US Environmental Protection Agency
Getting to the Core: The Link Between Temperature and Carbon Dioxide
Polar ice samples provide scientists with valuable information about the condition of the atmosphere for hundreds of thousands of years in the past. Of particular interest is the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its...
Berkshire Museum
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle: Sorting Through Personal Choices
Raise children's awareness about the importance of conservation with this hands-on science instructional activity. Start by breaking the class into groups and having them collect trash from around the school or local park. Students then...
Curated OER
The Environment
Young scholars explore the issues that influence our environment and research ways to decrease the negative impact that humans have on the environment. Misconceptions about environmental issues are addressed in this instructional activity.
Michigan State University
Bug Lyphe!
Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...
Creative Learning Exchange
Lesson Plans From The Lorax
When it comes to the environment, no variable is constant. Class members graph behavior over time for the thneeds produced over truffula trees chopped down over the course of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax.
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
Global Warming in a Jar
This well-organized lab activity introduces earth science pupils to the greenhouse effect. They will set up two experiments to monitor temperatures in an open jar, a closed jar, and a closed jar containing water. Ideally, you would have...
Curated OER
Water in the Geosphere
Through a PowerPoint presentation and the embedded animation and video, earth science enthusiasts find out about the moisture in the soil beneath our feet. In the animation, follow a water molecule on its path through the water cycle. As...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
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....
Curated OER
Trash to Gas
Middle schoolers experiment with biomass materials as alternative energy sources. In this biomass material lesson, students participate in an experiment with cow manure to determine how it can be used as an energy source. They record...
Curated OER
The Living Environment
Learners use a spoon, clothespin, scissors, and toothpicks to simulate how animals get food in their environment. In this environment lesson plan, students learn about the adaptations animals make in order to survive.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Microbe Multiplication Magic
A instructional activity introduces the reproduction rate of E. coli though a video. Then scholars complete a data table and graph of reproduction rates in ideal conditions as well as less than ideal conditions.
Beyond Benign
Orb-It
How do the products you use rate on a greeness scale? Scholars use a tool to analyze shampoos and cars for their sustainability. They consider factors that affect the environment, the economy, and equity. This is the ninth lesson in a...
Curated OER
The Frozen Desert: Graphing and Comparing Climates
Students explore the concept of climate. They use temperature and precipitation data from their area and other regions to construct climate graphs. These graphs are used to help identify factors that influence climate.
Curated OER
Science Questions
Explore the concept of generating questions. Your curious learners choose a scientific question from a bowl and, as they listen to an article being read, they use that question starter to come up with their own questions. Then, they have...
Curated OER
The Hudson's Ups and Downs
Even rivers have tides. Older elementary schoolers will discuss the Hudson River and how weather, water craft, and the ocean cause tidal fluctuation. They will examine a series of line graphs that depict tidal fluctuation, then analyze...
Curated OER
The Mozart Effect
Music has been said to effect short term memory. Learners test out this hypothesis, graphing how knowledge retention in a biology classroom changes when music is played in the background. In the end, a better appreciation of the dynamics...
Science 4 Inquiry
Deforestation
Young scientists observe deforestation from satellite photos and discuss the importance of forests to the global environment. They then simulate a plot of forest when farmers move into the area over the course of seven years. Finally,...
SeaWorld
Marvelous Manatees
Here is an interesting lesson plan on the manatee for your upper graders or middle schoolers. A game is played where learners work together to complete a successful manatee migration. It's a board game, and all of the game components are...
Discovery Education
Fuss About Dust
Dust is everywhere around us; it's unavoidable. But what exactly is dust and are certain locations dustier than others? These are the questions students try to answer in an interesting scientific investigation. Working independently or...
National Gardening Association
Migration Mishaps
Elementary ecologists pretend to be migratory hummingbirds. They fly between wintering and nesting grounds, trying to reach a habitat haven. In a musical-chair fashion, some birds will miss out, and are removed from the game. To further...
Prince William Network
Migration Headache
During this game, kids become migratory shorebirds and fly among wintering, nesting, and stopover habitats. If they do not arrive at a suitable habitat on time, they do not survive. Catastrophic events are periodically introduced that...
Curated OER
A Science Experiment With Crayfish
A crayfish can lead to a science experiment involving habitats, animal behavior, and anatomy..
Curated OER
Digital Video Lesson Plan: Brine Shrimp
Students participate in classroom experiment to gain better understanding of type of environment brine shrimp can best survive. Students then explore effects of common saltwater pollutants on survival of animals in sea.
Curated OER
A Research Project and Article For the Natural Inquirer
Get your class to use the scientific process to solve a scientific problem. They utilize the Natural Inquirer magazine to identify a research question which they write an introduction to and collect data to answer. They use graphs,...