Teach Engineering
Designing a Winning Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Don't desert a resource on the desert! Scholars work in groups to build on their ideas from the previous lesson to design a sustainable guest village in the Saguaro National Park. Each group produces a PowerPoint presentation to share...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Sustainable Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Brainstorm ideas to design a sustainable guest village in the Sonoran Desert. The first installment of a nine-part unit teaches young environmental scientists about the basics of the Saguaro National Park and about sustainable design....
Curated OER
The Wilderness Concept: Our National Parks, History and Issues
Students examine the history of the National parks. In groups, they discuss the concepts of conservation and preservation. They discuss the use of natural resources and how some are renewable and non-renewable. To end the lesson, they...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Exploring Biomes in Gorongosa National Park
Diversity in a biome leads to some unique characteristics vital to the natural environment. Young scholars use an interactive map to explore the vegetation and climate of the Gorongosa National Park. They collect climate data to compare...
Curated OER
Glacier Bay Seabirds
A gorgeous collection of photographs take viewers on a virtual tour or Glacier Bay National Park with a focus on the seabirds living in the area. Adaptations to the polar climate are highlighted, different species of birds are displayed,...
Curated OER
Designing a Poster to Communicate Information: Yellowstone National Park
It's not hard to convince someone to visit the beauty of Yellowstone National Park. But there's more than meets the eye in this region! Learners watch a short historical video and conduct research before creating an advertisement for...
Teach Engineering
Food Chains and Food Webs - Balance within Natural Systems
Feast on an informative resource. Scholars learn about food chains and food webs and how these interactions give information about the natural community. A PowerPoint presentation provides information about this concept.
Curated OER
Looking for a Windshield Experience
Students identify American geography by participating in a national parks activity. In this road trip lesson, students view the Ken Burns documentary "National Parks" and identify the importance of automobiles in the park system....
Curated OER
This is America
Young scholars explore world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. In this national parks lesson, students view the Ken Burns documentary about the subject and identify the contributions of individuals in support of the parks...
Curated OER
Yellowstone Fires
Students assume the role of environmental biologists and help several government agencies resolve the debate surrounding "let it burn" policies in national parks.
Teach Engineering
Efficiency of an Electromechanical System
How efficient is a motor in a LEGO set? Future engineers conduct an activity where a LEGO motor-generator system raises an object to a specified height. They then show what they learned and use their measurements to calculate the energy...
Curated OER
Schools Going Solar
If your school has a photovoltaic system, you can use this lesson plan to guide learners through an investigation of the factors affecting performance. Familiarize yourself with the data acquisition system, and then provide data for your...
Curated OER
Who Me?
Students examine their place in society by looking closely at themselves as well as their role in their family and community. Students also examine the origin of the National Parks system and how it contributes to National Identity.
Curated OER
Protect Me, Protect Me Not?
Students brainstorm natural resources found in Canadian National Parks. They, in teams, defend and support conservation efforts and give a presentation. Evaluation consists of speaking on both pro and con sides of a national parks' issue.
Curated OER
TE Lesson: Can You Taste It?
Students investigate how animals adapt to use its senses to identify foods that are nutritious or noxious. They determine how they associate foods with other things such as birthdays. They discuss the role of the nervous system in the...
Curated OER
Yellowstone fires: To Burn or Not to Burn
Students determine the causes of the 1988 Yellowstone fire. They list firefighting techniques, describe the aftermath, and list the ecological outcomes of the fire. They perform experiments with ignitable materials found in Yellowstone...
Curated OER
Amusement Park Physics
Students get up close and personal with principles of motion. In this physics lesson, students collect and analyze acceleration data on amusement park rides. Students use CBLs to collect data in this lesson.
Curated OER
Don't Flip Out Over the Metric System
Students identify the most appropriate metric prefix to use. They describe the usefulness of a system based on tens. Students compare the metric system to the American system of measurement. They develop a metric flip book to use a...
Curated OER
Puzzle it Out
Pupils study the Earth's climatic system and construct a puzzle that names all of the pieces of the components involved. In this Climate lesson, students draw a picture on a puzzle piece depicting a specific component. Pupils then...
Curated OER
More Than a Campground
Fourth graders participate in a class disucssion on the term "habitat". The class brainstorms on what makes a national park special. In small groups, they research a a national park and create a mural depicting those factors that make...
Curated OER
Biodiversity: El Imposible National Park, El Salvador
Fifth graders explore the concept of how the more diverse an ecosystem is, the more interdependence of species exists within that system. The complex relationships among diverse species are difficult to identify. As species disappear or...
Curated OER
John Muir in Yosemite
Students explore different ways to value the environment and participate in a simulation of a historical debate to protect Yosemite as a National Park. They are assigned various roles in the debate in which they must research and present...
Curated OER
Gallery Walk Questions about Energy and Material Cycles
Students state the physical, chemical or biological processes associated with these environments: Pelagic ocean zone, California coat Cave, Indiana Barrier island beach, North Carolina Sand dune, Dunes National Park, Colorado Wetland and...
Curated OER
Destination Outer Space
Fourth graders use effective writing skills, their imagination, and their knowledge of the nine planets as they create travel pamphlets of the solar system.