Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: Oil Spill Cleanup

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students experiment by creating an oil spill and trying a number of clean up methods. They determine which methods are the least costly and most effective. They role play as an environmental engineer and as an oil company owner who must...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery Photo

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research the effects of soil erosion and pollution in the soil.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Got Water?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students determine that delivering clean, fresh water to citizens around the world involves and affects politics, economics, international relations, and technology. They brainstorm a list of factors that might affect their town's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 11 - Potable Water

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students investigate the meaning of potable water and water reuse. They define water quality and quantity problems. They complete worksheets, a quiz and design a poster.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Dilemma

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Young scholars read about and discuss the importance of easily available, clean drinking water. They participate in a role play scenario in which only one drinking fountain in the school has potable water.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Junior Engineering Surface Water

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Pupils experience the effects of pollution and erosion on a model of a watershed and explore ways to change the outcome.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Global Water

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students collect data on their household water use and calculate how many gallons of water a person uses per day. They investigate how students in different parts of the world get their drinking water.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Not So Neutral Views

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore ways to use indicators to distinguish between acids and bases. They conduct an experiment to model and discuss the harmful effect of acid rain in our living and non-living environment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating the Future

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students work together to develop and write scenerios for the future of hazardous waste cleanup. They share their scenerios with the class. They complete activities as well.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stream Table

For Teachers 3rd - Higher Ed
Students explore channelization, riparian habitats and soil erosion to find out about  the aquatic habitats in Iowa. In this aquatic habitats lesson, students define important terms and read an article about pollution. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Restoration Lesson

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore how pollution and invasive plants disrupt the ecosystem.  In this restoration lesson students list materials that pollute wetlands, how people can keep them clean and ways in which invasive plants establish. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Quality and Temperature

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars are led through three activities to explore the effect of temperature fluctuations on the growth and survival of aquatic plants, clams, and shrimp eggs.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Don't Trust Your Eyes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students brainstorm a list of possible actions that they could do to protect the water resources from pollution. They create hypotheses and conclusions by completing experiments and observing different pollutants.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air Pollution Over Where?

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students predict the movement of an air borne pollutant using their understanding of air currents. They determine which governments and/or communities should be contacted to be forewarned. They also explore the properties of their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Subsurface Contamination of Groundwater

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students evaluate the potential problems associated with underground storage tanks. They research the potential hazards from various subsurface pollutants and simulate a superfund site cleanup.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drinking Dirty Water

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students consider the importance of clean drinking water. They conduct a taste experiment with water, adding incremental drips of salt and vinegar to determine at which point it doesn't taste drinkable.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources

For Teachers 5th
Here's a fine instructional activity on renewable and non-renewable sources of energy for your 5th graders. In it, learners list a number of natural resources on the board, then try to sort the resources into appropriate categories. This...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Point Source vs. Non-point Source Pollution

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students define and differentiate between point source and non-point source pollution. Students discuss various types of pollution including air, water and land pollution, analyze demonstrations and complete a worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water in Our Lives: Kit Practice

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine a local water source using testing kits to determine water qualitiy. They identify the pollutants and contaminants in each sample. They determine if samples fall within an acceptable range for drinking water.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pollution Solutions

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students participate in a hands-on activity to determine how water is polluted and investigate steps in how to treat water. Students try to produce the cleanest water possible using the materials provided.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Air Pollution: Visible And Invisible

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders observe air pollution that is visible and invisible with experimentation. During the experiment the students collect data that needs analysis. The observations are recorded in the lab journal. The data also is represented...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Effect of Automobile Exhaust on Hydra in an Environmental Chamber

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the structure and habitat of the hydra in this lab lesson. Students determine if the hydra can be used as an indicator to detect pollution from automobile exhaust.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Acid Rain: An Air Pollutant

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders participate in an experiment in which they examine the effects of acid rain on buildings. They discover how huge a problem acid rain is not only to structures but to the environment. They gather pictures of acid rain to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Surprise of the Blue Water

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students become aware of factors that effect drinking water quality and how this could effect the health of their school environment. Students compose a business letter reporting their school water quality results to an appropriate...