Young scholars explore the issues of urban and suburban sprawl. They work in small groups to create their own planned communities.

Students view and discuss urban and suburban scenes; and list the features of their ideal town and discuss whether these features can be found in cities and suburbs. They draw mental maps of a city and a suburb and brainstorm and list...

Students recognize the characteristics of a rural area. They analyze land use to determine whether the map is of a rural (country) area or an urban (city) area.

Learners pick an animal native to Maryland and research how populations of that animal might be affected by land use changes over the past thirty years. They predict population trends for the next thirty years.

Urbanization and how it affects wildlife is the focus of a presentation that uses statistics to make a case for concern and change.

Students are led through a demonstration in which they cut open an apple, which represents the earth. They follow through the hands-on lesson plan, cutting the apple into various portions--each representing some aspect of the earth.

Students learn about the Australian Minister of Fisheries and Wildlife and platypus as an endangered species. In this endangered species lesson, student role play as the Australian Minister of Fisheries and Wildlife to make a...

Learners design a community with minimal environmental impact. They rate each other's community's presentation using the "Planning and Zoning Commission Rating Scale".

Students discuss necessary community services then complete a worksheet by filling in essential services, the needed inputs and outputs produced by fulfilling the service.

Students explore the need for good farm land and reasons for the disappearance of agricultural areas. They brainstorm environmental friendly decisions and soil conservation. In their community, students explore new land developments...

To prepare for class, students will read several articles (links included). Students discuss the articles, and ways to deal with the proliferation of big-box stores in rural areas. The class takes two minutes to generate a research...

Young scholars dissect an apple to model the percentage of land on Earth that can be used as a food-producing resource. They use fractions to determine the habitable and agriculture area of the apple.

How were cities formed? This article explains the formation of cities starting from the neolithic revolution to current times. It addresses such topics as urbanization, suburban sprawl, and urban growth models.