Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Changes in Ecosystems

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How does water pollution affect the environment? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question as they learn about eutrophication and ecosystem changes. Over two weeks, they simulate the effects of pollution on the...
Lesson Plan
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

Life in an Ocean World

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does the shell color of crabs and the habitat they live in impact the predator-prey relationship? The fourth activity in a series of five is a game where participants try not to get eaten if they are a prey and try to eat if they are...
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Living & Non-Living Interactions

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...
Lesson Plan
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Ecosystems

For Teachers 5th Standards
Explore the Earth's different ecosystems through four lessons, an assessment, and extension activities. Lessons include informative text and step-by-step instructions to apply knowledge in interactive, and thought provoking ways; such as...
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

That’s An Otter Story

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scientists discover how sea otters' habitats have changed due to human impact. Through conversation, video observation, and story reading, scholars identify how human interactions change a specific ecosystem in both positive and...
eBook
CK-12 Foundation

CK-12 Earth Science Concepts for Middle School

For Students 6th - 8th
Explore a variety of science concepts in an interactive textbook created for middle school scholars. A lengthy table of contents takes readers to pages comprised of a subject overview, outline, and summary. Follow links further to find...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Strands Walk-An Ecological Obseravtion

For Students 6th - 9th
In this ecosystem worksheet, learners investigate an ecosystem at a local park or national forest, they make observations for five minutes, they complete a grid of their observations and they construct a hypothetical food chain. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystem Tumble

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students create visual representations of ecosystems. In this ecology lesson, students discuss the interdependence of plants and animals in various ecosystems. Students cut pictures from magazines and glue them on sturdy blocks. Using...
Lesson Plan
Pennsylvania Department of Education

Animal Classes and Their Ecosystems

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore animal characteristics by participating in an environment identification activity. In this animal habitat lesson, students discuss a range of different wild life and the ecosystems that they are a part of. Students view...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stopping Deforestation in the Amazon: A Publicity Campaign

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the environment by designing a group project.  For this ecology lesson, students identify the man made threats to the Amazon while reading environmentally conscience vocabulary terms.  Students collaborate...
Lesson Plan
ARKive

Biodiversity and Evolution – Darwin’s Finches

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Teens experience natural selection firsthand (or first beak) in an activity that has them act as finches foraging for food. Using different household items  to act as different beak styles, your little finches will collect as much...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystems II

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students engage in a lesson that is about the concepts related to the careful balance of an ecosystem. They identify the beneficial and harmful relationships that can exist with diverse populations in an ecosystem. The lesson includes...
Lesson Plan
University of Kentucky

Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Many people think of bugs as annoying pests to be squashed, but most insects and spiders are beneficial, eating the actual pests or pollinating plants. After reviewing some of the common bugs in your area (they may differ from those...
Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Niche Partitioning and DNA Metabarcoding

For Students 9th - 12th
What is DNA metabarcoding? Show your biology class the latest method for studying biodiversity in an ecosystem with a fun, informative interactive. Individuals examine the animal species that compete for vegetation, then learn how their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Interactions Among Local Species and the Local Environment

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners examine the differences between biotic and abiotic factors, explain the difference between habitat and niche and compare how organisms get their nutritional needs.  In this local environment lesson students trace the path...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science: Microcosms in the Biosphere

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In a series of lessons, examine the impact on humans by microcosms in the biosphere. Among the plans structured for students with different abilities and learning styles, are activities describing the symbiotic relationship, drawing the...
Assessment
New York State Education Department

Regents High School Examination: Living Environment 2005

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The 2005 version of the Regents High School Examination in ecology is as comprehensive as previous years' exams. It consists of 40 multiple-choice questions on topics ranging from the structure of DNA to interactions within an ecosystem....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lessons: Food Web

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students use an interactive web-based food web game to gain familiarity with tropic levels and interactions. They already understand that in an ecosystem there are four basic tropic levels: producers, primary consumers, secondary...
Activity
Wild BC

Connecting Ecosystems & Climate

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Collaborators sort a set of cards into biotic and abiotic categories. Then, as a class, they discuss their work and relate each of the abiotic components to climate change. Finally, they form a web of components by connecting those that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interactive Biogeochemical Cycle

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners gain understanding of several of the biogeochemical processes in microbial mats. They acquire knowledge of the different roles of organisms in a microbial mat ecosystem. They understand how microbial mat ecosystems contributed...
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Welcome to the Dzanga-Sangha

For Students 6th - 12th
One ecosystem is home to numerous habitats—how diverse are they? Pupils interact with an online lesson to explore three habitats in a rain forest ecosystem. They discover connections between species and how they depend on each other for...
Lesson Plan
Wild BC

Bearly Any Ice

For Teachers 5th - 8th
After reviewing food chains, your class members participate in an arctic predator-prey game that exemplifies the impact of climate change of food availability. If you are in a hurry, skip this lesson, but if you have the time to...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Deep-Sea Ecosystems – Entering the Twilight Zone

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
Imagine an ecosystem without any light or oxygen, where living things convert carbon dioxide into food. This ecosystem is thriving and might just be the largest ecosystem on our planet, yet we know very little about it. The lesson...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mini-Ecosystems

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders identify the living and non living things in a book read aloud and discuss the interactions represented in the book. Then, they research and include a list of food that each animal needs in an ecosystem. Finally, 3rd...