Students explore the forest. In this ecosystems lesson, students rotate through sensory activity centers, brainstorm, and read about temperate forests.

Students explore decomposition. Students define and describe  components of the decomposition process. Students make a composter in a terrarium. Students record observations and changes weekly, drawing conclusions about the results...

Students visit the Greenheart Canopy Walkway. In this environmental lesson, students experience a coastal rain forest ecosystem. Students interact and explore the different layers of the rain forest.

Students examine the effect of hazardous chemicals on humans. They discover how the chemicals are cleaned up and the facilities in their neighborhood. They identify federal and local agencies that oversee environmental hazards

Studying plant, animal, or insect life cycles? Pair a science unit with a reading comprehension worksheet on life cycles. The passage touches briefly on butterfly, plant, frog, and dog life cycles before prompting readers to answer six...

Celebrate fall with four pumpkin themed hands-on activities! After learning about pumpkins, scholars complete two activity sheets that reinforce estimation and word problems. They then plant pumpkin seeds and bake a pie in...

Students investigate the effects of soil temperature, water availability, photo period and other variables of the growth of purple loosestrife. They observe the growing conditions of plants and alter them by adding water, isolating the...

Students read about the Three Sisters of the crops that helped the Native Americans and plant a garden based on companion planting. In this crops lesson plan, students complete garden designs and then create their garden.

Students study plants and what they need to thrive and survive. They make plant extracts from chosen wetland plants and test their allelopathic effects on the germination rate, radicle growth, and hypocotyl growth of test seeds of other...

Students study what worms need to survive in different environments. They study how worm composting improves soil and reduce waste. They discuss composting techniques and present a puppet show about a worm's life.

Written for an agriculture curriculum, this presentation on organic matter is also informative for gardening or horticulture classes. It details the chemical makeup, affecting factors, functions, maintenance, and composting to create a...

The history of terrariums and how to construct one are presented in this PowerPoint. Each important step aspect of terrarium care is discussed: selecting a container, drainage, soil, types of plants, and maintenance. You will want to...

Students consider the effects of a wildfire on prairie life. They explore the ways that plants regenerate after a fire and create fictional plants that have adapted specifically to the prairie environment. They share models of their plants.

Fifth graders make rain forest terrariums in order to observe a simulated mini-environment. They place the layers and plants into container and place where it can be observed. They observe the closed water system in the container before...

Fifth graders conduct experiments involving plants. In this science lesson, 5th graders design an experiment involving plants. Students use the scientific method to design their experiments.

Third graders transplant, tend and observe a plant for each letter of the alphabet in a school garden. They work individually to research and select a plant that will grow in their local climate. Students then care for and observe the...

When learning about several different processes at a time, it can be difficult to differentiate between them. In the resource found here, you can see what your kids know about some of Earth's systems including the carbon, hydrologic,...

Learners predict what each animal in the story read says and then compare them. They pretend that a tree was cut down and write a new ending for the story. Students explain why the story is not true and create a Venn Diagram comparing...

Despite the typos and formatting issues, the Word document found here has some great potential. There are two questions that ask learners to put several events in a logical order; these could easily be made into a card sort activity....

Learners are introduced to the benefits of using Red Wiggler worms to produce compost. They identify the requirements for the worms and the methods to follow in order to produce compost. They draw a picture of a functioning worm bin.

Students discuss what happens to their wastewater. They read about the wastewater treatment process. Students are asked what types of things get flushed down toilets or goes down drains in sinks and showers. They are taught what happens...

There is so much to learn about the different cycles, processes, and parts of the biosphere. Using a pretest as a formative assessment to see what your budding ecologists already know is a great way to figure out which important areas...

Second graders listen to various, grade appropriate stories about trees. They create their own construction paper trees and discuss the importance of trees to the ecosystem and the importance of taking care of them. Finally, 2nd graders...

Fourth graders explore the interdependence of frogs and trees. They discuss the various things they need everyday to survive. Students select an animal from their local bioregion and research things that animal is dependent upon for...