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Three-Dimensional Coordinates and the...
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Thomas Jefferson - Author of The...
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Women's History Activator: Eleanor Roosevelt
Other Resource Types ( 81 )
Lesson Planet
Ecosystems
Five lessons take high schoolers on a journey through Australia’s ecosystems. They investigate the relationships between different organisms, examine factors that affect population sizes, and consider how energy flows into and out of an...
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Photosynthesis: Just a Little Sunshine!
Brighten up your middle school unit on photosynthesis with a collection of worksheets and lessons, perfect for illuminating this brilliant topic.
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Grade 6-8 Living Things
What characterizes a living thing? Scholars explore the concept during a differentiated instruction unit on living things. They perform lab experiments to determine how animals adapt to stimuli, watch videos and learn about...
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Coastal Peru: The Amazing Biodiversity of a Coastal Ecosystem
Peru's coastal ecosystem is only one of the country's amazing features. But travelers don't need passports, expensive plane tickets, or heavy suitcases to examine the biodiversity of coastal Peru. Armed with a field trip log and graphic...
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Carbon and Climate
The carbon cycle is natural and has happened for millions of years, so can humans change it? Young scientists play the role of carbon as they travel through the carbon cycle. They complete two rounds, once before the industrial...
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Stressed Out!
Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...
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Next Generation Science Standards
Are you having trouble deciphering the Next Generation Science Standards on the website, or just trying to find the standards for your grade in a quick-and-easy format? If so, here is a free and easy-to-navigate app made with you in mind.
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Study Jams! Ecosystems
With the forest as an example, Sam and Zoe talk about the components biotic and abiotic of an ecosystem. They also discuss the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers. This concise clip covers all of the basics. As an introduction...
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Study Jams! Aquatic Ecosystems
Mia's friends are fish-sitting while she is away on vacation. Zoe divulges to Sam that different animals need different habitats, and that there are both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. Examples of the kinds of organisms found in...
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Study Jams! Food Webs
Rhinozilla is back to take your lesson plan on trophic levels a step higher! After showing the video on food chains (available through the See All Related Jams button), add to it by showing this one. It deals with omnivores and food...
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Plants Count
New ReviewChanges to habitats mean changes to resources. Groups examine aerial maps to predict areas of low and high plant resources. After formulating a plan, they visit the areas to collect data about the plant resources and then share their...
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Kelp Forest Conservation
There otter be a better way. As a class, groups work together to create a food web based on the organisms in the kelp forest. Budding scientists watch a video on the kelp forest to see how the organisms create a food web and hear about...
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CK-12 Earth Science Concepts for Middle School
Explore a variety of science concepts in an interactive textbook created for middle school scholars. A lengthy table of contents takes readers to pages comprised of a subject overview, outline, and summary. Follow links further to find...
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Weather Patterns of the Pacific Ocean
How do oceans affect weather patterns? Learners define vocabulary associated with dew point, topographical lifting, condensation, and formation of clouds and precipitation as they explore the weather in the Pacific Northwest. They also...
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Utah Open Textbook: 8th Grade Science
The cycle of energy is important to many different systems on Earth. Scholars investigate the differences between renewable and non-renewable resources and how they relate to global changes using questioning and observation. They...
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Utah Open Textbook: 6th Grade Science
There are many interactions among living things and their surroundings. Scholars learn about Earth, the moon, and the sun and how they relate to the solar system by completing a reading. They also investigate basics of physical science...
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How Ecosystems Work
The interactions among the members of an ecosystem are what keeps all organisms living together successfully. Using an informative PowerPoint, individuals learn about how energy cycles through ecosystems in food chains and food webs....
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Perfectly Decomposed!
We all know someone who won't eat the banana with a brown spot, the grape with a dimple, and the apple with a bruise. Scholars use different fruits to explore what happens when fruits really start to decompose. They set up an experiment...
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Food Webs, Energy Flow, Carbon Cycle, and Trophic Pyramids
The reintroduction of a species to an area doesn't always go as expected. Scholars learn about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park with a video, reading, and discussion questions. They complete a hands-on activity...
