Young people have an opportunity to make it a beautiful day in their neighborhoods with an activity that asks them to identify what is healthy and unhealthy in their community and develop some ideas about what they can do to fix the...

Young engineers are instructed to design and build their own solar water heaters. Then, they calculate the efficiency and cost and compare them to commercially available models. This is a full unit for pupils to apply their knowledge.

Scholars learn about a series of three challenges when they design a bus system for a small town. They determine the bus routes and then figure out the best type of fuel to use before considering the cost of going electric. Learners...

Students analyze how the environment and family history impacts personal health. For this personal health lesson, students discuss cancer and survey the school community about the disease. Students create a bulletin board about...

Young scholars participate in finding the slope of a sand pile and then other materials. In this geology lesson, students describe what happens to the piles of materials when they are poured through a funnel. Young scholars measure the...

Eleventh graders research and debate natural disasters that have occurred in their community. They assess whether these natural disasters were avoidable or were accidents. They investigate the extent of insurance coverage for disasters.

High schoolers investigate the greenhouse effect and examine the potential effects of climate change in the Arctic. They construct a mini-greenhouse and test its effect on temperature, analyze historical climate statistics, and conduct...

Students attempt to design and build the most stable "earthquke resistant" structure. They create model buildings and test them on a shake table to see which design holds up the best.

Second graders grow a classroom garden that acts as a living laboratory for cross-curricular activities. In this classroom garden lesson, 2nd graders follow directions to build and plant a garden that is used to teach math, science, and...

OSHA confirms that rules governing worker safety at nuclear power plants ranks higher than worker safety in offices. Scholars must consider safety, cost, alternatives, and other factors before recommending whether a town should build a...

Students explore how building a model can help them better understand the natural world. They identify common cycles or patterns in nature as well as examples of models in the classroom. After discussion, they choose a pattern or cycle...

Thoroughly written, this plan walks you through every detail of having your high school astronomers design scale models of the solar system. Complete instructions on building to scale, lesson procedures, and associated worksheets are all...

Fifth graders use modern technologies which allow them to gain a new, dynamic, and intersting understanding of themselves, their community, and the world. They focus on environmental education and the effect of the environment on plant...

Building on prior knowledge of the pervious lesson in the series, pupils explain the previous lesson to each other. Then they write a simple guide for a young child to read on the same topic. 

Students discuss and observe permafrost features in their local community and compare and contrast these features with those described in a novel. In this permafrost instructional activity, students invite an elder from their community...

Seventh graders engage in hands-on experiments and activities dealing with rivers and greenways. They also observe lectures and demonstrations by experts in water and river restoration. Students and teachers participate in canoe trips...

Students research a variety of local and world ecosystems. Students will create a collage to represent the biotic and abiotic factors and interactions important to their given ecosystem.Students will understand that an ecosystem is...

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...

Sixth graders investigate the role of wheat in society. In this Social Studies instructional activity, 6th graders explore wheat production from ancient civilizations to modern times. Students describe wheat's importance in shaping culture.

Students design a community with minimal environmental impact. They rate each other's community's presentation using the "Planning and Zoning Commission Rating Scale".

What happens at the end of a plant's life cycle? Show kids the natural way that plants show that they're decomposing, as well as the importance of compost, with a lesson about living organisms. After reading Log Cabin by Anne Schreiber,...

Students investigate how to become advocates in an authentic environmental issue, in this case the invasion of the zebra mussel invasion of the Great Lakes. They complete graphic organizers during Internet research, while reading...

Students explore how insects behave in their natural habitats and build dioramas to create an Insect World in their classroom. They investigate various insects and the roles they play in the environment. They write creative short...