TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Dam Impacts
While the creation of a dam provides many benefits, it can have negative impacts on local ecosystems. Students learn about the major environmental impacts of dams and the engineering solutions used to address them.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Sound for Sight
Echolocation is the ability to orient by transmitting sound and receiving echoes from objects in the environment. As a result of a Marco-Polo type activity and subsequent instructional activity, students learn basic concepts of...
Other
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics
Studies involving earth sciences, marine sciences and oceanography.
Other
The Habitable Planet Simulation
This activity is designed to accompany an interactive on the Annenberg Learner website. Students investigate the changes that take place in an ecosystem when they alter the organisms in a food web. As they work with the simulation, they...
Geography 4 kids
Geography4 kids.com: Biosphere: Ecosystems
Ecosystems is an excellent resource for understanding what an ecosystem is and goes on to explain the types of ecosystems, known as biomes. Check out the wonderful panoramic photographs of different biomes.
Into the Outdoors
Into the Outdoors: Comparing Fish Life Cycles
A video exploring life cycles of different species living in the same ecosystem and the influence of the ecosystem on the animal's life. Students will learn about comparisons in the animals' sexual maturity age, quantity of eggs laid,...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: Ocean Planet
Detailed website that was a companion to a 1995 traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian. Links to lesson plans and other educational materials are at the bottom of the page. Enter the exhibition to explore the world of the ocean.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Got Energy? Spinning a Food Web
Students learn about energy flow in food webs, including the roles of the sun, producers, consumers and decomposers in the energy cycle. They model a food web and create diagrams of food webs using their own drawings and/or images from...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Biology: Ecology Ii
Through a series of multi-media learning activities, students will assess the dependence of all organisms on one another and the flow of energy and matter within their ecosystems.
University of Michigan
University of Michigan: Climate Change and Michigan Forests
A comprehensive 10-instructional activity unit on how climate change affects the forests of Michigan. Covers many of the NGSS life science standards for middle school. Includes teacher's guide, PowerPoints, video links, student handouts,...
Other
American Forests
Promotes the benefits of maintaining a sustainable future for American forests. Outlines initiative to fight urban sprawl and its negative effects on the environment.
Other
Iguazu Argentina
Everything you'd want to know to plan a trip to Iguazu Falls. Features news of the Falls area, location information, a map, history of the National Park, how the falls were formed, and beautiful photographs. Be sure to watch the video!
Utah State Office of Education
Utah Science: What Do You Mean, We Are Different?
Across the state of Utah one will observe a variety of environments such as wetlands, desert, and forest. Here are several activities highlighting the many ecosystems found within one state.
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Experiment With Ecosystems
Learn what happens to different populations of organisms as their ecosystem changes. Design your own experiment and make your own guesses with what the result will be with this virtual ecosystem. Also experiment with producer/consumer...
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Predators and Prey
Did you ever want to be a hawk? In this virtual ecosystem, students will take on the role of a hawk and try to catch rabbits on a snowy field. Students will see which rabbits have adaptations that allow them to blend into the environment...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Biome in a Baggie
This ZOOMSci video segment shows how to create self-contained environments and explore how plants grow under different conditions. [3:24]
The Wonder of Science
The Wonder of Science: 3 Ess2 2: World Climates
Work samples, phenomena, assessment templates, and videos that directly address standard 3-ESS2-2: world climates.
Globio
Glossopedia: Environments
This article defines "environment" as a collection of animals and plants in a specific landscape and climate. The concept of differing types of environments is introduced. The impact of humans on environments and all environments'...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Farming the Desert: The Science Behind Desertification
This lesson introduces students to the factors that contribute to desertification and solutions that have been implemented in the Sahel region of West Africa. A 21-page teaching guide is also provided. [4:39]
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Ecology Disrupted: Chesapeake Bay Food Web
In this comprehensive lesson unit, students examine how overfishing has affected Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem. They will study food webs from the past and present and graph related data.
Center for Educational Technologies
Nasa Classroom of the Future: Temperate Rainforest: Ecology and Land Use
Use these resources to study the ecology of the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest and issues surrounding its preservation.
Center for Educational Technologies
Nasa Classroom of the Future: Exploring the Environment: Tropical Poison
An educational module on biodiversity, economic growth, and medical research in rainforests. This can be used by students or teachers. It has a huge amount of information on agriculture, biodiversity, medicinal plants, animals, and more.
Other
Serengeti National Park
The beautiful, official site for the Serengeti National Park provides extensive information about the Serengeti ecosystem, physical features, wildlife, and taking a safari through the region. As an added bonus, learn some Swahili.
Nature Research
Nature Education: Energy Economics in Ecosystems
This article discusses how plants and microorganisms, until recently, have mostly controlled how much carbon dioxide is released into an ecosystem, and explains how this process works. Humans' burning of fossil fuels has upset the...