K20 Learn
Filling Our Land with Landfills: Solid Waste Disposal
Though it comprises only 5 percent of the world's population, the US generates 40 percent of the world's waste. Scholars learn about landfills, their safety, and other solid waste methods. They use experiments and research to learn more....
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time Using Landsat
"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...
BioEd Online
Good Stress for Your Body
Stress the importance of the different types of pressure our mind and body experience in a lesson about how certain types of stress are actually necessary and good for our bodies. As astronauts and people with injuries can attest, not...
Curated OER
AP Environmental Science-Food Fight
The content in this lesson is of a controversial nature. Please review to make sure it is suitable for your class. A video, The Meatrix is shown to the class, and then they discuss the emotionally-charged language that it uses. They are...
Baylor College
HIV/AIDS in the United States
In the final of five lessons about HIV/AIDS, groups create presentations to share data about the infection rates in the United States, examining demographic and geographic trends over the past ten years. Depending on how much time you...
Curated OER
Soil Type and Management
Students study the basics of soil science. They research and gather data through readings, videos, and performance of laboratory investigations. As a team they generate oral and written recommendations for the amendment of soil.
Intel
Composting: Why Bother?
The first STEM lesson in a group of 10 explores composting. After discussing how to make a better tomorrow, classes are challenged to track garbage in their communities, visit a local waste management facility, and conduct a survey...
Malibu High School
Create a Game – Extra Credit Chemistry Project
What a fun way to review the year's learning! Working in small groups, learners select a major concept covered in class then create a game about it. The type of game is up to each group, but the expectations of what should be included...
Curated OER
A Better Class of Journal-ists
Young academics create a current events journal by skimming newspapers for articles that fit defined guidelines for informational texts. After cutting out two articles each week to add to their journals, they write a brief description of...
Berkshire Museum
Meet a Naturalist: Researching, Writing, Interviewing
Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...
Curated OER
Victory in Europe, 1944-1945
Students examine the overall strategy pursued by the Allies in the final moths of World War II in Europe by examining military documents and consulting an interactive map of the European theater.
Kenan Fellows
Ready, Set, Save on Solar Energy Technology!
Does your class have a bright future in the solar energy industry? Science scholars take an in-depth look at what's new in solar technology. After completing research into the solar industry, participants create and market a product in...
Curated OER
Applied Science - Science and Math Pre-Lab 4C
Scholars classify the sciences. Using applied science, they compare and contrast subfields of sciences. They compare qualitative versus quatitative. They discuss types of sciences and the meanings of the word roots of the names.
National Wildlife Federation
Ghost Town
Around 93 percent of the reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been bleached, and almost one quarter of them are now dead. Scholars research the sea temperatures, especially around the areas with coral reefs, to make connections...
Curated OER
Darwin’s Bees
What do you call a bee born in May? A maybe! This first instructional activity in a series of four begins with a starter activity to get scholars thinking about the topic. Then a circus, or circuit of seven activities,...
Curated OER
In the Forecast, a Flurry of Concerns about Snow
Students consider the effects of climate change on snowfall and how a lack of data in snowfall collection impair climate change research. They, in groups, investigate different effects of snowfall and make recommendations to lobbyists.
NOAA
Calling All Explorers
Let's get moving! The second installment of a 2-part series of six adventures helps learners take part in individual explorations by sea and by land. After navigating the waters in an informative WebQuest, groups create and hide their...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
How big is your footprint? Activity three culminates the series by having groups complete carbon footprint audits with people in their schools and/or around the districts. Groups then gather their data, create a presentation including...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
The last activity in the series of four has individuals determine steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprints and then analyze their schools' recycling programs. Through a sustainability audit, they identify how and where their...
Curated OER
Locating Information Quickly in a Variety of Resources
Here is a lesson which may be best suited for a library science teacher, or one that can be done by a regular teacher when in the library. In it, learners explore the best ways to use print and electronic resources to find information...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Natural and Human Causes
Part three in the series of seven has pupils discussing the different greenhouses gases, learning about the carbon cycle, and then watching a short video about the carbon cycle. Based on their knowledge, individuals complete a greenhouse...
Curated OER
American Prehistory: 8000 Years of Forest Management
Young scholars discuss the first people to live in North America and the types of evidence we have of their existence. They complete a set of worksheets and explore their answer in group discussions.
Michigan State University
All About Rodents
Get to the know the common house mouse and the Norway rat with an activity that reinforces reading comprehension skills. Scholars read a three-page document detailing key information about mammals, specifically rodents, and use their...
Curated OER
Agriculture and the Environment
Young scholars investigate the interdependence of agriculture and the environment. They research areas of interdependence and provide examples of situations where farmers are practicing conservation in the local area. Their findings are...