SF Environment
Waste-Less Lunch
Is it possible to have a waste-less lunch? Can your class become leaders in conservation? Discuss the importance of reducing waste during lunch time with a fun lesson plan that can be extended to everyday practices. First the class...
Curated OER
Food chains and webs
Here is an extremely simplistic look at food chains and webs. It depicts three different food chains, each containing a plant, plant eater, and meat-eater. Learners fill in the missing part of each chain by using the images provided at...
Curated OER
Duck Squad-Super Savers
Students "save" a rare duck (or goose, or swan) from extinction by "building" a sanctuary to protect and breed it in captivity. They research what the bird needs and draw the species and its enclosure.
Curated OER
Survival Strategies and Adaptation in Insects
Third graders investigate insects and their adaptations that help them survive. In this survival strategies instructional activity, 3rd graders view photographs of insects and discuss the adaptations that each one uses to survive,...
Curated OER
Build an Anchialine Pond
Students explore biology by conducting a nature experiment. In this pond examination lesson, students utilize recycled materials, play-doh and water to recreate a pond and its inhabitants. Students identify the different elements within...
Curated OER
The Life Cycle of Butterflies, Day 1
Describe each stage in the life cycle of a butterfly. Second graders will identify the stages of the life cycle of the butterfly, using correct vocabulary. They will also share their new understandings about the stages of the life cycle...
Curated OER
Sustainable Livestock
Students investigate healthy eating habits by researching livestock. In this food sustainability lesson, students research the negative impact factory farming has on our environment due to pollution. Students define agricultural...
Curated OER
Explore the World through Habitat
Open a world of discovery with habitat-related lessons.
DePaul University
Contrast and Evaluate Fact and Opinion
How can you tell when an author is expression an opinion or stating a fact? Use two short reading selections to emphasize the difference between a statement that you can prove and one that you can't. The first passage explains food...
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...
American Museum of Natural History
What Is Climate Change?
So many factors show that climate change has arrived. Learners read through an online resource that explains the data and the consequences of climate change. They also review strategies for slowing or even reversing the global influence.
BBC
Sound and Hearing
First and second graders recognize that sound is generated in a variety of ways, and that it comes from many different sources. They explore tone and volume, realizing that there are different ways to describe sound. Some musical...
BBC
Light and Shadows
Light is such an amazing thing! Elementary schoolers explore the wonderful world of light and shadow. The lesson is meant to be carried out on a whiteboard. Objects are placed in front of a light source, and learners must predict what...
Curated OER
When Ants Fly
Here is a great instructional activity on constructing line graphs. Learners identify common characteristics of birds, ants common needs of all living things. They also write a story from the perspective of an ant or a bird that has lost...
Curated OER
Wetland Metaphors
Students describe the characteristics of wetlands and identify their ecological functions. They inspect items and use them to create metaphors about wetlands.
American Museum of Natural History
Life in the City
Believe it or not, biodiversity exists even in areas of disturbed habitat. An interactive activity challenges learners to look for species with a magnifying lens in an image of a city habitat. Pop-up images and descriptions explain how...
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Schoolyard Biodiversity Investigation Educator Guide
In 1980, in the tropical rainforests of Panama, scientists discovered 1,200 species of beetles living in and around just 19 trees, with most of the species new to science—that's biodiversity! In the activity, learners work in teams to...
Curated OER
The Conscription Crises
Students explore roles played by Canada's prime ministers The Right Honorable Sir Wilfrid Laurier and The Right Honorable iam Lyon Mackenzie King with regards to the conscription crises of World War I and World War II.
Curated OER
Endangered Species of PA
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...
Curated OER
Martha Who?
Learners explore how the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, a range of temperatures, soil composition. They are...
Curated OER
Cloze Passage: Destruction of the Earth
In this destruction of the earth cloze procedure worksheet, students fill in the 12 missing words in the passage to help identify their reading level.
Curated OER
A Penguin is a Bird
Learners compare and contrast the ways that penguins are different to flying birds.