Curated OER
Paper Makers
Students make recycled paper out of scrap paper, water, and leaves. In this natural resources lesson plan, students learn about conservation of the forest and how we can use recycled paper to fuel our paper supply.
Curated OER
What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Air
Students conduct an experiment to determine whether plants need air in order to survive and grow. They discuss natural resources, analyze slides, and observe and record data from the experiment.
Curated OER
Chocolate Chip Cookie Mining
To understand the impact coal mining has on the environment, pupils will extract chocolate chips from a cookie. Imagine the cookie is the environment and the chips are the coal. Instruct them to mine as many chips as they can, then have...
American Museum of Natural History
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
Without the greenhouse effect, Earth would not be inhabitable. A thorough online resource describes the greenhouse effect and how it occurs. The source highlights the different types of gases that work together to absorb the sun's...
Curated OER
Modeling an Oil Reserve
Students conduct an experiment. In this oil and natural gas instructional activity, students learn how geoscientists identify and explore reserves of petroleum. Students make a model of an oil reserve, record how much it...
Curated OER
Formation of Fossil Fuels
Learners research the origin of oil and natural gas to gather an understanding of the stages of fossil fuel formation. Then the class creates murals depicting the life cycle of a fossil fuel.
SF Environment
Pre-School Composting and Recycling!
You can never be too young to get involved in composting or recycling. Here is a lesson that has been made for the very littlest learners and it's all about the importance of conservation. They'll sort compostable and recyclable objects,...
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Water Supply
Participate in three activities that look at the earth's limited water supply and the changes water goes through as it enters each phase of the water cycle. The resource is complete with three activities that demonstrate the changing...
Beyond Benign
Daphnia Bioassay LD50
De-icing materials may have a harmful effect on our environment; have your class perform an experiment to test the nature of these effects. Scholars monitor the survival rate of a sample of daphnia as the concentration of a de-icing...
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Auroras
Learn the science behind one of the most beautiful acts of nature. A comprehensive lesson explores the causes and characteristics of auroras. The instruction also explains the differences among auroras and what the differences indicate...
Curated OER
Breaking it Down
High schoolers will identify the factors that contribute to erosion and weathering. They will start by differentiating between chemical and mechanical weathering. They then apply what they learned by playing the online jeopardy game. Key...
Curated OER
Getting the Oil Out
Students discover ways of obtaining oil by participating in an experiment. In this natural resource lesson, students identify diagrams of oil derricks and pumps in order to visualize how oil is retrieved from the earth....
Teach Engineering
Get Me Off This Planet
What do Newton's Laws have to do with getting from Earth to Mars?The activities in this resource show how Newton's Laws work with rockets to get them into space. Background information includes facts about orbits and how orbits...
Curated OER
Plants in Your Gas Tank: From Photosynthesis to Ethanol
Explore ethanol and how it is produced. Young scientists investigate photosynthesis and fermentation to the concept of conservation of energy and mass. They discuss the environmental and economical benefits of ethanol as a fuel additive.
Teach Engineering
Enough Energy? Play the Renew-a-Bead Game
Pairs simulate the energy usage of different countries by drawing beads from a bag, which contain different beginning ratios of non-renewable and renewable energy resources. The activity concludes with a series of questions to tie...
Curated OER
Sustainable Development
Twelfth graders explore the difference between natural and man-made environments. In this renewable resources lesson plan students evaluate the economic importance of resources.
Curated OER
Our Earth: Storehouse of Natural Resources
Students listen to an explanation of the science of the mining industry and create a geological map of Africa. They discuss the uses of minerals and resources and research a natural mineral resource in their part of the world.
Curated OER
Waste Watchers
Students recognize the importance of saving energy to save natural resources. In this saving energy lesson, students complete a worksheet to find types of electricity meters in their homes. Students use meter readings to calculate energy...
Perkins School for the Blind
The Three Basic States (Phases) of Matter
There are three basic states of matter: Solid, liquid, and gas. Help your learners with visual impairments to understand the chemical nature of each state of matter with tactile elements. Marbles are used to model the particles in each...
American Museum of Natural History
Volcanoes Magma Rising
Get ready for an explosive lesson! Learners read and interact with an online lesson describing the characteristics of volcanoes. They study specific historical volcanoes as well as the science of volcanic eruptions using animations and...
Bonneville
Informative Writing: Where Does Energy Come From?
Get energized about all the different sources of energy. A research project has scholars investigate a renewable or non-renewable energy type of their choice. They write a report on their findings and decide on a way to publish their work.
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels: Understanding a Nonrenewable Resource
Incorporate fossil fuel issues into your curriculum with these lesson plan ideas.
Curated OER
Industry in Union County: Oil and Gas Boom in Arkansas
Eighth graders describe the economic system in Union County. They analyze the scarcity of the natural resources located in Union county. They design a tourism campaign to attract new business to Union County.