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The Young Naturalist
Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects. Scholars return to...
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Coral Reefs in Hot Water
Global warming is leaving coral reefs in hot water. What does that mean for their survival? Find out as scholars use authentic satellite data to explore the issue. Learners look for global trends in the data and research the effects the...
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Food, the Carbon Cycle and Global Warming
As the world population increases, demands on the carbon cycle also increase. A well-designed lesson first explores the greenhouse effect and its impact on global warming. Further sections have pupils study the effect of greenhouse gases...
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Sustainable Seafood
Memory, brain health, and seafood often go hand in hand, but is eating fish good for the planet? The third video in a four-part series on Health Oceans explains which fish consumers need to avoid and which are safe to consume without...
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What's Up With Your Gut Microbiome?
Some scientists now consider the gut microbiome a distinct organ in the human body. Curious science scholars learn about this ecosystem thriving inside them and its important functions with a video from Our Hungry Planet. The 11th lesson...
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Cnidarians: Anemone Catches Goby
Anemones contain harpoon-like structures in their tentacles to attack prey. A video shares an up-close look at an anemone eating a goby. It highlights the attack, capture, and demise of the prey through a system evolved over the course...
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Flatworms: The First Hunter
Flatworms evolved and developed the first bilateral body plan. These hermaphroditic animals with no circulatory system star in an informative video. Scholars learn about flatworms' place in the evolutionary tree, how they hunted, and...
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Cnidarians: Anemone Swims Away from Sea Star
While most sea anemones move slowly along rocks, Stomphia swim to escape predators. Viewers see a sea star sneak up on an anemone ready to attack. The unsuspecting anemone retaliates quickly and swims away awkwardly as part of a larger...
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Seasonal Science: Raptor Migration
45 percent of all raptors migrate, but they don't follow the paths of other migrating birds. An extensive Seasonal Science series introduces the unique migration process of raptors. The narrator explains the extremely small migration...
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Detecting Rise in Body Temperature in Human and Animals and its Effects on Health
Beat the heat using sensors. Scholars research normal body temperatures for humans and a specific animal. In groups, they create sensors that monitor body temperature, as well as the weather. The goal is to reduce the occurrence of heat...
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Ocean Acidification
Human impacts on the environment can sometimes be difficult to measure, especially under water! An activity centered on ocean acidification gives science scholars the opportunity to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on marine life....
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Modeling Food Webs in Darién, Panama
It's a jungle out there! Young biologists journey to Darien, Panama to examine the intricate relationships between the organisms that inhabit the jungle. Groups begin by demonstrating an understanding of energy flow in ecosystems, then...
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Life Cycles
Breathe some life into product design. Pupils learn about the stages of product creation, use, and disposal—sometimes called a cradle-to-grave assessment. They see how this cycle relates to the life cycle of organisms.
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LS2B - Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
Produce, consume, decompose...repeat! Examine how matter and energy cycles in ecosystems by watching a video discussing NGSS standard LS2B. The narrator explains the requirements of the standard at each grade level, plus gives tips to...
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Modeling: Mathematical, Physical and Conceptual
Scientific models help explain ideas and concepts to non-experts. The online activity covers conceptual, mathematical, and physical models. Through four multiple-choice questions and three discussion questions, scholars gain a deeper...
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Scientific Models: Mathematical, Physical and Conceptual
This is one super model interactive! Middle and high school science scholars examine scientific models through a simple resource. Guided, hands-on practice allows them to classify conceptual, mathematical, and physical models. Other...
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Mastering Microbes
Small but mighty! Learners explore the role of microbes in a healthy ecosystem. An engaging lesson asks pupils to design an aquaponics system that demonstrates that healthy microbes are necessary to maintain the ecosystem.
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How Dirt Works
Get a little dirty as your classes explore the aspects of healthy soil. Scholars learn that healthy soil has a different meaning for a farmer, a consumer, and an environmentalist. They also experiment with different soil types to analyze...
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Ecosystem Interdependence: Managing Salmon for Healthy Forests
Examine the impact the fishing industry has on local ecosystems. The hands-on lesson begins with an experiment that tests the effectiveness of fish-based fertilizers. It continues with a computer-based module that simulates sustainable...
