K12 Reader
Ecosystems
Examine how living and non-living things work together in a reading passage about ecosystems. Class members read the text and then respond to five response questions that relate specifically to the content of the passage.
K12 Reader
Taiga Ecosystems
Introduce your class to another type of ecosystem, the taiga ecosystem, through a reading passage. Class members read the text and then respond to five reading questions about the content of the passage.
Curated OER
Endangered Marine Turtles
Students work in groups and experience what it is like to be a hatchling marine turtle by playing a board game. In this endangered marine turtles lesson, students research the threats to marine turtle hatchlings. Students then...
Curated OER
Exploring Arizona's Biotic Communities Lesson 1: Mapping Biotic Communities
As part of a unit on Arizona's biotic communities, young ecology learners create a map. They describe how humans and animals adapt in their habitat. They take notes and create graphic organizers from articles they read. Beautiful maps,...
K12 Reader
Taiga Ecosystems
After reading a short article about taiga ecosystems, middle schoolers are asked to identify the characteristics of this chilly environment.
Curated OER
Boom and Bust in the Ozark Forests
Here is a hard-hitting, cross-curricular lesson on the effects that the deforestation of the Ozark forests in the 19th century had on the people, animals, and ecosystems of the area. The Dr. Seuss book The Lorax is used as a way of...
DePaul University
Contrast and Evaluate Fact and Opinion
How can you tell when an author is expression an opinion or stating a fact? Use two short reading selections to emphasize the difference between a statement that you can prove and one that you can't. The first passage explains food...
Curated OER
Ecosystem Interactions Web
Students pick an ecosystem (forest, desert, coral reef, open ocean, grassland, mountain, savanna, etc.) and design an interaction web for their chosen ecosystem. Each group shares their ecosystem's web of life with the class.
Curated OER
Making Connections, Linking Population and the Environment
Students find out that all habitats have a carrying capacity. They explore how the world's human population has grown markedly in the 20th century, and that humans impact environmental health. Students investigate that people can and...
Curated OER
Hi, Deer!
Students collect, organize by table, and examine census data in a simulation, estimate the size of the population in the simulation and make predictions based on the collection of census simulation data.
Curated OER
Oh Deer! and English Learner Writing Extensions
Students follow deer through Yellowstone Park and record the number of deer from year to year. In this basic needs of deer lesson, students work in small groups and chart the number of deer each year and give explanations using as...
Curated OER
Meet One Picky Bird
Students complete a research project In this endangered species lesson plan, students use the "Think, Puzzle, Explore" method to learn about endangered species. Students research and write a report on the red-cockaded woodpecker.
Curated OER
Monitoring Life In The Rocky Intertidal Ecosystem
Students investigate marine life by researching aquatic organisms on the Internet. In this oceanography instructional activity, students monitor algae and animals of the ocean by identifying their population and habitat on data sheet ID...
Curated OER
Regents High School Examination: Living Environment 2010
This exam touches upon every topic within the typical first year biology course.. A broad variety of question styles give high schoolers every opportunity to show what they know. Why start from scratch when a comprehensive final exam is...
Curated OER
Zebra Mussels
In this zebra mussels worksheet, 7th graders read an article about zebra mussel populations in United States' lakes and rivers. Students read about the negative effects and some positive results and then answer several questions about...
Curated OER
The Living Environment
Students explore the cycles of an ecosystem. In this environmental science lesson, students work in groups to research the nitrogen cycle, the water cycle, or the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle. Students prepare a PowerPoint or other...
Curated OER
Surveying an Environment / Ecosystem
Students visit a local ecosystem to survey the plants and animals present and identify interactions between organisms. They identify interactions that occur between living organisms and their ecosystem and present their ecosystem to the...
Curated OER
Ecosystems
Third graders identify and define an Ecosystem and the basic needs of all animals. They collect pond water in a pickle jar. They observe the organisms that are in the jar to keep an ongoing record of the creatures and their population.
Curated OER
Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave
Fifth graders investigate the food chain by viewing video clips. In this food web lesson plan, 5th graders investigate populations and ecosystems by viewing a video in class as well as visiting web sites. Students utilize the Internet to...
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Students complete activities to study the importance of biodiversity. In this biodiversity lesson, students find images to categorize into organism groups and illustrate their interconnections. Students use measurement tools to study a...
Curated OER
Fisheries
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.
Curated OER
The Rain Forest
Learners explain the basics of the tropical rain forest ecosystem. They list the four general layers of vegetation found in the tropical rain forest.
Curated OER
Information Fluency Unit
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...
Curated OER
All in the (Insect) Family
Students participate in a series of activities in order to explore the diversity of insects. They explore how insects are grouped and categorized.