Curated OER
Biodiversity - Who Cares?
Learners articulate some of the impacts of loss of biodiversity. They play a game that demonstrates why having a rich variety of life is important to the survival of ecosystems and how invasive species are threatening local biodiversity.
Curated OER
GPS Ecosystem (Ecotone) Scavenger Hunt
High schoolers describe the characteristics of an ecotone. In this ecotone lesson, students pick out their area and describe the visual appearance, conditions, ecosystem, biodiversity, predators, prey, and trees in their ecotone. They...
Curated OER
Standard 4-Ecosystems
In this ecosystem worksheet, students answer questions about energy pyramids, food chains, consumers, producers, decomposers, biotic and abiotic factors in an environment, natural selection and the importance of biodiversity in an...
Curated OER
Climate Change Effects on Organisms and Ecosystems: You are the Experts!
Seventh graders research about the effect of climate on different ecosystems. In this life science lesson, 7th graders present their research by creating a poster, infomercial, skit or song. They discuss how organisms adapt to climate...
Curated OER
Regents High School Examination: Living Environment 2005
The 2005 version of the Regents High School Examination in the area of ecology is as comprehensive as previous years' exams. It consists of 40 multiple choice questions on everything from the structure of DNA to the interactions within...
Curated OER
To Dam or Not to Dam
Young ecologists explore the Aswan Dam in Egypt via the internet. Each collaborative group is assigned a specific article about the ecological impact of the dam. Then they prepare a presentation to share with the rest of the class. Some...
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...
Curated OER
Community Action
Fifth graders decide how one uses resources within a particular bioregion. In this decision making lesson, 5th graders consider the biodiversity and complexity of the ecosystem. Students select a resource (water, paper, electricity)...
American Museum of Natural History
Web of Life Game
Get caught in a web of learning. Classmates play a game to build a web to model the interaction of species that live in a specific ecosystem. They each assume the role of one species and work together, passing a ball of twine to indicate...
American Museum of Natural History
Life in the City
Believe it or not, biodiversity exists even in areas of disturbed habitat. An interactive activity challenges learners to look for species with a magnifying lens in an image of a city habitat. Pop-up images and descriptions explain how...
Curated OER
Big Fleas Have Little Fleas
A benthic habitat hosts a vast collection of organisms and its structure influences the biodiversity. Middle-school marine biology explorers will discuss how corals impact structure, and therefore diversity, on the ocean floor. They draw...
Curated OER
Biodiversity Debate - Stream Side Science
Role play community members who are both for and against the construction of a dam. Research the pros and cons and then hold a classroom debate. This activity ideally follows a series of stream studies, links to which are included. Use...
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Fifth graders visit the playground to look for signs of life. They search for insects, birds, animal tracks, feathers, nests, trees, soil, etc. They then compose a class list that shows all findings in the schoolyard and post it in the...
Curated OER
A Lesson in Biodiversity: Making Comparisons Between Defensive Mechanisms Utilized by Marine Organisms
If your upper elementary or middle school marine biology learners are going to visit an aquarium, then here is a field trip activity guide for you. It is written specifically for The Maritime Aquarium, but the idea can be adapted to any...
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Students explore the biodiversity of the national marine sanctuaries. In this science lesson, students view a video about Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. Students work...
ARKive
Biodiversity and Evolution
Why is diversity in biology so important for an ecosystem? Explore biodiversity, evolution, and natural selection with a presentation for your biology class. It features clear information, activities for further understanding, and...
Montana Natural History Center
Studying Grassland Ecosystems
At first glance, grassland ecosystems might seem dull and uninteresting, but once you start to explore it's amazing the things you'll find! Through this series of engaging lessons, activities, and experiments, elementary students examine...
Curated OER
Ecosystems
Middle schoolers study ecosystems and the biodiversity within. In this ecosystems lesson students complete a lab activity and assess the biodiversity in their own community.
Curated OER
Introducing Biodiversity
Students are introduced to the life around them. As a class, they discuss their prior knowledge about the habitats in their local area. Using the internet, they identify the basic components needed for biodiversity and the major...
Curated OER
Measuring Biodiversity
Students collect species data from a mock intertidal community. In this biology lesson, students graph their data and analyze the species in it. They construct a species accumulation curve and present it to class.
Curated OER
Forest Ecosystem
Students become familiar with the temperate rainforest. In this forest ecosystem lesson, students identify the producers, consumers and decomposers in the forest ecosystem. Students sort cards and identify the trophic level of the...
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Students explore the diversity of different marine sanctuaries. In this biodiversity lesson students work in groups to explore a sanctuary.
Curated OER
Introducing Biodiversity
Young scholars investigate biodiversity by creating reports with their classmates. In this ecosystem lesson, students utilize the Internet to research the different types of life in our environment and different locations around the...
American Museum of Natural History
Being a Conservation Biologist: Eleanor Sterling
Eleanor Sterling responds to 21 questions posed by young learners about the challenges she faces as a woman conservation biologist. She also discusses her research of the aye-aye, an unusual animal that lives in Madagascar.