Chicago Botanic Garden
Nature Walk and Ecosystem Introduction
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...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Gimli Glider—Anecdotes for Chemistry Teachers
What's the moral of this story? Units save lives! Teach measurement conversion through storytelling in a quick math-based lesson. Young scientists learn how one country's decision to swap from imperial to metric standard units caused an...
Curated OER
Make it Healthier by Cutting it Down?
Fifth graders discuss sustainable forestry. In this forestry lesson, 5th graders discuss how healthy forests need to have dead, diseased and lower quality trees cut down and harvested. They visit a local forest and identify these 3 types...
Curated OER
A Day on the Space Station
Fifth graders discover what it would be like to live in space. In this technological advancements lesson, 5th graders discuss how space life would be different from Earth life. Students also identify how technology has made life in space...
Curated OER
Sustainable Island Development
Students explain how the basic human needs of a large group of people can be met. They describe and evaluate alternative methods for providing water and food, producing electricity, handling wastes, and transporting goods and people....
Curated OER
Sustainable Island Development
Learners explain how the basic human needs of a large group of people can be met. They describe and evaluate alternative methods for providing water and food, producing electricity, handling wastes, and transporting goods and people....
Curated OER
How do living and non-living structures affect coral reef habitats?
Students create model coral reefs showing surface area and including examples of communities. In this coral reef lesson, students research and explore the functions or benefits from a coral reef. Students design a benthic habitat....
Curated OER
Toward a Sustainable Agriculture
Students analyze organic production systems. In this organic agriculture instructional activity, students examine key organic practices for both crop and livestock. This instructional activity includes 5 different activities, 4 critical...
Curated OER
Renewable Energy in Connecticut - Softening Our Footprint through Sustainable Energy Use
Students explore energy conservation. In this environmental lesson plan, students will look at data showing the amounts of energy used, our carbon footprint, and will research a power source. This unit allows for a deeper understanding...
Curated OER
The Needs of Living Things
Learners investigate the global food chain by creating a visual chart. In this ecology lesson, students discover the elements needed for life to sustain itself, contrasting living things vs. non living things. Learners fill in a...
Curated OER
What Was It Like To Live in Tudor Times?
Students compare and contrast the lives of the rich and poor people in Tudor times. Students observe photographs of Tudor life. They investigate word clues describing the lives of the people. Students create a presentation on their...
Curated OER
What Makes A Community Sustainable
In this environment worksheet, students read three different case studies in order to apply them to the categories of finding the best possible choices to make for helping a community flourish.
Curated OER
5 Step Food Chain Lesson
Have your class discuss food chains using this resource. Learners watch a presentation on the food chain and how we are dependent on the smallest life forms. They write newspaper articles and create an illustration describing the food...
Global Change
Impact of Climate Change on the Desert Pupfish
A fish that lives in the desert? You and your class can meet the desert pupfish as they examine its habitat, the role humans play in diminishing water supplies, and how climate change might impact this fishy friend. There are four short...
Curated OER
Water Has Many Uses
Pupils discover numerous uses of water. In this water usage lesson, students interview family members and discover unknown ways water is used in our daily lives. Numerous resources are provided.
Curated OER
Prairie Predator and Prey
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of animals that live on the prairie, and classify them as predators and prey. They conduct interviews where they ask the animals what they need to look out for to sustain life on the prairie.
Curated OER
Meet the Animals
The class will examine a series of live or stuffed animals in order to learn how different animals survive in distinctive habitats. As they examine each animal, they will be asked a series of critical thinking questions geared at getting...
Curated OER
Endangered Animals: Hawaii
Students locate regions in Hawaii where specific endangered animals live. They describe habitats, identify reasons why the species has become endangered, consider how a healthy environment for wildlife contributes to a healthy...
Curated OER
How We're Connected
Students take a survey in order to find out how they live in relationship to the environment. They take the time to investigate the differences between a need and a want. This is done as part of the self-assessment. Students also study...
Curated OER
How Do Cells Reproduce?
Beginning biologists prepare a sugar solution for yeast cells to live in, and divide it into two different jars. Samples from each jar are viewed with a microscope, and then one jar is placed in a warm environment and the other a cold...
Curated OER
Seed to Soup Organic Garden
Have your young biologists visit decomposition stations as they explore the process of organic material. This activity involves some set-up as kids will be visiting 13 desks to collect colored paper each representing a different element...
California Academy of Science
Where Do I Put My Trash?
Where does the trash go after you put it in the garbage can? The class discusses sustainability, recycling, compost, and landfills as they play as fun relay game. In teams, they race to be the fastest group to successfully sort their...
Curated OER
Waves : An Alternative Energy Source
Young scholars evaluate the feasibility of wave energy as an alternative source of energy. In this alternative energy source lesson students are introduced to renewable and nonrenewable energy and study energy production.
Curated OER
Managing Your Energy Budget
Learners experience an inequitable resource distribution and electronically calculate their own Ecological Footprint. The assess their resource use and learn more about sustainable living strategies in a video tour by Penn State...