A blood sucking what? Grade schoolers identify the characteristics of blood sucking parasites. They organize their information, identify their arguments, and present them to the class in persuasive arguments. They participate in a debate...

Turn your classroom into a pollination station as your kids transform into moths or predators trying to survive and aiding in plant reproduction along the way. Using silent party blowers as proboscises, the moths will have two minutes to...

Young scientists weave together an understanding of ecosystems with this fun collaborative activity. Taking on the roles of different living and non-living elements of specific habitats, learners use a ball of yarn to create...

The best part of learning about equilibrium is that nothing changes. Young chemists observe four demonstrations during this lesson: equilibrium in a saturated solution, equilibrium with an acid-base indicator, equilibrium with cobalt...

Incorporate knowledge about biomes and ecosystems in multiple ways while encouraging creativity. Emerging ecologists collaborate and perform research to complete a graphic organizer about various biomes of the world. They conclude the...

Students analyze period political cartoons and the causes of the economic downturn that began in1836. President Martin Van Buren's response as president and the reaction to his measures form the focus of this lesson.

Third graders research insects using the internet sites provided. They research the role of insects as pollinators for plants, and the impact they have on our ecosystem. They participate in various activities/centers utilizing the facts...

Students practice analyzing images, maps and graphs from Internet-based educational resources. They explore the correlation between sea surface temperature and coral bleaching. Students comprehend that coral reefs are collections of tiny...

Learners explore, experience and experiment identifying the human impact on the environment of vegetative differences within the same biome. They assess what causes deserts, rain forests, savannahs, tundras and saguaros and how these...

Using GPS units, small groups participate in a scavenger hunt to find an object that you have hidden. They use coordinates for stopping points along a pre-planned path to get to the final cache. This is a terrific activity to include in...

Field trip! The class will review what they know about organisms that dwell in freshwater ponds, then trek down to the old water hole to collect specimens for examination. This includes several web links, useful tips, and an excellent...

After reviewing food chains, your class members participate in an arctic predator-prey game that exemplifies the impact of climate change of food availability. If you are in a hurry, skip this lesson, but if you have the time to...

At first glance, grassland ecosystems might seem dull and uninteresting, but once you start to explore it's amazing the things you'll find! Through this series of engaging lessons, activities, and experiments, elementary students examine...

Who knew determining author's purpose could be turned into a game? Four teams compete to correctly identify the author's purpose for writing a series of passages.

Um may be the atomic symbol for confusion, but it won't be needed in this lesson. Scholars rotate through seven stations completing experiments, hands-on activities, writing exercises, and analysis. Stations include material on...

El Nino, La Nina ... and the Santa Maria? The 11th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explains the mechanism of El Nino/Southern Oscillation. Pupils use previous data to determine...

Searching for an activity that allows emerging biologists to explore symbiosis up close and personal? Pupils collect samples and view lichens through a microscope and conclude with a discussion about the relationship they have...

A food web has no organism higher than a tertiary consumer because there wouldn't be enough energy left to sustain them. The fourth installment in a seven-part series begins with a nature walk to get pupils thinking about their...

Wolves eat better when the bunny population increases, but how long does that last? A series of 12 biology lessons uses the sixth installment to explore the predator-prey relationship between bunny and wolf populations. Young scientists...

A discussion of bioluminescence launches an investigation of animal adaptations. After re-watching the opening minutes of Dark Water, class members listen to a reading of What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and then create a new...

Learners examines the arctic food web with a short video about polar bears and an article about bears and warming temperatures. They design an arctic food web and discuss the trophic cascade that could come from climate...

Pupils examine macro-invertebrates in order to better understand their link to the food web. Working in groups, they record observations of several areas of a stream or river, collect samples from the river bottom, and identify the...

Eighth graders list the steps of Darwin's natural selection. They demonstrate the process of natural selection in a predation activity. Students create paper origami frogs to race across the floor and analyze the differences in the...

Students create posters that show how a shark is a major predator in kelp forests and coral reefs after studying the food webs for these ecosystems. They determine that fish are important animals in the ocean's web of life.