Students discover the properties of light (radiant) energy from the sun by experimenting with solar collectors, cookers, and calculators. After a lecture/demo, students create their own solar collectors and test their efficiency.

Middle schoolers create electricity. In this solar energy lesson, students role play how photovoltaic cells change sunlight into electricity.  Middle schoolers discuss the experiment and create their own diagram of the...

Students access prior knowledge of solar energy and understand that solar energy produces heat. In this solar cooker lesson, students complete grade appropriate experiments using the heat of the sun. Students complete a worksheet on...

Students explore energy production by participating in a class discussion. In this renewable energy lesson, students discuss the differences between solar, coal, wind and fossil fuel energy sources and why some are better for the...

Students examine energy, where it comes from and the different fuels that are used.  In this energy lesson students design an energy infrastructure using a renewable energy source. 

Students discuss what heat is and how it travels. They discover that one way to cool an object in the presence of a heat source is to increase the distance from it or change the angle at which it is faced.

Students investigate energy and their impact on the environment. In this environmental lesson plan, students will conduct a series of three activities that will help in their understanding of energy and how we use it.

An ecosystem is really just the flow of energy through many different living organisms. A study of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book leads to an environmental science activity in which learners study how various factors can affect...

Students form expert engineering teams working for the (fictional) alternative energy consulting firm, Greenewables, Inc. Each team specializes in a form of renewable energy used to generate electrical power: passive solar, solar...

Life science and language arts come together in a passage about animal adaptation. After kids learn about how organisms adapt to conditions in their environments, they complete five reading comprehension questions based on context clues...

Middle schoolers research the causes and effects of air pollution. Using the internet, they examine the specific effects of carbon dioxide on the environment and discover the benefits of using solar power. In groups, they build a model...

In this cardboard box solar cooker learning exercise, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion...

Students explore agriculture by participating in a plant growth activity. In this botany lesson, students discuss what types of plants grow in their local environment and what the plants need to survive. Students read assigned text about...

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...

Students study the importance of the world's rain forests. In this rain forest lesson, students read about the role of the rain forests in the world's environment. Students then write a formal letter to a member of Congress or Senate...

Students investigate the different levels of the rain forest by comparing it to an apartment.  In this ecology instructional activity, students practice using forest related vocabulary words and complete a vocabulary data sheet....

Students explore climate change by participating in a physical science experiment. For this greenhouse effect lesson, students discuss the impact global warming has on our environment and how it works. Students utilize a glass jar,...

Young scholars explore global warming by conducting a weather experiment. In this greenhouse gas lesson, students define the greenhouse effect and the impact on our ozone layer. Young scholars utilize a soda pop bottle, floodlight bulb,...

Students compare and contrast deep-sea coral reefs with shallow-water coral reefs. In this underwater ecology instructional activity, students describe three types of coral and explain why scientists are concerned about the future of...

Students read a poem about a cat. Students discuss how cats behave and examine Homer's life in his environment.

Students compare and contrast conditions on Mars to those on our own planet, specifically, their local or regional environments. The physical characteristics, the atmosphere, and other astronomical data is considered.

Students develop their abilities to solve problems both in school and in a variety of situations similar to that they have encountered in life. They define the term ecosystem in nature by comparing them to familiar organizational...

Examine how living and non-living things work together in a reading passage about ecosystems. Class members read the text and then respond to five response questions that relate specifically to the content of the passage.

Practice reading comprehension through this pollution worksheet, which has learners read an informational passage on various aspects of environmental harm. Key terms are in bold, and are used on the next page in the comprehension...