Lesson Plan
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Biodiversity

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Pupils complete activities to study the importance of biodiversity. In this biodiversity lesson, students find images to categorize into organism groups and illustrate their interconnections. Pupils use measurement tools to study a...
Organizer
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The Biosphere

For Students 7th - 9th
In this biosphere worksheet, students identify the different levels of organization that ecologists study. Students complete charts, sentences, and answer short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
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Biodiversity - Does It Really Matter?

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students examine biodiversity, ecosystems, and extinction. They are divided into groups to discuss why they think biodiversity is important.
Lesson Plan
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Fisheries

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research and report on the ocean's problems of disappearing or diminishing species around the world. students examine ecosystems and food chains and present their findings to a mock panel of science experts.
Lesson Plan
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Down, Dung and Dirty

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate the stages of succession in animal dung communities. They create a dung culture using fresh cow, goat or horse dung then record data on the fungal species that appear over a two week period.
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Oh Where, Oh Where, Can My Industry Be?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct observational studies of three ecosystems by visiting the Web World Wonders website. They gather data, compare/contrast the information, and decide on the establishment of a nuclear power plant at one site over the others.
Lesson Plan
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Blue Mud Shrimp Mystery

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students explore invasive species on an environment.  In this exploratory lesson students hypothesize why shrimp are on the decline and make a brochure or poster showing their results. 
Lesson Plan
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Forest Food Web

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students explore the elements of a forest ecosystem. They examine the elements needed to form a forest food web. Students construct and describe food webs that include nonliving elements of the ecosystem.
Lesson Plan
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Island Biogeography

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students work in small groups to sort through photos of an ecosystem following a major disturbance. They place these photos in chronological order to show the process of succession. They then do an experiment with yeast to show the...
Lesson Plan
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Alien Invasion

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students research how alien species can change an ecosystem. In this coral reef lesson, students describe invasive species and site evidence how these species came to be invasive and what control measures are possible.
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The Edge of Home

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explain why some species of plants and animals occur in more than one area. They watch as the teacher puts an overlapping circles on the chalkboard, students are asked to predict what kinds of things they would expect to find in...
Lesson Plan
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Oh Panther

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students play a game that replicates the balance of prey and predators in an ecosystem. In this physical education lesson, students follow the instructions to play "Oh Panther!" Students collect data regarding the game and discuss the...
Lesson Plan
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Understanding Interactions Among Local Species and the Local Environment

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scholars examine the differences between biotic and abiotic factors, explain the difference between habitat and niche and compare how organisms get their nutritional needs.  In this local environment instructional activity...
Lesson Plan
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Chewin' in the Chesapeake

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine a web page on food webs and select a habitat to research.  In this research activity students identify the organisms found in the food web and present their findings to the class.
Lesson Plan
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Information Fluency Unit

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders, after defining the task and searching for some creative strategies, role play being a Park Ranger who tries to save Big Bend from being removed from the National Park system in Texas. They support the keeping of Big Bend...
Lesson Plan
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The Rain Forest

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students acquire knowledge about the basics of the tropical rain forest ecosystem. They analyze the cause/effect relationship between humans attitudes and behavior and the evnvironment. Students list the four general layers of vegetation...
Lesson Plan
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The Rain Forest

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students explain the basics of the tropical rain forest ecosystem. They list the four general layers of vegetation found in the tropical rain forest.
Worksheet
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Currents 2003

For Students 6th - 8th
For this environment worksheet, middle schoolers read an article about growth and development of population and the environment. They respond to various types of questions throughout the article packet pertaining to what they read and why.
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Habitat survival

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders study different environments and how the food chain affects the survival of different animals. In this environments lesson plan, 6th graders share the visuals which describe the characteristics of the environment that they...
Lesson Plan
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Who Will Care for the Water?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students discover how humans impact natural resources. In this environmental lesson, students identify water resources in the local area and construct a T-chart to compare the positive and negative effects humans have on water resources.
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Soda Bottle Compost: Nutrient Cycling in Action

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate, through their own experimentation, the important role wildlife play in nutrient cycling. Earthworms and compost are used in this experiment and different experimental setups be evaluated.
Lesson Plan
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All in the (Insect) Family

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students participate in a series of activities in order to explore the diversity of insects. They explore how insects are grouped and categorized.
Worksheet
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Communities and Biomes

For Students 9th - 12th
In this communities worksheet, students will look at the interactions between biotic and abiotic factors and the effect these factors have on organism populations. Students will also order the succession steps that occur over time in an...
Lesson Plan
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Living Environment

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
For this environment worksheet students complete a series of multiple choice questions and short answers on plant and animal species and populations in an ecosystem.