Curated OER
Ecology and the St. Lawrence River
Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on ecosystems, organism interactions, and energy flow. They create a key for known species of fish, diagram the movement of energy through an ecosystem, and create and present food chains and food...
Curated OER
Identifying Wyoming Trees
Students identify trees based from their leaves. For this leaf lesson plan, students use The Rocky Mountain Tree Finder by Tom Watts in order to identify tree leaves. They look for leaf shapes, veins, and structure.
Curated OER
Field Trip - Marine Science Institute
Students discover the ocean life of the San Francisco Bay. In this ocean lesson plan, students take a Discovery Voyage of the Bay ecosystem through the Marine Science Institute. Also available are inland voyages, ocean labs, and tidepool...
Curated OER
Leaf Collection
Students examine the tree species in Pennsylvania. In this Pennsylvania tree lesson students use field guides to assist them in identifying tree species.
Curated OER
Spot Identification of Some of the Most Common Insect Orders
Students investigate the basic characteristics of insect orders and develop short-cut techniques to identify insects into twelve of the most common orders. They use captured specimens and photographs to practice identification and then...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Let's Identify and Classify
Students participate in a creative activity to give them a good understanding of classification. They examine bags of chips and discuss their similarities and differences. Students work in small groups while participating in this activity.
Curated OER
Collecting and Pressing Plants
Learners engage in a lesson plan that is concerned with the study of native plants and classifying them according to a kind. They press them into a journal while identifying them according to species. Students compile the samples into a...
Curated OER
Digital Wildflower Collection
Students examine biodiversity and classify organisms. In this wildflower lesson students go out and take pictures of plants then create a presentation to show the class.
Curated OER
Classification of Pasta, Rice and the Nine Planets
Eighth graders create a classification system of the planets and give a written rational for their choice of categories. In this investigative lesson students participate in an activity that helps them to explore classification.
Curated OER
Tree Identification
Students list four ways to identify trees. In this tree identification instructional activity, students use tree identification techniques such as leafs, bark, wood grain, soil type, and climate to create tables and graphs.
Curated OER
Sea Turtles
Students investigate eight different species of sea turtles while being involved in classroom lecture and video presentation. The characteristics used to identify sea turtles is taught to help students identify unknown species.
Curated OER
Benthic Macroinvertebrates
High schoolers survey and describe a stream ecosystem. They sample the benthic macroinvertebrate populations of a given stream and determine community structure through the use of the Chandler Index and a species diversity index.
Curated OER
Native Plant Restoration Project
Learners distinguish between exotic and native plant species. They work in groups in the field to restore a natural habitat. A class map is created to reflect their work in the field.
Curated OER
Bringing Forestry into the Classroom
Here are ways to incorporate science, math, and language arts while learning more about the forests that sustain us.
Curated OER
INSECTS
Seventh graders select, collect, and classify various insects by constructing an apparatus from materials that aid in the capture and containment of the insect.
Curated OER
Seasonal Science: Spring Life Science Activities
Spring into science with these great lesson ideas involving butterflies.
Curated OER
Arizona Plant Booklet: An Introduction to Arizona Plants & Cacti
Young scholars explore variety of plants & cacti in their Arizona community by collecting samples and taking photographs. Can be adapted to other areas.
Curated OER
Invasives and Macroinvertebrates
Students view macroinvertebrates, or discuss previous collection activity. They graph data on macroinvertebrates in the Hudson River. Students discuss the relationship between habitat, environmental changes, and invertebrate diversity or...
Curated OER
School Site Ecosystem
Fourth graders are introduced to the concept of ecosystem; specifically, the interrelationships among plants and animals within an ecosystem, and their relationships to the environment in which they live and interact.
Curated OER
Soil Organisms
Students work together to collect soil samples from different locations. In the samples, they identify the macroorganisms and classify them. They identify the conditions that affect how macroorganisms grow. They also analyze and identify...
Curated OER
Sorting Through Spiders
Students utilize their own drawings of spiders to analyze and sort the attributes that each student drew.
Curated OER
Lamarck Is Dead!
Students read Lamarck's obituary and respond to questions. They discuss the four laws from Lamarack's studies. Students apply this information to scientific theories in general.
Curated OER
Taxonomy
High schoolers analyze the complexity of organism classifications based on certain criteria. For this classifying organisms lesson students study taxonomy and gather information and leaves to do their own experiment on...
Curated OER
Invasive Aquatic Plant Identification
Students observe aquatic plants and animals and identify their systems. In this plants and animals lesson plan, students compare systems of organisms and orally express how plants and animals rely on each other.