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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's in the Pond?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders are introduced to microorganisms within a specific ecosystem and have the opportunity to make observations, explore the environment, conduct experiments and draw conclusions through firsthand experience at a pond. They also...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wetland Ecosystems: Non-living and Living Components and Brine Shrimp

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students explore wetland ecosystems. In this wetland lesson, students discuss and observe salt ponds and the organisms that live there. They explain how abiotic and biotic factors of species are important to survival.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Critters Tell Us About Water Quality: A Macroinvertebrate Lesson

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students explore our ecosystem by investigating the quality of our water. In this aquatic insect lesson, students examine a group of random insects collected from different streams and ponds in the area. Students record their...
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Lesson Plan
Forest Foundation

The Web of Life

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, decomposers. To begin a study of the forest ecosystem, learners examine the connections among the members of ecological communities.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aquatic Organisms and Their Habitats

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers investigate the presence of specific organisms in a freshwater habitat to determine the quality of that habitat. They conduct a field study and distinguish and classify organisms found during the field study.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Wonders

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students explore hydrology concepts. In this environment and biology lesson, students identify and describe macroinvertebrates using a variety of pictures and resources. Students observe and write about a classroom aquarium in which...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Find the Speed of a Protist

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students identify protists under a microscope, and using a stopwatch calculate the speed of a protist from a pond water sample. They use distance and time to identify the speed of a protist, and create a distance versus time graph to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in a Drop of Water

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students observe the wealth of living organisms in a drop of water from our freshwater ecosystems. They classify the types of organisms observed as single-celled or multi-cellular and use a key or chart to identify and name the organisms...
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Stressed Out!

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Plants and Animals Change the Environment Around Them?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
If you have elodea and snails in your classroom aquarium, or if you have access to a pond with these organisms, your young biologists can set up a controlled experiment to determine how certain ecosystems respond in light and dark...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading the River

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In collaborative groups, young ecologists measure the temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen for three different freshwater samples. They examine each sample with a microscope and record observations on the microorganisms in the pond...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Week 3: Pollution Source and Effects

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Lab groups set up an experiment to observe what happens over time in collected pond water when fertilizer, representing pollution, is added. This website does not include student lab sheets, but background information, materials, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Peek at the Chesapeake!

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students research organisms that live in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. In this science activity, students choose an organism and research how it is affected by humans. Students create a presentation of their findings.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inquiry-based Investigations into Pond Water Microorganisms

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students become familiar with common microorganisms and experience exploring the microbial world.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nature and Fintess Trail

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate how humans impact the environment and compile an organism database into an e-book field guide. They name muscle groups and develop specific exercises to strengthen these groups. Students utilize technology for data...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Effects of Agricultural Fertilizer Runoff Upon Aquatic Ecosystems

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students measure the toxic levels of runoff and discuss the effects it would have on the aquatic system. In this runoff lesson plan, students answer questions to how runoff would affect the animals in an aquatic system.
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Lesson Plan
UAF Geophysical Institute

System Interactions: The Lorax and the Truffula Tree

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
If the Lorax were to write a letter, what would he write? Introduce your class to systems and feedback loops through the whimsical stylings of Dr. Seuss. Learners take on the Lorax's point of view to write a letter, among other activities.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Populations Grow?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine how populations grow and how invasive species can affect the balance of ecosystems. They simulate the growth of lily pads, analyze and record the data, and simulate the results of an invasive species on an ecosystem.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fishing

For Teachers K - Higher Ed
Students explore the techniques and basic needs of the fisherman.  In this fishing lesson plan, students view a demonstration of the use of fishing equipment. Students research Iowa farm ponds and design a class mural from their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animals Finding Rice Paddies

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the animals who live in rice paddies and create a chart.  In this rice lesson, 4th graders link the types of animals living in each ecosystem with a bar graph. Students use colored bars to show animals that live in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bat Ecology

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students, through hands on games and activities, discover how bats live and how bats benefit ecosystems. They play a game designed to show them how echolocation works and another to show how mother bats locate their young through their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Tale of Two Wetlands

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students observe 2 separate wetlands (following downloadable worksheets) and record 10 similarities and 10 differences between them. Then they present their recommendations to the class who roleplay the government's wetland conservation...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Effects of Water Pollution on Aquatic Organisms

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars investigate water pollution. They develop an understanding of the behavior of organisms, of the structure and properties of matter, and of natural and human induced hazards by conducting lab tests. They present their data...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beaver Ecology

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Students explore the lives of bgeahvers. They identify the physical and behavioral adaptations that help beavers survive in their environment. Students compare and contrast how beavers influence the ecology of both forest and aquatic...

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