Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Conservation

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students discuss the different uses of energy. They examine the consumption percentages to do household tasks. They discover ways to reduce their energy consumption.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Wind & Sun: Powerful Alternatives

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students examine the power that is possible from the sun through an interactive program. They also analyze how energy turns into different forms in different parts of the human body. They finally explore how wind is created and how wind...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Acid Rain in our State

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students conduct internet research on acid rain, a serious environmental problem. They examine the pH levels of rainwater for their state, collect data from their community and investigate the causes and solutions for acid rain.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Decisions: Packaging and the Environment

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students work in small groups to redesign the packaging of several common items. They attempt to reach the goal of 25% reduction in packaging materials currently used and explore the impact of various materials and designs in landfills...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interactions Everywhere!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine interactions within the environment and environmental engineering careers. They discuss and view photos of natural and manmade environments, explore various websites, create a web to identify interactions between living...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting Thirsty?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the concept of drought and its significance as a natural hazard. In this drought lesson plan, students complete 13 questions on an "Introduction to Drought as an Ecosystem Stressor" worksheet and discuss the responses as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design a Service Learning Activity

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students work together to design a service learning activity for their community that would benefit the Tijuana estuary. Using the internet, they research the elements of a service learning project and plan their's accordingly. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science: Making Career Connections

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore careers in oceanography. They compare and contrast requirements for careers in the field, and determine what high school courses would help to prepare them. Finally, they create a computer-based project related to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Karst Topography

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students observe a movie about karst topography over the Internet and note nonpoint source pollution. They discuss ways to manage pollution and their experiences with any polltion sources.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Watershed Awareness

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students investigate the relationship between upstream influences in their watershed and the watershed's estuary. They apply the scientific process to test a hypothesis while examining the impact of upland activities on estuaries.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Arctic cleanup

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders examine pollution problems and how it affects the community.  In this arctic cleanup lesson students study ocean currents and how they affect pollution. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Acid Attack

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the effect of chemical erosion on statues and monuments. They use chalk to see what happens when limestone is placed in liquids with different pH values. They also discover several things that engineers are doing to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oil Spill

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders watch a video about the types of products made from oil or oil used as energy to produce the product. In groups, they identify the positive and negative aspects of oil and participate in various activities. They use the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Erosion

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study what erosion is, what causes it, and ways to slow its progress. They complete an experiment that depicts soil moving down a slope as water is poured on it to show how moving water erodes land. Next, they observe...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Estuaries, Estuarine Habitats, and Adaptations

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students conduct research on estuaries. They design and construct an estuary, describe the physical characteristics of an estuary, and create a diagram illustrating an estuarine food web.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World Wide Winds

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars recognize that global winds move in specific directions in specific latitudes and describe that in a written form. They relate the motion of the wind belts to historical navigation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rain Shadows and Sea Breezes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars plot the average rainfall for a variety of cities in the United States. Using the map, they work together to determine patterns on which toxicants are transported through the air. They determine the impacts of various...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scales, Scutes, and Skins

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students identify the various adaptations of reptiles and amphibians. After distinguishing between reptiles and amphibians, students discuss the ways in which their adaptations aid in their survival. They participate in a hands on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fighting Disease

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders explore the concept of medical intervention in African nations. In this geography lesson, 7th graders research primary and secondary sources in search of information regarding Guinea worm disease. Students use their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Digging Up The Facts

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research environmental issues. In this environmental lesson, students use the Internet to research an environmental problem and list ten facts about it. Students write a summary of facts.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Case Study - An Ecotour

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students plan an ecotour of the Australian rainforest. They prepare fact sheets about animals, create a mural, prepare a advertising brochure and a guided tour of the rainforest.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Arbor Day

For Teachers 1st
First graders study the importance of trees to our environment. they make their own version of the story by completing the following sentence and then completing an illustration for their writing. "A tree can be ______."
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Gardening

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners study the effect of pesticides on plants and insects. In this gardening lesson, students discuss the importance of insects. They define pesticides, evaluate their effectiveness and the problems they might cause. Learners...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ethanol

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students explore how to fuel cars with corn and then test different items to explore the process of fermentation.