Curated OER
Locating Echo
Students read the book The Adventure of Echo the Bat. In this animal science lesson, students read the book and create a chart labeled "Land Feature," "Habitat," and "Food." Students fill in the table according to where the character...
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Exploring the Temperate Forest: Biodiversity and Interdependence
Students examine the consequences of cutting down large amounts of forests throughout the world. In groups, they use the internet to complete a module taking them on a tour through different temperate forests. To end the lesson, they...
Curated OER
School Forest
Sixth graders explore the concept of biodiversity. For this biodiversity lesson, 6th graders discover a variety of planets and animals that live in forests, and how a rotting log benefits that environment. Students also...
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Dirt Life
Young scholars select and collect soil samples from a variety of locations (schoolyard, home, etc.). They do this lab after an interest-generating discussion about "dirt" and microbes. Students make a dilution in sterile water, plate...
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Worming Your Way Through the Soil
Students study soil, living and non-living particles in the soil, and learn about composting. In this soil study lesson, students study soil samples and discuss the living and non-living components of the soil. Students classify the...
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Goals of the Diversity of Life Unit
Students are introduced to the unit on the importance of diversity of life and the role that interdependence plays in our worlds. this is part of a multi-lesson unit on the diversity of life.
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Soil Scrolls
Third graders examine soil samples and explore the what happens in each layer of the subsoil. They work in cooperative groups to create a scroll that shows what takes place in each layer, and discuss why much of the activity is in the...
Curated OER
Rain Forests: A Disappearing Act?
Students examine and locate rainforests on maps, and research the patterns of their destruction. They develop a bar graph of rainfall and temperature data, write a journal entry, and research the people, animals, and plants/products of...
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Classy
Students explore the classification system in this seven lessons unit. The diversity of life forms and their characteristics are examined using a microscope. Kingdoms, classes, and families are investigated.
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Eyes on the Estuaries
Students study estuaries and compare several ones in the U.S. In this estuary lesson plan students interpret data and compare the distribution of different species.
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Desert Views - First Impressions: Travelers on the Gila Trail
Pupils draw animals and plants that are described to them as they read passages of people who traveled across the Gila Trail in the Southwest. In this Gila Trail lesson plan, students also write a letter describing a plant or animal in...
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Insect Biology and Ecology: A Primer
Students explore insects and closely related organisms. They examine the growth and development of a lady beetle. Students classify insects and organize them. They investigate pest management.
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How Can Clear of Tress Destroy a Community?
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...
Biology Junction
Protists: The World of Protists
More than 200,000 species of protists exist, living on land and in water around the planet. Scholars view the diversity of protists in an interesting presentation. It divides protists into three groups: animal-like protists, plant-like...
Curated OER
Dead Zones: Why Are the Waters Dying?
Young scholars investigate the effects of pollution on marine ecosystems. They read and discuss an article, identify the effects of pollution on marine life, conduct research on local nutrient pollution, and conduct local water quality...
Curated OER
Using Natural Resources In Chinese And Japanese Art
Students discuss the uses and availability of natural resources in China and Japan and how those resources effected visual art from each country. This lesson includes two possible enrichment activities.
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Rx Rainforest:
Middle schoolers identify plant diversity in the rainforest and the role that animals and habitats play in scientific research. They differentiate between natural habitat and laboratory research and work collaboratively to produce a...
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Tropical Forest Food Chain
Learners explore the interdependence of the animals and plants in tropical rainforests. They explore the importance of conserving biodiversity and tropical food chains. They create a tropical forest food chain and identify species that...
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Dive and Discover the Ocean
Third graders investigate the three zones of the ocean and the plants and animals that live in each zone. Projects produced are shared with classmates in a share circle where the unique features of the animal and zone selected are...
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Exploring Forest Objects
Young scholars explore the forest. In this ecosystems lesson, students rotate through sensory activity centers, brainstorm, and read about temperate forests.
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Red Tail Ridge Wetland Study Project
Fifth graders use a real life scenario of the wetlands to gather information on creatures of the habitat. For this wetlands lesson, 5th graders research the interdependence of organisms in a healthy habitat. Students collected...
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Where Oh Where Did the Rainwater Go?
Third graders conduct an experiment to determine how water moves through different soils found in the Apalachicola River watershed. They read a scenario, conduct the experiment, answer follow-up questions, and draw the water movement...
Curated OER
Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...
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The Energy Debate - Global Warming
Students describe what global warming is, what causes global warming and the impact to our world. They study the threat of global warming and its relationship to the use of fossil fuels.