Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Desert Adaptations: Water

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students experiment with methods of water conservation. In this water conservation lesson plan, students explore the importance of water for plants and animals in a desert biome.
Lesson Plan
Aquarium of the Pacific

Ecosystem Comparison

For Teachers 4th
Fifth graders examine plants and animals in two ecosystems and compare them. For this ecosystem survival lesson, 5th graders compare and contrast a coral reef and kelp forest ecosystem. Students investigate the abiotic and biotic...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigate the Sonoran Desert

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils read article in Chain Reaction about the Sonoran Desert and answer questions.
Worksheet
Curated OER

What Lives in the Deserts?

For Students 1st - 2nd
In this desert worksheet, students will investigate the factors that make a desert by completing four different desert fact questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Operation Desert Learn

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars familiarize themselves with factors that contribute to the creation of deserts and where deserts are located. They research the adaptations that both plants and animals need to make in the harsh conditions. They explore...
Lesson Plan
Desert Discoveries

Who Depends on the Saguaro?

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
Young scientists design a picture of a saguaro cactus that shows the cactus and some of the animals and plants that interact with it. There are many of these special relationships between plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert. Your...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Can Depend On me

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Discover the natural beauty of California. With a conservation bent, this activity delves into some of the attributes that make this state unique. Learners discuss Yosemite and the forest habitat. They focus on the things plants and...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

Finding Fossils

For Students 6th - 12th
How does one go about finding fossils? Find out with an informative webpage that looks at the digging process, showcases rocks and common fossils, helpful tips, and a list of archeological do's and don'ts. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

LEAGUE: Into the Desert: Lesson 1

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discover the human and physical characteristics of desert regions. In this regions instructional activity, students describe deserts around the world, discuss animals, vegetation, water conservation, and how humans can care for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Desert Alphabet Book

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore world geography by researching a science book with their classmates. In this desert identification instructional activity, students utilize a U.S. map to locate the geographical locations of deserts. Students create an...
Lesson Plan
Desert Discovery

Saguaro Parts

For Teachers 3rd
Young biologists identify the basic structures of a saguaro cactus. They study the functions of each of the structures, and label them on a picture of a saguaro cactus embedded in the plan. This simple, and easy-to-implement...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Desert Dynamics

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the various types of plants and animals found in the deserts of Utah. In groups, they discover how the plants and animals have adapted to the harsh environment. To end the instructional activity, they compare and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystems and Remote Sensing

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seed Plants: Angiosperms

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students describe flowering plants and see why angiosperms are the most successful plants.  In this angiosperms lesson students identify angiosperms and explain how they reproduce. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classifying Conundrum

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify plant characteristics from different environments and communicate that information in different ways. They use a simple scheme to classify Utah plants and animals and make observations and record them in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Defining Drought

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the hydrologic impacts of drought. Humans can change the course of the water cycle, to some extent, to meet their needs, but can they do so without imposing risks on the plants and animals?
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roxaboxen

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders discuss the story "Roxaboxen." In this reading comprehension lesson, 3rd graders discover new vocabulary words, discuss the story using story mapping, and take a reading test. Students investigate safety in the desert and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animals Around Us

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students view and discuss a Discovery Channel video that compares the animals found in four different habitats. They compare and contrast the characteristics of forests, deserts, wetlands and grasslands then choose one to depict in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deserts: How Do You Define One?

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders identify what constitutes as a desert by reading a habitat checklist.  In this environment lesson, 2nd graders read a nature website to discover facts about the desert and where they are located.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baa, Ram, Ewe....Sheep Tales

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students compare real and make believe animal behaviors by drawing and comparing them. In this real and make believe animals lesson plan, students compare the animal behaviors, express how colors create a mood in artwork, and investigate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Day and Night in the Desert

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students illustrate scenes showing day and nighttime activities in the desert. They include plant and animal life including predators and prey.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigation 1 - Wetlands, Forests & Deserts

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine surface terrain and how plants and animals are affected by the temperatures and precipitation that elevation and terrain creates. Then students predict what type of environment plants and animals live in.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Desert Adaptations

For Students 5th - 10th
In this desert adaptations worksheet, students are given a water filled sponge which represents an animal. Students observe their "animal" for a 24 hour period and conserve the water in the sponge as best they can. They measure and...
Lesson Plan
Desert Discoveries

Sonoran Desert ABC's

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders make alphabet cards that depict the wide variety of life forms found in the Sonoran Desert. A terrific lesson that combines language arts, visual arts, and life science all into one wonderful package. Each of the cards has...