Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section One: What is Biodiversity?
Four intriguing and scientific activities invite learners to explore the natural resources of their town. The activities cover concepts such as genetic traits, organizing species in a taxonomy, the differences between different species...
Montana State University
Everest Extremes: Biodiversity
How many animals can live in a climate as cold as Mount Everest's? Find out with a science lesson all about biodiversity. Activities include research, presentations, group work, coloring maps, and a simulation of a food web.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Two: Why is Biodiversity Important?
Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.
Rainforest Alliance
Colombia Biodiversity
How diverse is the rainforest? How much more diverse is a rain forest than a temperate forest? Explore these focus questions in a lesson that explores the plants, animals, and insects in forests. After listening to a reading about...
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...
American Physiological Society
Hoo Eats Who and What is What in Your Own Backyard?
Bird is the word! Teach life science scholars the importance of our feathered friends and the roles they play in our ecosystem. Using the plan, learners investigate the birds in their areas, determine the biotic and abiotic factors that...
NOAA
What Little Herc Saw
See the underwater world through a different pair of eyes! Middle school marine biologists identify deep-sea organisms by examining images taken by an ROV from the Okeanos Explorer. After determining what creatures lie beneath the...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lesson 2: Gorongosa National Park
How has Gorongosa National Park changed over time? Discover the park's rich history, dating back to primitive human times, through an interactive timeline and scientific reading. The second installment in an eight-part series explores...
University of Connecticut
Building Your Own Biosphere
On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Lesson 1: WildCam Gorongosa
Take a walk on the wild side! Episode one of an eight-part series of interactive lessons regarding Gorongosa National Park invites learners to become a part of the citizen science community. Scholars read a brief overview of the trail...
Michigan Sea Grant
Sea Lamprey
Learners discuss the types of technology that are used to control the population of sea lamprey in the Great Lakes. They explain the parasite/host relationship and understand the devastating impact invasive species have on ecosystems....
Michigan Sea Grant
Wetlands
Wetlands may not sound particularly ornate, but they are as important as any habitat! With a hands-on activity, young scientists build a wetland model and observe its many functions in action. They discover the importance of wetlands to...
ARKive
Temperate Rainforest in the Pacific Northwest
Explore the amazing temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. Your class starts by investigating the animals and plants of the Northwest, specifically Washington, and then research an animal population common to the area. In small...
LABScI
Taxonomy: Who is in My family?
Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...
LABScI
Population Dynamics: The Predator-Prey Lab
Wolves eat better when the bunny population increases, but how long does that last? A series of 12 biology lessons uses the sixth installment to explore the predator-prey relationship between bunny and wolf populations. Young scientists...
LABScI
Botany: The Plant Dissection Lab
Study everything about plants! The 12-part series of lessons continues with an examination of many aspects of plants. Components of the laboratory activity address the growth and structure of plants by evaluating familiar plants. The...
Space Awareness
Ocean Acidification
Learn the science behind ocean acidification and its effects on ocean wildlife. Young scientists conduct a laboratory investigation that monitors the acidity level of water. While burning a candle, learners capture the carbon dioxide in...
Space Awareness
Transforming Water Into Acid ... And Back
Greenhouse gases affect marine wildlife in life-threatening ways. Through experimentation, your classes explore the acidification of water from the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. As they introduce carbon dioxide to water, a pH...