Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Habitats:

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students investigate the creatures of intertidal zones. They explore the adaptations species make to survive .
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquakes Rock!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars study the main methods to measure earthquakes; the Richter Scale and Mercalli Scale. They make a model of a seismograph and investigate which structural designs are most likely to survive an earthquake.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gray Whale Obstacle Course Viewing Guide

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students complete a worksheet while watching a film about whales. They examine the human impact on whale migration and identify adaptations the whale has acquired in able to survive. They discover how global warming has effected the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biodiversity - Who Cares?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students articulate some of the impacts of loss of biodiversity. They play a game that demonstrates why having a rich variety of life is important to the survival of ecosystems and how invasive species are threatening local biodiversity.
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

How to Deal With Class Size Increases

For Teachers 1st - 6th
While class size increases make it more challenging for teachers to meet students' needs, there are ways to make things a little easier.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Home Away From Home

For Teachers K - 4th
Young scholars discover some of the threats to tigers in the wild and some of the challenges of keeping them in wildlife preserves and zoos. They then sketch and explain their designs for sensible tiger enclosures in zoos.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is A Community?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars engage in a lesson which introduces the definition of a community and challenges them to explore the characteristics of their own community. This lesson uses the true story of Humphrey the Lost Whale as an illustration of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hawaiian Natives Disappear

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students explore parts of the Hawaiian Islands to get a examine the exotic invasion, and see what challenges the natives face in reclaiming their territory. They identify the changes in the environment that have been the hardest on the...
Lesson Plan
Peace Corps

Starting Off the Day (and School Year) in Ukraine

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students compare the first day of school in Ukraine with the first day of school in the United States, including the challenges students and teachers both face in each country. They respond in class, in their journals, to the following...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moving West!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore, explain and experience the importance of good character traits in everyday life by assessing the challenging journeys traveled on the Oregon Trail. They study the daily accounts of perseverance and courage along the trail.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World in the Balance

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students make estimates on how many people they believe live on Earth. While watching a video, they take notes on the issues facing Kenya, Japan and India. In groups, they calculate how long it takes for a country to double in size. To...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

State of the Planet's Wildlife

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students view and discuss a video about the challenges facing wildlife on the planet Earth. They define key terms, watch the video, and answer discussion questions about the film.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's (Not) Just a Bug: Simulating Invasive Insect Predation on a Plant Population

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students reflect on challenges that face farmers in cultivating crops, including insects. They then simulate how crops are affected by native and non-native insect populations and the options farmers have to protect their crops. Finally,...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Chicago Botanic Garden

Seasons of a Plant

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
The third in a series of six lessons is an engaging three-part activity defines that discusses phenology, focusing on the cyclic seasons of plants. Pupils then observe phenology outside before determining how climate change can...
Lesson Plan
Serendip

How Eyes Evolved – Analyzing the Evidence

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Octopodes existed for hundreds of thousands of years before humans, yet our eyes share many similarities. Scholars analyze the evidence to determine if the evolution of eyes best fits a homology or analogy model. They discuss the issue...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Clotilde, The Last Slave Ship

For Teachers 4th - 11th Standards
The Clotilde was the last known ship to bring slaves from Africa to the United States - good riddance! Dive into the details of the ship, its cargo, origin, and route, and learn about the future of the Africans on board...
Lesson Plan
ARKive

An Introduction to Endangered Species

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Explore the world's endangered species with a presentation and bingo game activity. After viewing a presentation about the meaning of endangered species as it relates to specific animals, kids play a game of bingo with cards that...
Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

Recording a Dying Langauge

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Is there value in preserving indigenous languages that are almost extinct? That's the question posed to viewers of a short film about the attempt of one Native American woman who is creating a dictionary for Wakchumni, the language of...
Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Give Me a Boost—How Gravity Assists Aid Space Exploration

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The propellant needed for space explorations runs in the thousands, while paying to get the craft into orbit costs millions! In the second installment of three, two activities explore laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Using...
Unit Plan
University of Southern California

What's the Catch?

For Students 4th - 8th
There must be a catch! A comprehensive lesson looks at ocean fishing concerns through a set of five hands-on activities. Learners become aware of the risks of seafood contamination and factors that have affected the ocean environment.
Unit Plan
Los Angeles Unified School District

River Systems

For Teachers 6th Standards
Scholars must react to the ecosystems of a river. They use inquiry-based learning along with maps and visuals to better understand the impact of rivers on everyday life. To finish, they create final written projects and presentations. 
Lesson Plan
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies

Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times

For Students 5th - 11th
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earthquakes

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students discuss a natural disaster. In this earthquakes research lesson, students discover why earthquakes happen, what happens after an earthquake, and what to do during an earthquake. They discuss some information as a class and work...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Swimming Survivor Challenge - III

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students to learn the steps for administering CPR and practice with a partner.