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...

Students view an illustration of the Hudson River watershed and identify the bodies of water shown. They discuss what happens when fresh and salt water mix. Students view a teacher demonstration of the stratification of fresh and salt...

Students recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation. They explain these changes using a reconstruction of the land use changes in the Hudson Valley composed of confetti, Ziploc bags and other...

Young scholars recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation and be able to explain these changes. They reconstruct the paleoclimate of the Hudson Valley.

Eight groups in your class are each responsible for a different aspect of surveying the campus for a suitable rain garden location. Features to consider include water flow, topography, sun/shade patterns, land surface, vegetation,...

Fifth graders, in groups, list the physical characteristics of a biome and think of ways in which animals might have to adapt to live there and make a biome mobile ball that show the different types of habitats that shape the praire biome.

Students explain that ants are an important element of nature's balance. Ants eat many insects and are food to other animals. They watch a video and conduct hands-on activities that give them an excellent overview of the ants role in...

Students consider the development of different societies. In this environmental building lesson, students consider local resources and how societies choose to use them. Students use their findings to design a 'green' building for use in...

Students explore the conditions needed to grow Texas Blue Bonnets. In this Blue Bonnet planting lesson, students recognize the differences in Texas Blue Bonnet. Students record their findings in a graphs and analyze their results.

Fifth graders brainstorm the relationship between trees and humans to determine how humans benefit from trees and how they benefit from us. They discuss oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, soil stablization, animal habitat, shade, medicine...

Students explore how different materials (sand, gravel, lava rock) with different water contents on different slopes result in landslides of different severity. They measure the severity by how far the landslide debris extends into model...

Students demonstrate the interrelationships of animals and plants. In this ecology instructional activity, students discuss the things plants and animals need for survival and study the glacier food chain. Students simulate the web of...

Sixth graders discover the problems that early Mesototamian farmers faced while developing agriculture in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. They design a working model that solves those unique challenges.

What a great way to start a recycling lesson! Introduce your students to the dung beetle! They will get a kick out of "nature's perfect recycler," when they learn about the  scarab beetle's way of life: eating dung and rotting...

Purifying air and water, providing soil in which to grow crops, and moving water through its natural cycle are all services an ecosystem provides that benefit humans. Lesson four in a series lets learners explore and discuss the value of...

If you don't want to drink red cabbage juice, here's another use for it—a decoder! Using vinegar and ammonia-based window cleaning liquids as invisible inks, scholars create designs in the second lesson of the series. Red cabbage juice...

A fabulous lesson introduces the art of composting to your gardeners. In it, youngsters learn about the composting process and how it actually works. They discuss the environmental benefits of composting, and use the "lasagna" method...

Both GPS and GIS are now used regularly in agricultural careers. Explore the new technologies that require higher education for those interested in agri-science careers. Upper graders examine how agriculturalists use new technologies by...

We can learn from the past to protect the future. Pairs look at two historical earthquakes: San Francisco, Calif., and Kobe, Japan. Pupils compare the two earthquakes and their impacts, then determine how engineers may use the...

What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs....

Students observe and listen to nonfiction books about the life cycle of pumpkins. They practice early reading skills in a shared reading related to pumpkins. They observe the life cycle of a pumpkin including growth and decay.

Students demonstrate effects of waste on environment and ways of reducing it, observe how much packaging goes into bag lunches each day, and survey their families to assess awareness levels and household recycling practices. Lessons all...

Students complete a timeline. In this peanuts lesson, students read A Short Peanut History and use this resource to make a timeline of the history of the peanut. Students can grow peanuts in the classroom or make various peanut recipes.

Varve: a deposit of cyclical sediments that help scientists determine historical climates. Individuals analyze the topography of a region and then study varve datasets from the same area. Using this information, they determine the...