Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charting Diversity

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students organize different species of plans and animals according to various characteristics. Students then determine what characteristics enable them to survive in their habitat. Game ideas and activities are included.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Coyote Population: Kansas Prairies

For Teachers 4th - 7th
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...
Interactive
Curated OER

Ecology Vocabulary Exercise: Wetlands

For Students 7th - 8th
In this ecology vocabulary exercise:  wetlands worksheet, students read the definitions of 8 words, then categorize a species found in a wetland in their region.  This page has numerous links to helpful web resources.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Home Away From Home

For Teachers K - 4th
Students discover some of the threats to tigers in the wild and some of the challenges of keeping them in wildlife preserves and zoos. They then sketch and explain their designs for sensible tiger enclosures in zoos.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Autumn

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the cycle of nutrients in a forest. They research the concepts of decomposing and recycling within a forest.
Lesson Plan
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I Depend on You, You Depend on Me!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore the interdependency between humans and the ecosystems. They examine how uncontrolled development threatens the rain forests. They discuss how human actions affect the rain forest.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 6 - Our Important Wetlands and Uplands

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the benefits wetlands provide to man and nature. They compare types of wetlands in northeast or east-central Florida. They discover ways that uplands affect wetlands and water bodies.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biodiversity

For Teachers K
Students are challenged to examine the diversity of their own forest and make comparisons to a tropical rainforest. By exploring and grouping tree and insect types in their local forest, students will develop an understanding of diversity.
Lesson Plan
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High Rollaway Heroes

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students work collaboratively with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to preserve a local historical and environmentally fragile site. They conduct a survey of the plant and animal life at the site, and create an informational...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Endangered Species of PA

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research and publish information about an endangered species on the school's web site. In this endangered species lesson, students choose an at-risk species to research. They publish their research information on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is there a Doctor in the Treehouse?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the afflictions of trees and compare the health of a human to that tree.  In this tree lesson students complete an activity and create and present a report. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plant Lifecycles

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students examine the life cycle of plants. In this plants lesson, students identify the various stages of plants and their parts. Students compare the life cycle of a plant with that of an animal. Activities suggested can be modified for...
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

What do You Know About Marine Biology

For Students 6th - 12th
Show me what you know about the sea. Learners answer 10 questions about marine biology. The questions range from what evidence points to the origin of life to the biggest threat to oceans.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Can Clear of Tress Destroy a Community?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders brainstorm the relationship between trees and humans to determine how humans benefit from trees and how they benefit from us. They discuss oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, soil stablization, animal habitat, shade, medicine...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Leaf Litter Ecology Lab

For Students 7th - 9th Standards
Some organisms spend their entire lives in leaf litter. The third in a series of six is a great lesson exploring the community of leaf litter. Groups gather and then spread leaf litter over white paper and remove leaves/twigs while...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diverse Environments

For Teachers 3rd - 9th
Students explore life forms in different environments. After exploring different biomes within their state, students research different plant and animal species within each biome. They prepare a group report on one feature of the region...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Title: Biodiversity Analysis and Comparison Within the New Jersey Highlands

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners explore the concept of biodiversity. In this environmental science lesson, students use field methods to examine the trophic relationship that allows for species diversity.
Lesson Plan
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Products from the Rainforest

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders write a story about the journey a food has from the rainforest to your table. For this food lesson plan, 2nd graders research different foods and products that come from the rainforest and discover how it ended up in their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Amazon Food Chain

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Explore food chains in the Amazon Rainforest using this resource. Learners discuss the predator vs. prey relationships in the food chain. Then, they create a food web to describe this relationship. This is a simple and effective way to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biomes of the World (and Canada)

For Teachers 2nd - 7th
Young scholars explore environments by analyzing food chains. In this biome identification lesson, students define a list of environmental vocabulary terms such as tundra, rain-forest and desert. Young scholars create a fictional self...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Happy Habitats

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore different habitats. In this habitat lesson, students investigate four different habitats through participating in a WebQuest. Students create an animal web using Kidspiration or a video documentary upon completing the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Biomes of South America

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders complete a five-week unit investigating the eight major biomes of South America. They conduct Internet research, collect short-term and long-term climate data, and create a HyperStudio slideshow stack about a selected biome...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Lesson of the Kaibab

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers plot the Kaibab deer population from 1905 to 1939 and analyze the changes over time. In this populations lesson plan, students investigate the causes of changing populations of the Kaibab deer and they find the carrying...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Milkweed and Monarch Butterfly Mania

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students explore Earth science by completing a worksheet in class. In this botany lesson, students identify the relationship between the Milkweed plant and the butterflies which regularly feed on its nutrients. Students visit a list of...