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The Need Is Mutual: The Importance of Biological Interactions
Can you name the biological interactions you encounter during a day? Your classes might be surprised by the number of interactions they experience! A comprehensive lesson plan explores the science of symbiotic relationships. Learners...
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Climate, Corals and Change
Global warming isn't just an issue on land; deep ocean waters are also showing troubling signs. Young scientists learn more about deep water corals and the many recent discoveries researchers have made. Then they examine data related to...
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Build Your Own Ocean Ecosystem
Hold the sea in the palm of your hand! Amateur oceanographers work together to create models of an ocean ecosystem in the sixth and final installment in a series. Raise awareness of global ocean health issues through guided research,...
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Animals of the Fire Ice
When the sun's rays can't reach the producers in a food web, where does all the energy come from? Extreme environments call for extreme food sources. Young scientists investigate creatures that appear to get their energy from methane...
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Learn, Protect, and Promote Water
A hands-on activity helps learners explore the water cycle. After discussing how they use water, classes discuss water pollution and then move into a simulation where 20 pupils move through the water cycle based on description cards.
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Food for Thought: Climate Change and Trophic Cascades
Learners examines the arctic food web with a short video about polar bears and an article about bears and warming temperatures. They design an arctic food web and discuss the trophic cascade that could come from climate change.
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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...
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Leaf Litter Ecology Lab
Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great lesson plan exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove leaves/twigs while...
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The Secret of Life
Dead trees provide nutrients for the soil, food for animals, protection and a home for organisms, a seed-bed for new trees, and a place for nitrogen-fixing bacteria to live. In the activity, pupils collect decaying logs, expose them to a...
Lesson Planet
Organism Interaction
How can a plover bird sit inside a crocodile's mouth and clean its teeth without being eaten? Learners explore food webs which introduce symbiotic relationships such as that between plovers and crocodiles. Pupils complete a review of...
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Energy and Matter Flow
Why do energy pyramids only contain four to five levels? Individuals review food webs to begin discussing energy flow in ecosystems. Through discussion and a simulation, they explore photosynthesis and use this concept as a platform to...
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Community Ecology and Sampling
Seamounts in the Coral and Tasman Seas are home to more than 850 different species. Groups explore hydrothermal vents, researching the organisms found there and their energy source. They also learn about seamounts, exploring their unique...
Lesson Planet
Arctic Smorgasbord!
Two blooms of phytoplankton, instead of just one, now occur in the Arctic due to declining sea ice, which will have widespread effects on the marine life and climate. In small groups, participants build an Arctic food web with given...
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The Carbon Cycle
Scholars learn about the carbon cycle, play a carbon cycle game, and then write a story based on their role as a carbon atom during the game. After the writings, pupils analyze the carbon cycle by leading a class discussion on the material.
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Modeling the Water Cycle
You won't see fashion models in this demonstration — only a model of the water cycle. Learners observe a model of the water cycle made from ice cubes, water, and heat. They then record their observations and answer questions.
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Investments in Forest Carbon
One hundred metric tons of CO2 can accumulate in one acre of forest over time—that's a lot of carbon! In the activity, groups of middle school learners determine what makes forests important. They then solidify the concept by using a...
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Forests of Guatemala
With 90 percent of its land area covered in forests, Suriname, a country in South America, contains the largest percentage of forests throughout the world. Here is an activity that brings classmates together to learn about the...
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Trees and Carbon
You'll find everything but the kitchen sink here ... or just a carbon sink. In the activity, pairs or groups of middle school learners go outside and measure a tree's circumference and height to estimate its carbon storage potential and...
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Drop
The water you are drinking could be the same water Leonardo da Vinci drank. How is this possible? Groups or pairs of learners write the biography of a water molecule named Drop as it moves through the water cycle. Through presentations,...
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Environmental Tree Awareness Field Book
Trees are everywhere! Yet what do these majestic organisms do for their ecosystem, and why do some have leaves and some have needles? During a five-day activity, young scientists investigate trees by analyzing the water cycle,...
