Curated OER
Urban Life: What Lives In Our Local Park?
Fifth graders participate in activities during a visit to Central Park. In this urban life lesson, 5th graders visit Central Park where they explore pond dipping, stream chemistry, and play a native plant Bingo game.
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time in Areas of Deforestation and Urbanization
Is qualitative or quantitative research more convincing when it comes to climate change? In the eighth lesson during this 21-part series, scholars begin by performing a quantitative analysis of deforestation and urbanization. Then, they...
Discovery Education
STEM Camp—Urban Infrastructure
Build a bridge to learning in a STEM-aligned unit about urban infrastructure. Young engineers explore the many aspects of civil planning and design in a five-day unit. Content includes the challenging aspects of balancing building with...
Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 5: In Defense Of Cities
Students explain that while cities have unattractive features, the density of human life enables energy efficiency, mass transit, recycling, and other benefits which are difficult or impossible in rural areas. This is the fifth in an...
Curated OER
Pharaoh Mountain Hike: Investigating Adirondack Life Zones
Students hike a local mountain and examine its life zones. They measure various components at each zone and collect leaf litter at the sites. At the mountain top, students make descriptive observations and complete a handout about the...
Curated OER
Urban Ecosystems 4: Metabolism of Urban Ecosystems
Cities are compared to living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Fourth in a five-part series of lessons, this one focuses on the flow of materials through a city. Links to interesting websites and images make your delivery of...
Curated OER
Cycles of Life in an Urban Habitat: Changes in Biodiversity
Second graders compare and contrast animate and inanimate objects. In this environmental science activity, 2nd graders create simple food webs. They observe their environment and create a collage about it.
Japan Society
A Remade Environment
Art is a wonderful way to express feelings of social unrest or change. Learners will examine the works of two contemporary Japanese artists, and how they each have used art to say something big. They analyze the work of Katsuhiro Saiki...
Curated OER
Introduction to Urban & Community Forestry: Why Do We Need Trees?
Twelfth graders construct a timeline to show changes and trends in the future of urban and community forestry. In this forestry lesson, 12th graders discuss the importance of trees. They read a timeline and add future events to show...
Curated OER
Urban Life: What Lives in Our Schoolyard?
Students research living organisms by exploring their school grounds. In this microscopic observation lesson, students gather materials, insects, and objects from their playground and schoolyard and bring them into class. Students...
Carnegie Mellon University
Transportation
Teach your environmental studies, life science, or engineering class how an internal combustion engine works using the first few slides of the accompanying presentation. Then, focus in on the resulting carbon emissions. Finally, take a...
Curated OER
Cell City Project - You are the Designer!
How can something as large as a city and as small as a cell have anything in common? That is exactly the question young scientists explore with this engaging life science project. Choosing to focus on a city, school, factory, or other...
Curated OER
Urban Changes
Students explore how landscapes undergo constant changes with urban development. They plan and build their own "city" by including features that have minimal resource demands to sustain the city itself.
Curated OER
Is Urban Sprawl Causing Us To Lose More Than Ground?
Young scholars map the changes that occur in the land as a result of urban sprawl. They explore the problems that paving and building have on the watershed and the habitats on the Northshore.
Curated OER
The Urban Explosion
Students investigate the uncontrolled development of the world's major cities. They define key vocabulary terms, view and discuss video excerpts, and complete a project that involves drawing a "perfect city," developing a plan to...
Marine Institute
Water Pollution
Sixth graders investigate the various types of pollutants found in water and ways to help prevent water pollution. Through a hands-on experiment, young scholars create samples of polluted water by mixing water with vegetable oil, dirt,...
Virginia Department of Education
Succession
The final lesson in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen in the future using...
Kenan Fellows
Sustainability: Learning for a Lifetime – The Importance of Water
Water is essential for life—and understanding the importance of clean drinking water is essential in understanding sustainability! Show your environmental science class the basics of water testing and treatment through a week-long...
University of Wisconsin
Rain Garden Species Selection
The activity really comes to life within its intended unit on starting a rain garden. Working in groups, participants research native plants and coordinate them with the conditions in the designated garden area. Give the class access to...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: Runoff, Impervious Surfaces, and Smart Development
Can a sidewalk increase the amount of pollution in local streams? Scholars learn the answer to this question though research and experimentation in the fifth unit in the six-part series. Pupils study runoff, impervious surfaces, and the...
Curated OER
Urban Rivers
Students discuss how urban rivers have shaped the region in which they live. They research river geology and ecology. They examine a case study of life and living along the Delaware River.
Curated OER
Flowering Phenology: How Do Plants Know When To Flower?
Students explore the biotic and abiotic factors that affect plant reproduction and the potential consequences of human activities on plant populations. The effects of urbanization are discussed as an influence in the consequences.
Curated OER
Problem Based Learning Scenario
Learners research about the function of MPA's. In this marine science lesson plan, students explore how humans influence changes near these areas. They explore different MPA's in the Great Lakes region.
Curated OER
From Forest to Farm to Urban Forest
Students participate in a group discuss revolving around urban development and their answers to worksheet questions. They analyze maps and historical records to compare and contrast the day to day activities of a forest manager.