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Using A Winogradsky Column to Analyze Microbial Communities
Students use easily obtained materials to study ecological succession in a microbiological community. This investigation is appropriate for a variety of age groups. Elementary Students be fascinated by the changes occurring over time...
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Hometown Ecology
Students examine how ecology is at work in their own community. As a class, they identify what they already know about the world around them and discuss how they personally affect the environment. Using magazines, newspapers and the...
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Ecology and Ecosystem
Pupils are introduced to the concepts of ecology and ecosystems. In groups, they use the Internet to research one of six topics. They present their information to the class sharing the most interesting information they found. They...
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Phytoremediation
Students participate in a lab designed to facilitate the clean up and remove of substances ranging from heavy metals to dynamite. They focus on the remediation of copper. They discuss their results of this open ended inquiry experiment.
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Aquatic Habitat Water Quality Experiment
Fifth graders discuss the importance of water quality for humans and fish and make predictions about what happens to water that is polluted. In small groups, they conduct experiments to compare and contrast water that is unpolluted and...
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Building YOU from MOO
Students build protiens according to whether they are suppose to be a plant, a cow, or a person. They discover that all proteins are made from the same amino acids and it is just the order of these amino acids that change.
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Case Study - Paradise Island
Students make a plan for the future of Paradise Island. Their recommendations should help government leaders manage the impacts of expanding tourism, while preserving the unique natural resources of this island.
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Conservation and Environmental Protection
Students brainstorm a list of environments and animals from around the world that need protection. They then design and create a slogan about an animal or environment and an environmental protection poster.
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Food Webs
Learners recognize interdependence in a food web by using yarn and notecards to create a food web and discussing what would happen if one of the organisms from a certain trophic level is removed.
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Natural Disasters
Students read and discuss the article "Succession" by Bill Freedman. They create a labeled sketch of each type of ecological succession from its beginning to its climax community. Students create an article about a natural disaster as if...
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Don't Use it All Up
Students observe the way that a sponge absorbs liquids and discuss how we our use of natural resources affects the environment around us. They discuss the need to conserve resources so we don't run out of what we need.
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Murder Ewe Wrote
Students solve ecological mystery, diagram solution, and create alternate plans to prevent combined conditions from recurring.
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Biotechnology: An Agricultural Dilemma
High schoolers investigate the types of genetically modified crop plants there are and the benefits and risks of such plants. The agricultural needs in developing nations for this biological knowledge to resolve societal issues is also...
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Natural Resources: Getting a Fair Share?
Students explore the impact of human behavior on key components of the environment, examine how theirn own personal decisions have added to the problem, and explore possible solutions to the current ecological crisis.
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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...
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Ecology and The Endangered Species Act
Students listen to a lecture about the basics of Ecology. They take a field trip in which they observe a specific organism and their characteristics.
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Recycling - A Job Everyone Can Do
Students research recycling effort that take place in the US. They play an online game and complete handouts using Internet research.
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Macroinvertebrate Sampling
Students identify macroinvertebrate species to investigate ecological systems and the relationship between humans and the environment.
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Tortoise Tales
Pupils read journal entry from a Gal??pagos field researcher, find examples of five ecological relationships (competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism) and take notes on the details they find in the entry using a...
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Interactions Among Living Things
Students role play predators and prey, classify organisms as predator or prey, and describe factors that affect population growth and size.
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Rapid Ecological Assessment
Pupils conduct an ecological assessment of a small area on school property and apply findings to the greater area. They inventory the plant and animal population of a sample area and extrapolate results to a larger area.
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A River Runs Through It
Students solve an environmental problem on a local river. They use their knowledge of river ecology to develop an action plan. They use river-monitoring equipment to collect river- monitoring data, including biological, physical, and...
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How Harmful Is It?
Students complete a form that requires them to make decisions about how severely different types of marine debris affect people, animals, vessels, communities. Results are totaled and analyzed to determine which types of marine debris...
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Chemical Engineer
Learners identify toxic household products. In this ecology lesson, students research on the health effects, rating and disposal of these products. They rank them based on the danger they pose.