High schoolers spend time researching online education facilities. After interviewing teachers, they develop a survey on how productive online education sites are to its students. They write a story for the school newspaper about this...

Reinforce the importance of the writing process with this publication lesson. Elementary and middle schoolers compose a parts of speech book which includes one page each for nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions,...

Write an unsent letter about a consumer scam, paying attention to the writing conventions of punctuation and spelling. This instructional activity could be adapted to fit a variety of social issues in which letter writing is appropriate. 4

The importance of fashion on society is identified and new vocabulary associated with fashion is defined. Using the internet, your class will identify the major fashion capitals of the world and write about one. To end the lesson, they...

Practice correct table setting procedures and identify acceptable manners and etiquette skills to be used with meal service. Your class will practice table manners and introductions and create a real working atmosphere with customers....

Students identify and describe the aquatic exotic species found in Illinois. Using the internet, they research the species origins and discover their effects on native species in the area. They discuss how appropriate it is to introduce...

Young scholars are introduced to careers with an aquatic emphasis. They take a self-evaluation test on what they enjoy in school to determine which career is right for them. They listen to people in the field discuss what their job is like.

Students work together to complete a simulation on drought days. As a class, they discuss their results and compare water usage of the past to current numbers. After reading short excerpts, they answer discussion questions and review as...

Students identify species and components of a Great Lakes food web. Using note cards, they place themselves in the correct order of the food chain based on the species present. They discuss what they believe happens to various species...

Students pretend they are water droplets traveling through the water cycle. Using their text, they discover the steps in the cycle and the different paths water can take. They write a report about their journey through the water cycle...

Students discuss how groundwater becomes polluted. In groups, they design and create models of groundwater pollution sources. They demonstrate to the class how the water may become contaminated from local and nonlocal pollution sources.

Students work together to identify and describe the various types of mussels. Using a color-coded system, they plot the arrival date of zebra mussels in North American waters. They discuss the increase in their population with the class.

Eighth graders discuss the responsibilities of businesses to protect local wetlands. In groups, they participate in numerous activities and create a model of a wetland to discover how it functions. They are given a quiz to end the activity.

Students use the internet to research the streams and rivers found in Illinois. Using the information, they identify and describe the rivers and streams along with the physical characteristics of a river ecosystem. They share what they...

Learners discover what a watershed is and which one they live in. Using the internet, they research why watersheds are important to an ecosystem and how to keep them from getting polluted. They use a map to locate various items within a...

Students use the net they make to dip macroinvertebrates at or below the surface. The flat side of the net allows pressure on the substrate so that organisms do not escape under the net. Two students hold onto the handles and submerge...

Seventh graders used aquatic nets and other equipment to sample organisms in the lake -made plaster casts of footprints found around the edges of the lake -used reference materials to identify all organisms collected -filled out an...

students recognize and name prairie plants without the use of a key. they determine that prairie plants have different life cycles that affect their rate of growth and reproduction

Students recognize and identify 3 grasses and 9 common forbs of the fermilab prairie and which were common in IL, identify using resources and write 3 critical attributes of each plant.

Students identify heartwood, sapwood, and a tree's annual rings, infer from a tree's rings what damage or stress might have occurred in its life, and make a time-line of human history that coincides with a tree's rings.

Sixth graders explore the nature of habitats on an ABC hike. In groups, they collect items that make up habitats including plants, feathers, and leaves among other materials. Students then classify and organize the collected materials...

Students complete a scavenger hunt on a CD-ROM. Using the program, they discover which animals in Illinois are endangered and the types of animals living in their county. They classify the animals into class, families and phylum as well.

Students examine the amount of biodiversity in the state of Illinois. They practice using new vocabulary and listening to stories about animals. After given time to reflect, they write their own haiku. They work together to create a...

Eighth graders studied an environmental region in Illinois. The wetlands, swamps, woodlands and prairies were chosen. They research this region and create a picture that looks as if they are looking out the window. They had to have at...