Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Alien Invasions

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students create an educational pamphlet on the origins, spread and impact of invasive plant species in their community.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is Happening To My Species?

For Teachers K - 5th
Learners select and research an animal that lives in the rainforest of Manu, Peru. They watch and discuss a video, create masks and costumes to role-play various rainforest animals, conduct research, and write a short story of their...
Activity
Curated OER

The Bio-fuel Project: Creating Bio-diesel

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students investigate bio-fuel. In this investigative lesson, students create bio-fuel from vegetable oil waste. Students will analyze, predict, collect and synthesize data from their experiments with bio-fuel.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Energy is Stored in Wood?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
In this energy instructional activity, students create calorimeters out of soda cans and use them to calculate the amount of energy stored in different types of wood.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nine Lives, One Habitat

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore reintroduction of endangered species into new habitats. They research and promote possible sites for reintroducing populations of Florida panthers outside of their current habitat in the Big Cypress Swamp region of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

GLOBAL WARMING

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students form definitions of the greenhouse effect based on prior knowledge, class discussion, viewing diagrams, and participate in group brainstorming sessions and class discussions related to the impact of the greenhouse effect and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Energy Debate - Energy of Peanut

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students articulate the difference between the terms heat and temperature. They calculate the amount of energy associated with a given temperature rise and design an experiment to measure the energy of a fuel.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Chemistry of Ceramics

For Teachers 3rd - 10th
Students compare the characteristics of a fired porcelain sculpture to the clay used to create it. They discuss the physical and chemical changes that occur in the clay as it is heated and then create their own clay sculpture. This...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Chemistry of Ceramics

For Teachers K - 12th
Students make ceramic sculptures to understand how clay works. In this sculpture lesson, students learn about porcelain sculptures to understand how heat can turn clay into a hard ceramic surface. They then experiment with clay to make...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Giant Pandas

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students recognize that pandas are endangered. In this panda lesson, students research and create a pamphlet about pandas.  Students create a 30 second advertisement. Students participate in problem solving for solutions to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

'O'opu Life Cycle

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students investigate the life cycle of the 'o'opu also known as Hawaiian gobies.  In this amphidromous living lesson, students discuss the reproductive cycle, create props and an obstacle course to demonstrate the importance of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Shapes a MPA?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify the three types of MPA in California. In this marine science lesson, students analyze information provided to design a new MPA. They justify their reasoning in class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water: Our Most Important Beverage

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders create a KWL chart about water. In this environmental science instructional activity, 3rd graders demonstrate how much water on Earth is usable. They act out the different stages of the water cycle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Greenhouse Effect

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders research the Greenhouse Effect on the Internet. They use a variety of sources and take notes on the topic. They use ClarisWorks to type a report, use spellcheck, proof and edit. They can create a class bulletin board.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Want It! I Need It!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners compare the difference between needs and wants. In this needs vs. wants lesson plan, students play a sorting game with picture cards, depicting illustrations of survival needs and material things. Learners sort the picture cards...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Inquirer Ecosystem Article Lesson

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students discover new ways to preserve the ecosystem by completing graphic organizers.  In this environmental lesson plan, students read an article from the Natural Inquirer in small groups and fill out a graphic organizer based on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diaper Inquiry

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders carefully examine and investigate the products contained in a diaper. They particularly analyze the crystal sodium polyacrylate, a product developed for use in astronaut diapers. They follow the scientific method, forming...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water, Weather, and the World

For Teachers 4th - Higher Ed
Students in a special education classroom examine the role of weather and water in their lives. Each day, they add a symbol for the weather outside and identify the proper activities for the weather on that day. In groups, they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Superheroes of Public Land Management

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars study public land management agencies and their missions. They research a management agency, design a superhero to represent the agency and describe the skills and training needed to manage public lands. They include...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Water Web

For Students 5th - 8th
In this water web worksheet, students explore, analyze and discuss how weather stations interact with maintaining weather conditions and answer two essay questions and ten multiple choice questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forest Management Techniques

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers work as a group to determine a management plan for an imaginary forest. In this forestry lesson plan, students discuss timber management techniques and develop a list of pros and cons for the techniques. They develop a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evidence of Climate Change

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders examine climate change in the state of Colorado. For this climate lesson, 6th graders watch 2 video clips regarding the topic and research the subtopics- snow pack, precipitation, temperature, forest fires, river flow,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mountain Pine Beetles

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research and develop power point presentations that answer the question, "What is changing our forests?" In this ecology lesson, students research the niche of Pine Beetles and their increased effect on the forests in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Zoo Poo

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students use Internet research to determine the amount of carbon dioxide produced per unit energy for biomass and coal. In this alternative energy instructional activity, students research to find out how much energy and carbon dioxide...