California Academy of Science
Climate Change Impacts
Getting kids thinking about climate change now, will hopefully push them into action when they become adults. Young environmentalists discuss the evidence and causes of climate change seen in the state of California. They brainstorm ways...
ARKive
Dinner at the Reef
Fine dining can happen anywhere, even in the coral reefs. Budding environmentalists explore marine food chains, predator-prey relationships and the importance of a balanced ecosystem. These important concepts are facilitated through a...
PBS
What We Do Adds Up
With so many tons of trash going into landfills each year, your environmentalists can calculate how much the average person is tossing away. This activity has a series of questions not only requiring math, but a conscious thought of how...
Curated OER
Water in Earth's Hydrosphere
Environmentalists test stream water for temperature, pH, and turbidity. Each group shares their information and then the class makes an overall evaluation of the water quality. A slide show sets the backdrop for the teaching portion and...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Protecting Your Drinking Water
Having a clean, reliable source of drinking water is essential for any community, but in many cases this is easier said than done. Engage young environmentalists in exploring the five factors affecting vulnerability of a groundwater...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Building an Model Aquifer
With almost half of Americans relying on groundwater supplies, it is more important than ever to protect aquifers from possible contaminants. Working in small groups, young environmentalists explore this problem as they create an aquifer...
Australian Government
The Great Artesian Basin
Covering 23% of the continent and holding 64,900 cubic kilometers of water, the Great Artesian Basin is the primary source of water for much of inland Australia. Using detailed student worksheets, experiments, and case studies, young...
Safe Drinking Water Foundation
I Want to Be an Engineer
Environmentalists turn into engineers! Your class explores the perspectives of an engineer and water keeper, including the necessary steps that are taken in order to build a water treatment facility.
Safe Drinking Water Foundation
Making a Difference
After learning about the effects of water pollution, your class will discuss ways to make people in their community aware of the importance of water conservation. Then, your young environmentalists will write a letter to the local...
Polk County Education
Winter Survival/Hike
Hibernation isn't just about staying fed, it's about staying warm. Young environmentalists explore the importance of staying warm in the wilderness with a short lesson about surviving in the wild. Using gelatin to represent warm-blooded...
Consumers Energy
The Cost of Electricity
How much is your toaster costing you every day? Young environmentalists calculate the monetary costs of household appliances based on their average consumption of wattage.
University of Florida
Protecting Our Water Resources
Teach young environmentalists to protect their planet's resources with a set of interactive experiments. Kindergartners and other youngsters learn about watersheds and the water cycle, while older elementary learners focus on fertilizer...
Intel
Biomes in Action
A STEM project-based learning lesson, number four in a series of 10, focuses on human impacts to biomes around the world. Groups work together as environmentalists to research a specific biome, investigating human impacts on it. From...
Beyond Benign
Leave Only Footprints
You don't need to tip-toe around an enlightening resource. Young environmentalists learn about ecological footprints in the fourth lesson plan of 15. Answering a questionnaire helps them see how their own families and homes affect the...
Science Matters
Oh Heron
Two teams—the environmentalists and herons—play four rounds of the game, Oh Heron. Using hand symbols to represent food, shelter, and water, players locate their match to produce more herons while those unmatched decompose.
Teach Engineering
Extinction Prevention via Engineering
It's time to save endangered species through engineering. The third lesson in a nine-part Life Science unit has young environmentalists study species extinction. An engaging discussion leads to some ideas on how to use engineering design...
Kenan Fellows
Let's Learn About Stewardship and River Basins
What does it mean to be a good steward? Middle school environmentalists learn to care for their state's waterways through research, a guest speaker, and poster activity. Groups must locate and learn more about a river basin and the human...
American Museum of Natural History
Going, Going...Gone?
Young environmentalists consider how scientists are attempting to save endangered species. They read about what causes extinction and steps to take to minimize the threats.
ReadWriteThink
Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues
Young environmentalists learn how to craft a persuasive essay about an environmental issue they consider important. After studying the components of a persuasive essay and examining a student model, writers brainstorm possible topics and...
Curated OER
Hoot: List-Group-Label
Word association is a great way to explore vocabulary and new ideas. In a unit about Carl Hiassen's Hoot, kids think about the word environmentalist and come up with additional words that they associate with environmentalism on sticky...
Curated OER
Maya Lin - Artist, Architect, Environmentalist
Sixth graders explore the life of Maya Lin and analyze the impact of her architectural philosophy on her work. They trace the history of the Vietnam Memorial from its conception by Maya Lin, to the present day. A time line is created of...
Curated OER
Historical Climate Statistics
Are we getting hotter? Let’s look at a sample locality where historical records exist and see what we can find out. Here is an activity that has young environmentalists plotting the average winter temperature in England from 900-1900. It...
Curated OER
Is there Treasure in Trash?
More people, more garbage! Young environmentalists graph population growth against the amount of garbage generated per year and find a linear model that best fits the data. This is an older resource that could benefit from more recent...
Curated OER
Floating Fishes: Fishing Expedition
A referenced PowerPoint is not included, but this lesson can still make an impact with emerging environmentalists. After introducing them to the facts about overfishing, they experiment with a fishing simulation using colored beads and...