Students investigate the global food chain by creating a visual chart.  For this ecology lesson, students discover the elements needed for life to sustain itself, contrasting living things vs. non living things.  Students fill...

Students use maps and mathematics to determine the appropriate panther population in a given area. In this Florida ecology lesson plan, students research the area requirements of male and female panther and use a map to help calculate...

Learners explore botany by participating in a language arts activity. In this garden poetry lesson, students read the classic poem "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" and discuss the imagery and rhyming methods used. Learners examine their own...

Here is a lesson outline that prompts elementary students to graph and analyze data regarding fish caught along the Hudson River. They will review vocabulary and complete 2 worksheets which can be accessed by clicking on the provided links.

Use this lesson in your classroom for a quick and easy way to review animal habitats. Young children use magazine clippings, pictures provided, or other resources to create a collage depicting an animal habitat. This is a great way to...

Observing plant succession doesn't have to be a decade long process. A hands-on instructional activity has groups study succession over a designated space. Learners use their observation skills to record differences in plant and soil...

Sometimes, the best solution to a problem can be found by walking in someone else's shoes. Here, scholars use character cards to take on the roles of people around the world. They determine how their character's...

Scholars become experts on the eight major impacts of climate change through a jigsaw and grand conversation. They then research and present what they learned about effects specific to their region.    

After three eye-opening lessons about our environment, scholars revisit a 10-question survey, reflect on their new-found knowledge, and take action by writing to a representative or creating a public service announcement about...

Discover how copying nature can be beneficial to humans. Scholars read articles about examples of biomimicry and its potential applications. Along the way, they learn about Nature's Nine Laws and how they relate to biomimicry. This is...

Thinking about designing a project for your social studies or environmental science classes? Use an overview of a project that prompts class groups to research an environmental issue.

Motivate young conservationists to stand up and make a change. After learning about the efforts in Cascade Nation Park to reduce carbon emissions in order to preserve the wilderness, students work in groups creating action plans for...

Roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty with this elementary and middle school compost lesson plan. All you need is a large plastic container, a couple old newspapers, some organic waste, and a few hundred worms and you're ready...

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.

Here is a lesson that walks youth through an online carbon footprint calculator produced by the University of California, Berkeley. Once learners finish inputting information, they compete a worksheet with the results. This is simple,...

What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...

Take young naturalists on an exploration of the world's tropical rainforests with this extensive collection of lessons and activities. Whether its creating leaf and flower prints or investigating the absorption spectrum of...

"When you are thirsty, does your mother pour water on your head?" Of course not! Nor do you pour water on the top of plants when watering them. Instruction like this are included in an activity that shows little learners how to water...

Plan an environmentally friendly field day for your young conservationists with this collection of activities and resources. Whether it's bowling with plastic bags full of crumpled up newspaper and empty plastic...

Camille Seaman's photoessay, "Witnessing Icebergs" documents just a tip of the problem of climate change through images of icebergs in both the Arctic and Antarctic polar regions. After viewing the haunting images, viewers respond...

Searching for an eccentric way to enhance lessons on ecosystems while ensuring pupils remain creative and motivated? Upon viewing The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, designated groups design and construct a pop-up book that...

The final lesson plan in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen in the...

As of 2015, there are 53,481 oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Scholars determine how species diversity is impacted based on the ecosystem's distance from a drilling platform.  It focuses on finding the mean of data sets...

Part two in a series of four explores the effects of climate on succession or the changing of plant species in a forest. Groups review how to identify trees and then spend a day in the field collecting extensive data on trees to...