Curated OER
Biomimicry, Nature: Architecture of the Future
Students explore the relationship between nature and architecture. In this cross curriculum history, culture, and architecture lesson plan, students observe and discuss structures visible in nature. Students view websites in which Native...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Nature Walk and Ecosystem Introduction
A food web has no organism higher than a tertiary consumer because there wouldn't be enough energy left to sustain them. The fourth installment in a seven-part series begins with a nature walk to get pupils thinking about their...
Rain Bird Corporation
Rain Forest Teaching Curriculum
Take young naturalists on an exploration of the world's tropical rainforests with this extensive collection of lessons and activities. Whether its creating leaf and flower prints or investigating the absorption spectrum of...
EngageNY
Introduction: The Ideas of Charles Darwin
Piece by piece ... Scholars read the text World without Fish by breaking the text into pieces. They identify challenging words and determine the gist of each section as they read. They then work together in triads to answer...
Curated OER
Should Populations in an Ecosystem be Restricted?
Fourth graders experiment to determine how overpopulation effects ecosystems specifically plants. In this ecosystem instructional activity, 4th graders conduct an ecosystems experiment after listening to Claire Daniel's, Ecosystems. They...
Curated OER
Where Do Birds Live? Cavity Nesters of the Watsonville Wetlands
Students compare and contrast primary and secondary cavity nesters. In this life science lesson, students explore the different types of nests that birds make. They play a team game to apply what they learned.
Curated OER
Introduction to Restoration Lesson
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.
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen in an Aquatic Ecosystem
Students explain why dissolved oxygen is important in aquatic ecosystems. They evaluate the optimal dissolved oxygen levels for living organisms.
Curated OER
Species Diversity in Ecosystems with Different Techniques of Land Management
Learners visit numerous places to help in their understanding of Ecology. For this biology lesson plan, students will learn about characteristics and how to identify numerous plants and animals. This lesson allows for many field trip...
Curated OER
Flora and Fauna of the Hill Neighborhood
High schoolers compare and contrast the characteristics of plants and animals. In this ecology lesson, students observe the outdoors and describe the relationship among different living things. They relate plant diversity with animal...
Curated OER
GPS Ecosystem (Ecotone) Scavenger Hunt
Learners describe the characteristics of an ecotone. In this ecotone lesson, students pick out their area and describe the visual appearance, conditions, ecosystem, biodiversity, predators, prey, and trees in their ecotone. They create a...
Curated OER
A Survey of Plankton Communities
In this biology worksheet, students identify and define the vocabulary terms listed and make a prediction about the outcomes of the experiment. Then they complete the chart of the observations of the plankton diversity in drops of pond...
Curated OER
Teaching about the Effect of pH on Aquatic Organisms
Students perform experiments to determine the PH, acidity, and buffering qualities of a lake that make them sensitive to acid deposition.
Curated OER
Celebration of Trees
Second graders listen to various, grade appropriate stories about trees. They create their own construction paper trees and discuss the importance of trees to the ecosystem and the importance of taking care of them. Finally, 2nd graders...
Curated OER
Biodiversity Activity
Young scholars are introduced to biodiversiy. They use a simulation of two forests, one planted with only Douglas Fir trees, and one with diverse species of trees. Students also use the simulation of two forests, one a monoculture of...
University of California
Energy and Biomass Pyramids
Young scientists play tag as they act out the food pyramid in the ocean ecosystem. Energy circles pass from the smaller prey to the predators and at the end of the activity, a data chart and analysis questions allow pupils to apply their...
Curated OER
Does the Introduction of Pesticides and Fertilizers Alter an Aquatic Ecosystem?
Students conduct an experiment using a small sample from a local water source. They introduce fertilizers and pesticides, separately, and carefully examine the results in their simulated aquatic ecosystem.
Curated OER
Models as Tools for Ecosystem Management
Fifth graders explore the concept of environmental management. In this ecosystem lesson, 5th graders discover how models help scientists learn more about managing ecosystems. Students create their own model, make observations and...
Science 4 Inquiry
Snakes in the Everglades
The Burmese python is on the loose ... and he's hungry! Illustrate the differences between causative and correlative relationships through an inquiry lesson. Pupils examine several sources of information to determine if there is a...
National Wildlife Federation
The Amazing Adventures of Carbon: How Carbon Cycles through the Earth
Here's a stat for your pupils: 18 percent of the human body is carbon! Part 10 in the series of 12 takes pairs on an adventure through the carbon cycle. After a class reading about carbon, pairs read and choose their own adventure...
Curated OER
The Wonders of Water - Biology Teaching Thesis
Students name 3-5 aesthetic values of the Potomac River. They state the importance of water in their own words. Students describe what Earth Day is and why it is important. They list 5-7 ways that they can help minimize water pollution.
Curated OER
Water Quality with Samples
Learners recognize whether one wants to drink water, swim in it, or for the health of the organisms living in it. They prepare different water samples to observe and collect samples regarding the water quality.
Curated OER
The Delicate Balance within a Forest Ecosystem
Learners examine the causes and effects of alterations in a forest ecosystem and evaluate how human actions may only seem to have minor consequences, but can lead to extinctions of large numbers of populations. Students produce an...
Teach Engineering
Introduction to Environmental Engineering
A series on environmental engineering introduces the class to issues that environmental engineers work to solve. This first lesson focuses on air and land issues, and looks at ways to reduce pollution.