Curated OER
Carbon Dioxide Heats It Up
Young scholars design an investigation to test whether vegetation in an area helps regulate the ambient air temperature. They make comparisons between the investigation and global changes in climate. In groups, they present their...
Virginia Department of Education
Owl Family Natural Selection
How do genetic mutations within a population lead to future variations? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question and more upon completing an activity on natural selection. The entire class participates in a...
Virginia Department of Education
Evidence of Evolution
What an impression fossils make! In this activity, aspiring paleontologists view fossils and construct a timeline to further understand how the lack of natural adaptation caused historical organisms to become extinct. While they...
Curated OER
Seeds of Wetland Life
Learners participate in several activities on seed exploration. In this biology lesson, students classify seeds according to their dispersal method. They explain the different adaptations plant have to disperse their seeds.
Curated OER
Wetland Plant Detectives
Sixth graders identify plants in the wetlands. In this plant detectives lesson, 6th graders complete a scavenger hunt on a local reserve, record observations, and respond in their journals.
Curated OER
The Coyote Population: Kansas Prairies
Students discover animal lifestyles by researching their ecosystem. In this animal statistics lesson, students research the geography of Kansas and discuss the reasons why wild animals survive in the open Kansas fields. Students complete...
Curated OER
Forest Management Dilemmas
Students discuss forest management dilemmas and make uninformed decisions as to whether they are appropriate management techniques. They draw bar graphs of the class opinion for each dilemma. They use media sources to become more...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature
Students are shown how temperature affects dissolved oxygen and they create a graph showing this relationship. They think about the adaptations of animals to live in different water temperatures. Students test four different water...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen Introduction
High schoolers are shown how dissolved oxygen enters the water. They are taught the difference between a water sample that has been exposed to the air and one that has not. Students brainstorm what organisms need to survive. They use...
Curated OER
Watershed Tourist
Students recognize and categorize different bodies of water. In this watershed and water environments lesson, students "Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean." Students define the different bodies of water and sort from smallest to...
Curated OER
Lake Superior Ecology Unit
Sixth graders research Lake Superior and its ecosystem. Students investigate the lake's cycles of mixing and stratification and how these cycles affect the biology of the lake. This lesson contains five days of activities.
Curated OER
Temperature and Brine Shrimp Eggs
Students determine the optimal temperature at which brine shrimp eggs hatch and develop. They evaluate the changes, if any, which occur in a brine shrimp culture at various temperatures.
Curated OER
Sensational Soil
Fourth and fifth graders explore soil by taking a simulated field trip under the earth. They go to an Internet site that runs a simulation which charges them with finding a source of pollution that could destroy all of Earth's soil, and...
Curated OER
Measurement of Biotic and Abiotic Objects
Students identify biotic and abiotic factors. In this environmental study activity, students conduct a series of experiments to collect and record data and draw conclusions based on the results.
Curated OER
Temperate Forests vs. Wetlands
Young scholars compare and contrast the temperate forest and wetlands by researching them in groups. In this forest lesson plan, students identify the economic, ecological, and social benefits of each.
NOAA
Coastal Dynamics
Life's a beach! The 16th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program first examines different types of coasts and how they form. An activity then has learners investigate the shoreline...
Curated OER
Sustainable Forestry
High schoolers evaluate a forest for timber harvest and discuss potential impacts of logging. For this sustainable forestry lesson, they work in groups in a forested plot to choose trees to cut based on species and stem diameter and then...
Curated OER
Skull Science
What can your class learn from a skull? With proper facilitation, they can learn about diet, physical adaptations, special differences, and even the environment. Pupils will examine a series of mammal skulls and pelts to help them...
Curated OER
Rain Forests: A Disappearing Act?
Young scholars examine and locate rainforests on maps, and research the patterns of their destruction. They develop a bar graph of rainfall and temperature data, write a journal entry, and research the people, animals, and...
Curated OER
Field Guide to Schoolyard Insects and Their Relatives
Your entire class works together to create an illustrated insect field guide. The intent is that they venture outside of the classroom, find a critter, and then research it using reference materials, insect books, and the Internet for...
Curated OER
How Much Water is in That River?
Pupils practice measurement using the Hudson River. They calculate the discharge measurement at a location on the Hudson River using ingenuity and a topographic map.
National Wildlife Federation
What is DBH?
When measuring the circumference of a tree, does it matter how high you place the measuring tape? Most scholars have never considered this question, but scientists know that measurement techniques must be standardized. The 13th...
Curated OER
Properties of Water with a Splash of Color
Students explore the properties of water. In this cross curriculum art and physical science lesson plan, students experiment with a variety of materials to demonstrate the cohesive forces and adhesion of water. Students create a water...
Curated OER
Using Vegetation, Precipitation, and Surface Temperature to Study Climate Zones
Students begin their examination of the climate zones found around the world. Using a software program, they identify the relationship between the vegetation, climate and temperatures of the different zones. They also plot coordinates...