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Ecosystems
Explore the Earth's different ecosystems through four lessons, an assessment, and extension activities. Lessons include informative text and step-by-step instructions to apply knowledge in interactive, and thought provoking ways; such as...
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Middle School Sampler: Science
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis and...
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Caves, Canyons, Cactus, and Critters
Mother Nature's Gravel Company is open for business! The unit includes four lessons covering weathering and erosion. Experiments are simple to complete and young geologists compare notes to see who makes the biggest ice wedge, moves...
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Ocean Life
Our oceans are composed of many complex relationships. Young oceanographers explore relationships between organisms, understand the world ocean's currents, and discover the effects of water pollution and how it behaves. There are three...
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The Law of Conservation of Mass
This short video simply explains the Conservation of Mass with graphics that show the atoms being conserved in pictures of balanced equations. The connection between mass and energy is explained and Einstein's energy equation is mentioned.
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Build a Food Web Activity
Entangle your life science class in learning with this collaborative food web activity. Using pictures of the plants and animals native to a particular ecosystem, young biologists work in small groups to construct visual representations...
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Seafood and Human Health
Whether your young biologists realize it or not, humans play a significant role in marine ecosystems. To help them understand this fact children first create graphical representations that show homo sapiens' place in marine food chains,...
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An Ocean of Energy
Young biologists trace the path of the sun's energy through marine ecosystems in the second part of this four-activity series. Building on prior knowledge about producers, consumers, and decomposers students are introduced to the concept...
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Understanding Food Chains and Food Webs
Jump into an exploration of marine ecosystems with the first lesson in this four-part series. After first learning about crustaceans, mollusks, and other forms of sea life, young marine biologists view a PowerPoint presentation that...
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The Marvels of Mud
Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine the role that...
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Levels of Organization within an Ecosystem
From tiny organisms to entire biomes, young scientists examine the interdependent relationships tying all living and non-living things together with this collection of ecology resources.
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Habitat Web
Young scientists weave together an understanding of ecosystems with this fun collaborative activity. Taking on the roles of different living and non-living elements of specific habitats, learners use a ball of yarn to create the web of...
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Photosynthesis - A Survival Guide
Young scientists learn what it takes for life on Earth to survive with this series of photosynthesis resources. Offering twelve different activities ranging from independent practice worksheets to in depth scientific experiments, this...
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Living & Non-Living Interactions
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in learning about the...
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What's Hidden Among the Tallest Trees on Earth?
Hidden hundreds of feet above the ground in the redwoods of Northern California is a whole world that was just waiting to be discovered. This video tells the story of Stephen Sillett who, inspired by his grandmother, set out to explore...
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Reduce Our Carbon Footprint, Let’s Compost!
Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready to start...
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Treatment Plants
Young scientists explore nature's water treatment plants in this simple science demonstration. By placing a stalk of celery in a cup of water mixed with food coloring, children are able to observe how plants absorb nutrients and...
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Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem
One of the key concepts in life science and biology is the cycling of energy throughout an ecosystem. Learners can take notes on the topic using the vocabulary included within the presentation. From producers making their own food...
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Water is Life
Krill is a very small ocean animal that is key to keeping the ocean ecosystem going. The class reviews food webs and chains, learns about the importance of krill, discusses krill anatomy, builds a model of a krill, and then has a...
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Watershed Activity
Does your class know that all water that falls from a watershed ends up in the same large waterway? If they don't, they will after they complete this activity. They make a clay model of a landscape that looks similar to a topographical...
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Recipe for an Ecosystem
Creating an ecosystem is as simple as baking a cake. Well, maybe not, but using a recipe analogy helps learners realize that ecosystems consist of different components that come together in unique ways. Offer this learning exercise as an...
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Food Chains and Webs
Starting with a simple food chain, young scientists interpret the difference and interrelatedness between herbivores, carnivores and producers. They answer questions related to cause and effect of food chain disruptions, including the...
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Food Web II
A food web consists of complex food chains and the more complex the web, the better likelihood of survival. Learners compare and contrast food webs and food chains and discuss concepts like the predator-prey and consumer-producer...