Learners identify social and ecological considerations where human uses of land and trees conflict with each other and ecosystem needs, and describe importance of land-use management and planning through role play.

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...

Students investigate the laws of using land.  In this California Government lesson plan, students examine the many uses of land in California and find an environmental issue they care about.  Students write a letter to a...

Students comprehend the meaning of "pixel." They recognize patterns using pixels. Students observe how land use can be determined from a pixel. They measure off a 30 x 30-meter area to show the size of the surface area of one pixel....

Students explore paper rockets, learn about the Apollo Program and Apollo spin-offs, and use simple office supplies to design and create a new useful product. This amazing plan is incredibly well written and leads students through a...

Learners examine different types of land use by humans and evaluate the ways land is used in their local community. They also consider the environmental effects of the different types of land use. Students assume the role of community...

Students explore the concept of environmental stewardship. In this service learning lesson, students examine private property land use practices in order to study their impact on the environment.

Learners review and evaluate the ways land is covered and used in their local community. They consider the environmental effects of the different types of land use. Students act as community planning engineers to determine where to place...

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...

Ninth graders research, analyze, and orally defend an issue related to the use of geologic resources. They defend their position in written form by composing a letter to an appropriate source.

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...

Students research the impact that human activity had on Pennsylvania's water supply over time. In this water quality lesson plan, students research, discuss, and write about how Pennsylvania's water quality has been affected and what...

Learners examine NASA satellite observations of surface temperature and investigate the seasonal changes of land and water temperature.

Huygens spacecraft landed on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005, making it the farthest landing from Earth ever made by a spacecraft. In this hands-on activity, the 12th installment of 22, groups explore how density affects speed. To do this,...

How does your lifestyle measure up in terms of your ecological footprint? Young ecologists examine their impact on the planet using an insightful online calculator. A short quiz asks users to rank the size of their homes, their energy...

Students identify how the human activities in the state of Maryland have changed/ evolved over the last 50 years. They evaluate a land planning document and prepare a fictitious planning document for a given area of land.

Students recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation. They explain these changes using a reconstruction of the land use changes in the Hudson Valley composed of confetti, Ziploc bags and other...

Bring the ocean floor to life! Earth science scholars discover the process of deep sea mapping in the third installment in a series of five lessons about ocean exploration. The teacher's guide includes helpful resources, worksheets, and...

How do you create a map of the ocean floor without getting wet? Middle school oceanographers discover the process of bathymetric mapping in the third installment in a five-part series of lessons designed for seventh and eighth graders....

A very thorough lesson plan focuses on what plants need to grow and stay healthy. There are excellent reading activities and worksheets included in this fine plan. A terrific way to introduce a unit on plants and their needs.

Students discover that proteins that are the product of DNA translation are different for different species. They determine that by analyzing their mass and charge they can differentiate between two different species. They use some of...

Animals have evolved to communicate in different frequencies so they can hear each other throughout the rainforest. The first lesson in a three-part series begins by exploring an interactive story map online about the Borneo rainforest....

Help your class understand the design challenges when trying to land a remote spacecraft on a planet. Class members examine the provided information to understand how each component of a spacecraft is designed in order to safely land a...

One of the best parts about teaching the littlest learners is that you can create thematic lessons that use one topic to address every subject. Here is a nice set of thematic teaching ideas that uses turtles and tortoises to teach...