What are the factors that limit growth and expansion? As part of their study of Catalina Island, class members view the West of the West's documentary Magic Isle and research William Wrigley and the Santa Catalina Island Company. After...

Teams design and build a windmill, under budget, that can lift an object. The groups evaluate and reflect on their own design, then on those produced by other teams. The goal is to determine which design is the most...

Middle schoolers examine the economic benefits, environmental losses and dangers of the shrimp farming industry on the coast of Ecuador. They read a script, role-play people involved in the shrimp business, and write an essay of the pros...

Students observe and identify the characteristics of the life cycle of a butterfly.

Mother Nature's Gravel Company is open for business! The unit includes four lessons covering weathering and erosion. Experiments are simple to complete and young geologists compare notes to see who makes the biggest ice...

Students establish a garden business. In this building a business lesson, students investigate how to create and build a business. Students build a business of selling plants and become entrepreneurs.

The link to Ideas for Resources: Geology Manual is no longer valid, but the link to How to Teach Using Role-Playing does. Choose a realistic problem related to your focus topic, assign roles, and send your geology learners off to...

Students explore GreenHybird.com and develop a list of questions car buyers might have. Students also attempt to answer the questions on GreenHybrid.com and then explore the answers with car dealers in the area before writing a clear and...

When choosing what foods to eat, there are a lot of factors to consider. To help make the decision a little easier, young learners work in small groups developing short plays, stories, or advertisements that address the different issues...

Regulations exist in many places from business to schools, but what about in our genes? Learn about gene regulation with an online interactive. It uses an animation to introduce the topic, many photographs of the scientists best known...

After reading about how wind turbines work to collect clean energy, groups brainstorm and design their own windmill. Within the provided financial and physical constraints, groups must build a working windmill using only the materials...

Not all energy sources are renewable, as learners investigate in this unit. Made up of six lessons that span a few weeks of instruction, the unit has learners examining US energy reserves and consumption, using data to draw conclusions...

Students study green economics. In this business ethics lesson, students listen to a lecture about environmentally stable businesses and respond to discussion questions based on the lecture.

Students assume the roles of members of the Cliffs of the Neuse Sate Park and must develop an action plan in response to a complaint about possible water quality problems and associated human illnesses. Students conduct research on the...

Twelfth graders examine  local, state, and/or national animal welfare organization.  For this Social Studies lesson, 12th graders research their identified organization.  Students develop a planned intervention...

Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. For this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...

Students investigate the concept of Ohm's Law and how it is used when finding a solution to an equation. They use properties of equality in order to find the solution for the variable. Students also apply a formula to real life problems...

Students work together to design a service learning activity for their community that would benefit the Tijuana estuary. Using the internet, they research the elements of a service learning project and plan their's accordingly. They...

Elementary schoolers discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They take a close look at some of the materials used: sand, salt, water, and shredded paper and evaluate the efficiency of each material. An incredible...

Students research and create a realistic plan for energy efficiency.  In this investigative lesson students answer questions and fill out a worksheet on energy. 

Students complete several plant life activities. In this botany lesson, students practice painting images that resemble plants they are familiar with as well as planting seeds outside of class. Students participate in a dramatic...

Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...

Sixth graders explore, analyze and study the effect and impact that humans have on the environment based on their choices as individuals, businesses and governments. They assess the balance between human activities and aquatic pollution.

Students examine the problems of the continued development of aquaculture. They also brainstorm ideas that people in this field would need to be successful.