Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Protecting Holy Cows

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the interrelationships of organisms and their environments. They study ecological communities and determine what is necessary for survival. Students discuss and answer questions concerning a group's biome, habitat, food...
Lesson Plan
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Oil Spills

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the San Francisco oil spill and the effects it has had.  In this investigative instructional activity students view a demonstration on oil clean up and how it works.  They see how wildlife is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fish Are Animals Too

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students create posters that show how a shark is a major predator in kelp forests and coral reefs after studying the food webs for these ecosystems. They determine that fish are important animals in the ocean's web of life.
Lesson Plan
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Is that Tree Safe?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the parts of the tree and examine the health of trees in the vicinity.  In this tree safety instructional activity students work in groups to complete a stated goal. 
Lesson Plan
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Forest Sustainability

For Teachers 10th - 12th
High schoolers study major forests and their history. They see what sustainable forestry and silviculture is and discuss the topics on the attached worksheet.
Lesson Plan
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Forest Management

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze physical and biological changes in the Sequoia forest ecosystem, especially logging and fire management practices. They evaluate the controversy of how logging and fire management should be conducted in the Giant Sequoia...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building an Ecologically Balanced Living Space

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students design and build an ecologically balanced living space based on the principles of an old growth forest. They take one part of a house (or structure in the community) and redesign it according to the principles of the forest cycle.
Lesson Plan
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Make a Rain Stick

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students create a rain stick to imitate the nature sounds in a rainforest habitat. In this rainforest habitat lesson, students create a rain stick to mimic the cultural tools used in the South American rainforest. Students use paper...
Lesson Plan
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Discovering Local Food Chains

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study about food chains. With the assistance of a local biologist, Students hike the school trail system. They explore ecosystem and collect data by charting the organisms found and identifying the energy source. They...
Lesson Plan
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Hawaii's Sandy Shores

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Investigate Hawaii's sandy shore ecosystem! Start by creating a vocabulary list and having your class complete a KWL chart. Next, pass out the "I think of" sheet. Each learner will then choose a word from a beach bucket and add it to...
Lesson Plan
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My Biotic Creation

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore different ecosystems.  In this ecosystem survival lesson conditions lesson students create their own fictional creature.
Lesson Plan
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My Habitat Address

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders draw a habitat and write about what they would need to survive in the habitat. They define the input of items such as materials, energy, and information, and what goes out of the habitat. They play a "Habitat Address" game,...
Lesson Plan
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So -- What's Happening Here, On This Old Christmas Tree Farm?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students review their prior knowledge on biomes and ecosystems. At a local Christmas tree farm, they work together in groups to identify the changes occuring in the area. They participate in solving a mystery in which they determine the...
Worksheet
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Organisms and Their Environment

For Students 5th - 12th
In this organisms and their environment worksheet, students will review concepts relating to ecological studies, levels of organization in ecology, and relationships between organisms in ecosystems. This worksheet has 10 fill in the...
Lesson Plan
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Predator and Prey Game

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the why the balance among producers, predators and prey is necessary in order for an ecosystem to be sustained over time. Through web games and activities, they discover how each component of the food chain works to...
Lesson Plan
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Ecological Pyramids

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students apply the ecological pyramids of numbers and biomass with an activity using topographic maps. In this trophic level lesson, students work in groups using a topographic map to determine the number of organisms that can live in an...
Lesson Plan
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Quadrate Lab

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers investigate tree stems and conduct an experiment on how non living factors affect living factors. In this tree stems lesson plan, students observe and record physical characteristics, and make predictions on what factors...
Lesson Plan
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Landform Dictionary

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders use a word processing program to create a working dictionary, including definitions and pictures, of physical land forms used in the study of different regions of the world.
Lesson Plan
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Forest Food Web Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students gain knowledge of food webs and ecological interconnections in the forest, and place different life forms in their proper place in a food chain. Students appreciate the balance of nature and how humans are affected by extinct...
Lesson Plan
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Food Chains Are Not A Necklace!

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders examine how food chains interact with different plants and animals. They practice using new vocabulary. They also discover the role of pesticides in the environment.
Lesson Plan
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Why Are Thinning Trees Important?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students investigate thinning trees and why they are important to the forest.  In this sustainable environment lesson, students role-play as if they are trees in the forest and simulate the overcrowding and inability to move spaces,...
Lesson Plan
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Chihauhan Desert Journaling Activity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners explore U.S. geography by completing an observational activity with classmates. In this New Mexico lesson, students research the Chihuahuan Desert by visiting several Internet sites. Learners write the data they've collected in...
Lesson Plan
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Animal Adaptations

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders participate in an arthropod scavenger hunt. In groups of two, they identify and collect two specimens of arthropods in the school area, and create a table of all the specimens and what class they belong to.
Lesson Plan
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There Was An Old Lady...

For Teachers 1st
First graders read "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" and use Kid Pix to identify characters from the story. In this character identification instructional activity, 1st graders first hear several versions of the classic tale,...