Rat-ional Pet Concerns

Middle schoolers discover ways to control pests and improve sanitation. In this pests and diseases lesson, students read passages about maintaining cleanliness in a home and ways to eradicate insects, rats, and pests.

Young scholars examine factors affecting water quality. They test water in a local body of water to determine its quality. They collect data and continue monitoring the water monthly. They assess water quality in the home and on the farm.

Over the course of only three years, the plague killed between 75-200 million people in Europe. To begin the activity, the class reads about and discusses life during the Middle Ages and the plague. Based on discussions, teams develop a...

Seventh graders work in small groups to utilize "police evidence" to construct a plausible solution to a classroom mystery. They review the presented material, and carefully analyze witness statements and other clues. The "crime scene"...

After re-viewing a documentary segment on the restoration of Santa Cruz Island,, individuals craft an essay in which they compare the views of the various stake holders featured in the video and identify the point of view they find the...

Students discuss non point source pollution and identify such sources within their communities. They use radish seeds as a bioassay to investigate pollution. They present oral reports on the results of their experiments.

Students distinguish between natural and man-made ecosystems.  In this exploratory lesson plan students describe preventative measures to ecological problems.

Students develop an understanding of our planet as a system by designing a very-long-duration space mission in which the life-support system is patterned after that of earth.

Students discuss the transmission of diseases from exotic pets to humans. They research different aspects of particular zoonotic diseases from the perspectives of the animal vector, the parasite, the infected human, and the carrier human.

Students explore interesting animal behaviors and adaptations. They create information sheets about an animal residing in a fictional sanctuary and assess the animal's likelihood of being a good pet.