Curated OER
Marine & Aquatic Habitats Activities - Terrestrial Forests vs. Kelp Forests
Middle schoolers discuss concept and specificity of habitats, both marine and terrestrial, list similarities and differences in the habitats of a kelp forest and a terrestrial forest, compare types of organisms that occupy corresponding...
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Invasive Aquatic Plant Identification
Students observe aquatic plants and animals and identify their systems. In this plants and animals lesson plan, students compare systems of organisms and orally express how plants and animals rely on each other.
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Trophic Relationships, Cycling of Chemicals, Human Impact on Ecosystems and Conservation
Students explore how the energy flow through a system is related to trophic levels. They investigate how organisms affect the cycling of elements and water through the biosphere. Students participate in lab activities to observe ways...
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Exploring Ecosystems
Fourth graders create an ecosystem as a class. They have already produced smaller ones. They use a pond or something similar on school grounds to meet the needs of certain plants and animals of their ecosystem. Specifically created will...
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Ecosystem Food Web Mural
Learners create a food web mural about an ecosystem of the freshwater marsh. For this food web lesson plan, students write about the organisms and how each one depends on another.
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Interdependence: Discovering What Makes a Balanced Ecosystem
Students demonstrate that plants and animals are interdependent in a balanced ecosystem.
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Trophic Pyramids and Levels
The bulk of this lesson involves the construction of both an aquatic and a terrestrial ecosystem in which to observe trophic relationships. Detailed directions are provided, as well as discussion questions, and assessment activities....
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Turning the Tide on Trash: Marine Debris Curriculum
Six different lessons comprise this unit on marine debris. Science, language arts, social studies, and art projects make this an ideal interdisciplinary unit. The result will be well-informed future citizens who can help make a...
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Graphing Aquatic Insects
Students identify aquatic insects. In this organism lesson, students locate aquatic insects near a local waterway and collect them. Students graph the amount of insects that they collected.
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Pond Ecosystem Field Trip
Students investigate the environment by participating in a class trip. In this pond ecosystem instructional activity, students define a list of vocabulary terms associated with ponds such as invertebrate and metamorphosis. Students...
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Bottle Habitat
In groups of four, students construct aquatic habitats in pop bottles. They create charts and record data from observations over a four week period. Then they graph their data and write explanations for what they observed.
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Water Quality Testing
Student explore factors affecting ecosystems. They test local water samples for pH level. After creating a methodology for data collection, they collect data, compare results, and draw conclusions based upon results.
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The High Cost of Chemical Dependency
Sixth graders explore, analyze and study the effect and impact that humans have on the environment based on their choices as individuals, businesses and governments. They assess the balance between human activities and aquatic pollution.
Georgia Aquarium
The Ocean's Nursery
Linear perspective, estuaries, and water ways converge in a science-inspired art project. The class uses what they've learned about eco-systems, estuaries, and the food chain to create scale models of a local marsh. While the...
Global Change
Impact of a Changing Climate on the Pacific Walrus
How many of us can say they've seen a Pacific walrus? Not many and one of the reasons is the impact of climate change on their aquatic environment. Children get to think about the food web of the Bering Sea by creating an actual web with...
NOAA
Stressed Out!
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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River Research
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...
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Ecosystem Damage from Household Cleaners
Third graders assess the damage done to various ecosystems by cleaning products and discover how scientists test water quality. Using stream water and common household cleaning agents, they work in groups to test for pH levels. Once...
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Rock River Watershed
Students 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...
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The Mighty Hudson Stretches its Mussels
Students brainstorm possible causes of zebra mussel migration and population expansion. They identify the key causes and effects of the disturbance of the Hudson River ecosystem and research causes and effects in the disturbances of...
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Ecology Community Status
In this ecology community status worksheet, students research their state's ecosystem, make a chart of the biodiversity, analyze the chart and identify issues with wetland species. This page has several links to helpful web resources.
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Science: Dissolved Oxygen and Water Quality Sampling
Pupils perform tests to determine the level of oxygen dissolved in water. After examining a table displaying the temperature and solubility of water, they examine the three stages involved in the test. Upon completion, students explain...
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Birds: Wetlands Ecosystems
In this birds worksheet, students click on the links to learn about the birds of the Wetlands and answer short answer questions about it. Students complete 7 questions total.
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Burnaby Lake Field Trip
Students identify different organisms found in the lake ecosystem. In this life science lesson plan, students discover the predator-prey relationship through a game. They explain how beavers adapt to the environment over time.