Lesson Plan
Michigan Sea Grant

Fish Identification

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Using a dichotomous key, pupils identify characteristics of fish who live in the Great Lakes and explain how these features help them survive. In small groups, class members discover what features scientists consider important and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changes in Nature

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore changes in nature. They identify chemical and physical changes in the water cycle, carbon cycle, and weathering. Students explore a chemical or physical change based on a chemical formula. They examine the effects...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Channel Catfish

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students study the life and biology of the Channel Catfish. In this aquatic biology lesson, students will examine the external and internal features of the catfish along with their breeding habits and environment. This lesson includes...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecology and the St. Lawrence River

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on ecosystems, organism interactions, and energy flow. They create a key for known species of fish, diagram the movement of energy through an ecosystem, and create and present food chains and food...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coho Salmon Enhancement

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students build a fish trap across a small stream. The purpose of the trap is to collect baseline data of Oncorhynchus kisutch, Coho salmon, smolt numbers coming out of a spring-fed pond. Other biological data also be measured.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Enzymes

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders test their saliva for enzyme activity. In this enzyme lesson, 10th graders conduct an experiment to test the enzymatic activity of their saliva. They relate the lack of certain digestive enzymes with alcoholism.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Carbon Dioxide: The Heat is On

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine the greenhouse gases affecting the atmosphere. In groups, they participate in activities in which they examine the effects of heat on the atmosphere and phytoplankton. They research how the phytoplankton differ in warm...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Smog Be Gone

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners begin the instructional activity by identifying greenhouse gases. In groups, they observe and record the effect of the gases on the atmosphere and the temperature of the Earth. They participate in activities that describe the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

pH Potential

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners experiment to determine the positive and negative impacts of human activities on environmental change. They examine how physical and biological processes such as decomposition affect soil characteristics while looking at the pH...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Efficiency Means Getting More for Less

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students measure water and make predictions about efficiency.
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Human Impact on the Environment

For Students 9th - 12th
Despite the typos and formatting issues, the Word document found here has some great potential. There are two questions that ask learners to put several events in a logical order; these could easily be made into a card sort activity....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

River Reflections

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders create podcasts and video public service announcements. In this environmental advocacy lesson, 6th graders study the local watershed and become advocates for their local environment. In the process, they create podcasts and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

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

"For the Birds" [part I]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students identify birds that appear in Chinese and Japanese art, learning about their physical characteristics, classifying them according to scientific principles, and exploring their habitats and migration patterns. This is part one...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

DNA Fingerprinting through a Chemistry Lens

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore DNA and restriction enzymes using fragments of DNA separated by electrophoresis on an agarose gel. They analyze the results to see "whodunit".
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forest Management

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the changes in the Sequoia forest ecosystem. They evaluate reasons for the changes and discuss opposing views of human activity, logging and fire management practices. Students observe a video, describe the location of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Vitamin C and Protein Analysis

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students analyze various beverages to determine vitamin C content. Students research diseases resulting from vitamin C deficiencies and identify countries most affected.
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Sonar & Echolocation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ice Cream

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students are shown an experiment making ice cream while discovering the freezing point depression. There are questions for students to answer after the demostration.
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Renewable Resins and Composites

For Students 9th - 12th
Merge chemistry with environmental science to study biodegradable materials. An engaging activity allows learners to experiment with different resin concentrations and composites. Through experimental tests, scholars test their creations...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Off Base

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study La Chatelier's principle and identify how carbon dioxide may affect pH.  In this coral lesson students complete a worksheet on pH and observe a lab.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Species Distribution Project

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students explore how to classify new species.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lotic Environment Lesson Plans

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create and conduct experiments on a "classroom river habitat." They manipulate the biotic and abiotic factors so that they are able to compare an artificially prepared river model to a naturally occurring lotic ecosystem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Enzymes

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders observe enzyme activity. They discuss the relationship between drug use and enzyme activity.