Students use a map to locate New Orleans and watch a video on the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. As a class, they watch a demonstration on how a wetland can reduce the impact of a hurricane. In groups, they perform their own...

The "Engage" section of a wetlands lesson plan asks young ecologists to examine a wetlands poster. You can easily find one online and display it using a projector. Pupils immerse a piece of sandstone and a piece of granite in water to...

Learners perform experiments to explore differences in wind speed and forest density. Through experimentation and observation, students realize that changes in vegetation affect the atmosphere and wind conditions. They create a model...

Students explore U.S. geography by completing an observational activity with classmates. In this New Mexico lesson, students research the Chihuahuan Desert by visiting several Internet sites. Students write the data they've collected in...

Students examine specific skills in assessing water quality from a holistic approach. They assess the health of a local watershed and identify problems in the local watershed and suggest remediation.

Learners investigate watersheds and wetlands. In this watersheds and wetlands lesson, students complete a 17 step lesson plan to build a watershed. Learners then complete another 9 step lesson to build a watershed with wetlands and...

Students list characteristics of wetland and describe the functions of a wetland.

Students experience the effects of pollution and erosion on a model of a watershed and explore ways to change the outcome.

Students examine the extinction of plants and animals through loss of habitat. They investigate the effects of global warming. They use a computer model to analyze the impact of global warming on tree growth and distirbution...

Fifth graders explore the effects of overpopulation in an ecosystem while applying the scientific method. They discuss overpopulation and its meaning. Students as an organism competes for space in an overpopulated area. They plant...

Students complete four activities to investigate how reef ecology can change. They perform experiments to show how sewage discharge can affect a marine ecosystem, look at substances that don't dissolve in water, examine wave action...

Middle schoolers explore methods of preserving Hawaii's ocean ecosystem. Using underwater cameras, students take pictures of the underwater reef. They perform activities to determine the history and degradation of the coal reef. While...

Sixth graders create timelines of John Muir's life while playing a game based on John Muir's travels. They discover that John Muir traveled around the world to compare and contrast natural phenomena and to speak out about preserving...

Third graders model the tag and recapture of bears and use proportions to estimate the population of the bears in their forest. This is a statistical sampling method used by scientists and naturalists to determine population numbers.

Students explore a model that illustrates the spread of HIV through an adolescent population. Acting in the role of epidemiologists, students explore the dilemmas of HIV infection presented by a simulation. Students produce a play, skit,...

Students research estuaries. In this estuaries instructional activity, students discuss the differences in a bay and an ocean. Students watch a PowerPoint of the properties of the estuaries and geography of Barnegat Bay. Students...

Eighth graders examine how humans affect various ecosystems. In this ecology lesson, 8th graders discuss different ways that contaminants enter the stream. They explain the consequences of eutrophication in lakes.

High schoolers evaluate a forest for timber harvest and discuss potential impacts of logging. For this sustainable forestry lesson, they work in groups in a forested plot to choose trees to cut based on species and stem diameter and then...

Students explore orienteering and how to use a compass. They explore the importance of forests and identify some of the trees in a local forest.

What makes each one of us unique? Lead your class in this exciting and educational activity as you uncover traits that show how each individual is different from another. Pupils explore facts about DNA technology and predict the...

Students identify biotic and abiotic factors. In this environmental study lesson, students conduct a series of experiments to collect and record data and draw conclusions based on the results. 

Students design and build an ecologically balanced living space based on the principles of an old growth forest. They take one part of a house (or structure in the community) and redesign it according to the principles of the forest cycle.

Eighth graders construct a watershed model. In this earth science activity, 8th graders compare the Great Lakes watershed to others in the country. They explain its in the ecosystem.

High schoolers study major forests and their history. They see what sustainable forestry and silviculture is and discuss the topics on the attached worksheet.