Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Limiting Factors for Populations

For Teachers 7th - 10th
The "Bottled Bacteria" activity instructions are a bit unclear, but the remaining activities investigating limiting factors in ecosystems are well-written. Learners model the exosystem of a bear and a herd of deer. They set up a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Designing an Ecologically Sound City

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders design an "ecologically sound" city. They write laws for the city to help make all citizens aware of their ecological responsibilities and propose alternative power sources for light and heat.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Presenting Ecology through Rodent Control

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students role play the member of a health department task force. In groups, they develop their own recommendations to control the rodent problem in the area. They email their local government official and research information about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Population Vs Consumption: Which is a Bigger Problem for the Environment & Who is Getting the Lion's Share of the World's Resources?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students develop critical thinking and awareness about the complexity of natural resource use, wealth distribution, population densities, poverty, and the environment. They think about people living in different parts of the world and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Populations – The Survival of the Fittest (Part 1)

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students explain in their own words why organisms live together. In this biology lesson, students model what happens to organisms if their environment changes. They explain the importance of evolution.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interactions Among Living Things

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students role play predators and prey, classify organisms as predator or prey, and describe factors that affect population growth and size.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Filling Up Florida

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students study factors controlling Florida's population growth and related environmental impacts. They research natural community types and construct maps (including a large-sized map of Florida) to be used for a simulation activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Taming Wild Land

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders consider the habitat needs of living things and how extensive farming in an area can affect the plants and animals of a region. They participate in a simulation to show how changing the habitat in one area can greatly...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine Protected Areas (MPA)

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explain the purpose of MPA's. In this biology lesson, 9th graders identify MPA's in Southern California. They simulate coastal sampling using candy from two buckets. Students analyze their results and share it with the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The MPA “GamePlan”

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the purpose of having Marine Protected Areas. In this environmental science lesson, 8th graders simulate the planning process by playing a board game. They explain the positive and negative effects of trade offs.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Shapes a MPA?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify the three types of MPA in California. In this marine science lesson, students analyze information provided to design a new MPA. They justify their reasoning in class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Appearances Are Deceiving

For Teachers 6th
Young scientists study creeks around their area to see how clean the water really is. One way to tell is by the invertebrate populations that are present. This lesson plan introduces a game which learners simulate a variety of species...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chesapeake Bay Population Studies

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners determine how to use a quarter meter quadrant to find population density, relative density, frequency and how to calculate a diversity index while participating in a virtual field trip. They study how to establish a Correlation...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Don't Use it All Up

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

San Ignacio Lagoon: Economy or Ecology

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students debate over the development in the habitat of gray whales. For this role playing lesson, students will take on various roles in a debate over the development of a salt production facility in the San Ignacio Lagoon concerning the...
Activity
2
2
National Park Service

It's Not Easy Being Grizz

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Grizzly bears can be up to 600 pounds and require a great deal of food, especially to survive hibernation. Comprised of multiple games, the third lesson of five only uses one setup. Pupils run around a large field, sorting and collecting...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I See a Coyote

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students role-play coyotes looking for natural resources.  In this natural resources lesson, students examine the relationship between animal life and the environment.  Students play a game that demonstrates how natural...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pika Chew

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work in collaborative teams with specific roles, use the Internet to research the behavior and ecology of pikas, make predictions about survival rates of pikas in different habitats and organize their data in graphs.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Receding Waters

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore the effect of environmental factors on ecosystems.  In this wildlife and ecology lesson, students identify and describe the stages in a frog's life cycle. Students participate in a simulation demonstrating the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Predator-Prey Relationships

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the interrelatedness of predators and prey in four different activities. They simulate an aquatic insect, fish, and osprey food chain during a poker chip game, play an M&M game to simulate the relationship between...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow....?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Understanding the effects of an introduced species on the population of native species
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Using DNA to Explore Lizard Phylogeny

For Teachers 6th - 12th
In a fun and interactive two-day lesson, learners sort anole lizard pictures by appearance. Next, they watch a video about the anoles and re-sort based on the information in the video. In addition to physical characteristics, budding...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Conservation Island

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Why not walk in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt and become a conservationist? After discussing issues and reasons for animal extinction, the class creates their own conservation plans. Each small group is given mock data regarding a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Ecosystems 4: Metabolism of Urban Ecosystems

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers discover that material and energy uses by a city come from outside the city boundaries. They realize that the pathway of these material is linear instead of cyclical as they are in natural ecosystems.

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