...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

What Little Herc Saw

For Teachers 7th - 8th
See the underwater world through a different pair of eyes! Middle school marine biologists identify deep-sea organisms by examining images taken by an ROV from the Okeanos Explorer. After determining what creatures lie beneath the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interactions Among Living Things

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students role play predators and prey, classify organisms as predator or prey, and describe factors that affect population growth and size.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pond Ecosystem Field Trip

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students investigate the environment by participating in a class trip. In this pond ecosystem lesson, students define a list of vocabulary terms associated with ponds such as invertebrate and metamorphosis. Students attend a field trip...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bye-Bye Bison

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders investigate the bison's struggle for survival. They discuss the importance of bison while participating in an role playing activity showing how important the food supply and surroundings are to their survival.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wolves: Friend or Foe?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study wolves and their habitat in Yellowstone.  For this environment and behavior lesson students create an interactive map of wolves in Yellowstone.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native Species Restoration and its Impact on Local Populations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore how predators help control the growth of prey species for a more balanced ecosystem.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Principles of Ecology

For Students 7th - 12th
In this ecology worksheet, students will review 10 vocabulary words associated with the basic principles of ecology. This worksheet has 10 fill in the blank questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biodiversity and Ecosystems

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers differentiate between biotic and abiotic factors in this science lesson. Learners collect data for the experiment and analyze the data after graphing it using the CBL 2. This experiment is split into two different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Restoration Lesson

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore how pollution and invasive plants disrupt the ecosystem.  In this restoration lesson students list materials that pollute wetlands, how people can keep them clean and ways in which invasive plants establish. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Impacts of Human Activities on Biodiversity in New Haven County

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Learners discover how plants and animal ecosystems are affected by the growth of a city. In this ecology lesson plan, students study and observe a plant over a period of time. They develop a creative presentation of their data and share...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering Plants With Lewis and Clark

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students research plants and examine populations in ecosystems.
Worksheet
Curated OER

A Bug's Life

For Students 6th - 8th
In this biology worksheet, middle schoolers create a presentation for a museum about the children they encounter during their journey as an insect. They identify the types of food the insect eats and its habitat. Students also describe...