Curated OER
LEAGUE: Into the Desert: Lesson 1
Students discover the human and physical characteristics of desert regions. In this regions lesson, students describe deserts around the world, discuss animals, vegetation, water conservation, and how humans can care for the land.
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Desert Plant Detectives
Students examine and categorize plants in their own schoolyard desert garden and then observe other plant areas of their schoolyard.
Curated OER
Ecology
Young scholars explore, experience and experiment identifying the human impact on the environment of vegetative differences within the same biome. They assess what causes deserts, rain forests, savannahs, tundras and saguaros and how...
Curated OER
Deserts: How Do You Define One?
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 utilize art...
Curated OER
Exploring Hawaiian Mountain Zones
Fourth graders watch a video that describes the climate and vegetation zones of Hawaii. They describe the different physical conditions that create vegetation zones from the sea to the mountains. In groups, they create an illustrated...
Curated OER
Desert Xeriscaping
Students recognize native species of desert vegetation while examining the need for water conservation. They design and create a xeriscape landscape using a variety of materials.
Curated OER
Desert Xeriscaping
Seventh graders identify native species of desert vegetation, plan a xeriscape landscape, and recognize the importance of water conservation.
PBS
Mountain Weather: Orographic Lift
Why do so many mountain ranges exist next to a desert? As part of a larger series, PBS 6-8 Weather and Climate answers this question. The presentation offers diagrams and photographs of the development of a rain shadow. From Oregon to...
Curated OER
Plant Diversity and Distribution
Students construct a defined plot on school grounds and observed patterns in plant life. They count trees, shrubs, cacti and record on a data sheet. They compare data and generate a plant diversity overlook for their school.
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Climate Types
In this weather worksheet, students identify the type of vegetation found in particular regions across the United States. Then they list the six groups of climates in the Köppen Classification System. Students also describe the...
Curated OER
World Climates
For this climate worksheet, students will identify 5 different biomes, solve 4 number puzzles, unscramble 6 world biomes, and 4 word puzzles about climate and biomes.
National Wildlife Federation
Get Your Techno On
Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...
Teach Engineering
Biomes and Population Dynamics - Balance Within Natural Systems
How large can a population become? The fifth installment of a nine-part unit teaches young ecologists about limiting factors that determine the carrying capacity of species in the Sonoran Desert. Here is a PowerPoint to help present this...
National Park Service
Living & Non-Living Interactions
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 learning about the...
Curated OER
Animals Around Us
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...
California Academy of Science
Exploring the Impacts of Feeding the World
Approximately 50 percent of people in the world who are chronically hungry work in agriculture. While it seems counter-intuitive, the farther you live from a farm, the more food options are available. Scholars explore concepts related to...
Curated OER
Yummy Plant Parts
Students examine plant parts. For this botany lesson, students examine various edible plants and how their adaptations help them to grow. They observe stems, leaves, roots and flowers of plants and discuss the relationship between the...
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Rainforests: What Are They?
Second graders investigate rain forests by reading a habitat checklist. In this environment lesson plan, 2nd graders read the book The Great Kapok Tree, and discuss what characteristics make up a rain forest. Students explore a habitat...
Curated OER
California Biodiversity
Students examine several maps of California exhibiting features such as precipitation, topography, and vegetation. They look for patterns that might be the source of or influence biodiversity in different regions. They pay particular...
Curated OER
Lets Think About...Plants
Students bring in various vegetables and make friendship soup. They plant seeds and discuss the things plants need to grow and thrive.
Curated OER
His and Her-bariums
Students collect and identify plant species from campus, create a home herbarium, and compare with the plant species from school.
Baylor College
We Need Water
There's nothing quite like a glass of ice-cold, freshly squeezed lemonade. Lesson seven of this series explains how the water humans need to survive can come in many forms. Teach your class about how much water humans require every day...
Curated OER
Anthropogenic Biomes
If you teach a man to fish, he will never go hungry—or he will overfish and permanently damage the ecosystem? Address the traditional biomes as well as the human-included ecosystems and contrasts the biotic and abiotic factors in each....
Curated OER
The Gopher Tortoise
Can you believe the gopher tortoise was around when the dinosaurs were walking the Earth. Learn all about this creature that is one of Florida's most popular reptiles. Hands-on-activities and a glossary full of scientific terms make this...