Curated OER
Forest as a Filter
Learners experiment using soil and water. In this forest as a filter lesson, students identify the role of forest cover, vegetation, and foliage impacts erosion and evaporation. Learners conduct a simple experiment, form a hypothesis,...
Curated OER
Acid Rain
Young scholars investigate acid rain. In this environmental lesson, students participate in an experiment using litmus paper and various liquids and then test the acidity of the liquids. Young scholars identify reasons why acid is...
Kenan Fellows
Terrarium in a Bottle: Modeling the Atmosphere, Greenhouse Effect, and Water Cycle
You've heard of farm to table ... but what about farm in classroom? Junior agriculturalists embark upon a two-week journey into the science of growing things. Based upon the classic terrarium in a two-liter experiment, the lesson plan...
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Two: Why is Biodiversity Important?
Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.
Curated OER
Investigating How Pollutants Travel Through Groundwater
Students determine how pollutants can travel though sediment and explore methods of pollutant removal. They conduct an experiment on porosity and permeability of soils and simulate an EPA "pump and treat" method for removing subsurface...
Curated OER
Water Pollution Lesson Plan: Don't Trust Your Eyes
Students develop a list of actions they could perform that would protect our water resources from pollution. They formulate hypotheses, conduct experiments and draw conclusions about actual pollutants found in our water supply.
Curated OER
Phytoremediation
Students participate in a lab designed to facilitate the clean up and remove of substances ranging from heavy metals to dynamite. They focus on the remediation of copper. They discuss their results of this open ended inquiry experiment.
Curated OER
Household Chemicals & the Environment
High schoolers conduct a laboratory experiment designed to investigate the effects of chemicals, soil quality and pollution on seed growth and plant yield. They consider how best to maximize agriculture in the long term.
Curated OER
Erosion: Changing the Face of Earth
Fourth graders explore how the landscape of the planet can be changed by different elements of wind, water, ice and chemicals through hands-on activities. They examine pictures of areas around town and discuss anything they think is out...
Curated OER
Air Quality and Transportation
Second graders study about air pollution and the effects it has on our Earth. Students tally cars on a sheet that has been categorized as follows: One person in car, two persons in car, or three or more persons in car. Students go to...
Curated OER
To Protect Your Streams, Protect Your Mountains
Students build and experiment with a watershed to understand the effects of pollution. In this movement of water instructional activity, students work in groups creating rock formations and change the viscosity of the liquids falling...
Curated OER
Wetlands in a Pan
Fifth graders explore the wetlands to discover its benefits in removing pollutants in the water. In this wetlands instructional activity, 5th graders discuss how stormwater wetlands are created to purify water. Students test the...
Curated OER
Hedgerows
Hedgerows prevent soil erosion, capture pollutants running off fields, store carbon to help combat climate change, and provide homes for predators of many pest species. The biodiversity lesson begins with an activity that...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen and Respiration
Students are presented with the question, "Do plants that grow underwater use oxygen?" They create an experiment to test the presence of dissolved oxygen in the water using provided materials. Student experiments include a control jar as...
National Park Service
Glaciers and Water
Explore the amazing power of glaciers with a hands-on earth science experiment! After first learning basic background information, learners go on to create their very own chunks of frozen water and gravel in order to...
Curated OER
Water Quality
Students conduct experiments to study the quality of water. They examine how pollutants get into and affect the water supply in this unit.
Curated OER
Don't Trust Your Eyes
Students brainstorm a list of possible actions that they could do to protect the water resources from pollution. They create hypotheses and conclusions by completing experiments and observing different pollutants.
Curated OER
Bean and Ozone Project
Students performed an experiment in which they grew beans in an ozone chamber and some in regular air in order to see if the ozone causes damage to the plants.
Curated OER
Back to the Earth
Students conduct an experiment in which they bury four objects (apple, lettuce, plastic and styrofoam) in the ground and come back to observe them a month later. They consider what biodegrades and how it affects our planet.
Curated OER
Water Filtering
Young scholars investigate how polluted water is filtered so people can use this recycled resource. They conduct an experiment in which they put "polluted" water through a filtering system. They investigate what happens at a water...
Curated OER
Seed Germination
Students explore plants and the scientific method. In this plant growth lesson, students follow the steps in the scientific method to perform a seed germination experiment as a whole class. Students work in a group to create their own...
Curated OER
What If There's No Light?
students discuss the importance of light and the consequences of living without it. Using a plant as a demonstration, students predict and observe what happens to a plant when it does not receive enough light. In groups, they experiment...
Curated OER
Describe Environmental Interrelationships
Students describe environmental interrelationships using list of criteria. They are able to explain organism interaction, based on definitions provided. Also, students can use references and worksheets, to describe effects of pollution...
Teach Engineering
Biological Processes: Putting Microbes to Work
Is there such a thing as useful microbes? Get ready to perform experiments on applying microbes for wastewater treatment. The first installment of the three-part unit provides background information to prepare young engineers for two...