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...

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...

In this ecosystem worksheet, students 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...

Sixth graders investigate the role of owls in their ecosystem. In this food chain lesson, 6th graders illustrate an owl food chain, dissect an owl pellet, and analyze data. Students discuss what would happen to owls if there were an...

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. 

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.

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...

Small groups investigate plots of land to discover how abiotic and biotic factors interact. After recording their findings, scholars share observations with peers and self-reflect on the learning process. 

Students compare the land cover and temperatures in different microclimates to begin to explain why organisms live where they do. While exploring microclimates, students record temperature readings and detailed observations.

How do genetic mutations within a population lead to future variations? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question and more upon completing an activity on natural selection. The entire class participates in a...

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...

A blood sucking what? Grade schoolers identify the characteristics of blood sucking parasites. They organize their information, identify their arguments, and present them to the class in persuasive arguments. They participate in a debate...

Students interpret and name the vocabulary termed acted out by the mime. In this science/language arts/physical education instructional activity, students are given a set of vocabulary terms to discuss within their group. Next, students...

In this mountain ecosystems worksheet, learners read information about mountain ecosystems and study various diagrams about the environment. Students match animals in the ecosystem to their descriptions.

Off the coast of California lives a wild animal called the Island Fox. Experts discuss the importance of the Island Fox to the Channel Islands and the balance the fox creates within its ecosystem. The lesson plan concludes with a reading...

Though this is meant to be second in a two-part lesson, the two are not dependent on each other. Pupils play the roles of visible light rays, light or dark surfaces, and carbon dioxide molecules. They interact and react according to...

Earth historians research a specific dinosaur, write a paper about the Mesozoic era that it lived in, create an artistic rendition of the environment, and give a presentation in class about what they learned. Be aware that there are...

Young scholars consider that under certain conditions in nature tend to remain the same or move toward a balance. They observe populations and determine the functions (e.g., de-composers, producers, consumers) they serve in an ecosystem....

Learners explore food chains. For this ecosystem lesson, students discover how plants and animals rely on each other for survival. Learners research the rocky shore ecosystem and create a skit representing the ecosystem.

Students explore birds of prey and food chains. In this ecosystems and birds of prey cross curriculum science and literacy lesson, students brainstorm characteristics of birds after viewing photographs. Students view a video and document...

Students work in small groups to brainstorm a list of all creatures, plants, natural, and artificial processes that use or depend on fresh water. The class views an aquarium filled with water representing all the water in the world. The...

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...

We all know someone who won't eat the banana with a brown spot, the grape with a dimple, and the apple with a bruise. Scholars use different fruits to explore what happens when fruits really start to decompose. They set up an experiment...