Learners brainstorm lists of land uses, gather pictures of them, and create a collage. They research land uses in their communities by contacting local agencies. They make charts of the land use planning systems and their impact on...

Middle schoolers use historical aerial photographs and current aerial photographs to compare the change over time to the land. In this land changing lesson plan, students analyze, compare, contrast, and list the land change in their own...

Students work in small groups on a problem based learning activity. Students are presented with a problem of buying land to use for educational purposes only and must determine if it is feasible to buy it based on soil analysis and plant...

Young citizens construct an understanding of urban planning in this cross-curricular unit. Covering every aspect of city development from the political, economic, and social influences to sustainable building practices, this...

In this forest planning lesson plan, learners visit the 400-acre wood website and work in groups to learn about the specific aspects of forest development. Students create, label and color a forest planning map and present their map...

Young scholars recognize the characteristics of a rural area. They analyze land use to determine whether the map is of a rural (country) area or an urban (city) area.

Students investigate why the soil is important to our lives. In this natural resources lesson, students have a farmer as a guest speaker. Students begin to understand how farmers use and protect our natural resource. Students write...

Students visit numerous places to help in their understanding of Ecology. In this biology lesson plan, students will learn about characteristics and how to identify numerous plants and animals. This lesson allows for many field trip...

Young surveyors look for patterns in water flow around campus. Using a map of the school (that you will need to create), they mark the direction of the path of water. They also perform calculations for the volume that becomes runoff. The...

Ninth graders are introduced to GPS technology. They complete fieldwork as they visit a specific area of their community to identify and map types of land use in the surveyed area. They use the collected data to create a digital map.

Students study the levels of forest ownership and how each are managed.  In this land ownership activity students research timber companies and complete a writing assignment. 

Here is a fine lesson plan on geology designed for high schoolers. Learners use rocks, fossils, and other geological clues to determine the geology of an area. Then, they make recommendations to a fictitious city council about the...

Use a list of environmentally related words to engage learners in a discussion about ecosystem conservation legislation. As a class, read "Aware of Political Ecosystem, Property Rights Advocate Embraces Conservation Plan." Then, present...

Students view a video about the state of the environment. They discover the topic of sustainable agriculture. They identify problems and how to solve them.

Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...

Requiring more than one class period, this resource takes earth science learners on a journey through a watershed. Using ArcGIS Explorer, an online geographic information system, they view maps of watersheds and surrounding landscapes....

After a concise introduction to the water cycle, junior meteorologists access NOAA's average snowfall data. They choose a city to examine in terms of precipitation. Then they look at historical snowfall data and use it to predict snow...

Students apply an interactive smog visualization application, Smog City to see how ozone levels are related to population levels and emissions. They study associated vocabulary and complete a worksheet.

Students create a poster about the three main uses of forest lands. In this forest lesson plan, students focus on its economic use, environmental use, and recreation use.

Students listen to the story "Clean Air, Dirty Air" by Lynne Patchett and discover the main types of pollution and how these affect their bodies. In this pollution lesson, students work in small groups to create a machine to prevent...

Students are taught that a watershed is, what types of basic land cover are impermeable and permeable to water. They trace the flow of water around their school and around their home. Students determine what watershed their school is a...

Complete a comparison of the wetlands found in New York and Louisiana. Using various research methods, gather data on the wetlands found in New York and Louisiana, the animals, conditions, etc. Data is used to create a brief report on...

Students discuss Landsat Satellites and the use of the images they provide as well as the purpose of keeping records of the information from the satellites. The class works in groups to complete a worksheet on short term and long term...

Students design a community with minimal environmental impact. They rate each other's community's presentation using the "Planning and Zoning Commission Rating Scale".