Curated OER
Who Cares About the Forest?
Young scholars explore the natural environment and people's views, in particular the Native Americans. In this environment instructional activity students discover the many uses of wood as it pertains to our natural resources.
Curated OER
Speed of a Forest Stream
Students study stream speed. In this stream speed lesson students complete an activity and formulate an opinion and study its effects.
Curated OER
Stanley Park and Aquarium Field Trip
Students explore the beauty of British Columbia by participating in a class field trip. In this ecosystem observation lesson, students investigate the Vancouver Aquarium and Stanley Park, one of the largest parks in North America....
Curated OER
Ecosystem Relationships
Students study the relationship between the types of trees, soil, and organisms. They investigate the complex interactions and cycles at work in the forest and understand the factors that contribute to a healthy, sustainable forest.
Serendip
Changing Biological Communities – Disturbance and Succession
After cutting down a forest to make a farm, how long would it take the environment to turn an abandoned farm back into a forest? Scholars study this exact scenario while they interpret many charts and graphs of the changing ecosystems as...
Virginia Department of Education
Evidence of Evolution
What an impression fossils make! In this activity, aspiring paleontologists view fossils and construct a timeline to further understand how the lack of natural adaptation caused historical organisms to become extinct. While they...
Curated OER
An Uncertain Future
High schoolers study the distribution of large mammals and carnivores in an ecosystem. Using maps and historical data, they examine areas for these animals such as refuges, untouched forests, prairies and grasslands. Students determine...
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #11: How Light Affects Water
Scientists listen to the story of Wadja Egnankou who works to save African mangrove forests. They experiment with refraction and the introduction of particulate matter to water. They conclude with creative writing about the need for a...
Curated OER
Volcanoes A-Z
Students examine terminology related to the study of volcanoes, geology, or the ecosystems that surround them. They make note of key words while reading exhibits, interpretive signs, or labels, or hearing them from each other, their...
Curated OER
Tree Identification - Up Close And Personal
Fourth graders go to an outdoor area and are assigned a specific native plant to observe. They read about and answer questions about their tree. They draw the tree. Finally, 4th graders teach the rest of the class about their tree.
Curated OER
Links in a Food Chain
Little ones make costumes and act out a rhyme in which there are daisies, bugs, wrens, snakes, and foxes that all interact in a food web. This would be a memorable activity for primary life scientists to participate in as a wrap-up...
Curated OER
Land Associations
Middle schoolers identify and explore life forms of various biomes, define transitional regions, examine effects of abiotic and biotic interactions, research a biome, and produce newspaper that features environmental information. Lessons...
Curated OER
Treasure Hunt
Students actively search a the ground outside and find several types of leaves, lichen, feathers and trash. They place items into journals, write entries, draw pictures and ask questions about the items found on their exploration.
Curated OER
Habitat, What is That?
Students explore animal habitats. In this environmental stewardship instructional activity, students match animals to their habitats in a classroom activity. Students also observe a firefly habitat and read Fireflies. Students create...
Curated OER
Tree Top Canopy Field Trip
Students visit the Greenheart Canopy Walkway. In this environmental lesson, students experience a coastal rain forest ecosystem. Students interact and explore the different layers of the rain forest.
Curated OER
Paper Makers
Students make recycled paper out of scrap paper, water, and leaves. In this natural resources lesson plan, students learn about conservation of the forest and how we can use recycled paper to fuel our paper supply.
Curated OER
Lynn Canyon Field Trip
Learners take a field trip to Lynn Canyon. In this Temperate Forest lesson, students visit the Lynn Canyon. Learners collect samples of leaves and water to take with them to study. Students view the samples under a microscope.
Curated OER
Pennsylvania Watersheds
Learners identify the major watersheds of Pennsylvania. In this forestry lesson, students learn what a watershed is and are assigned one of the major watersheds of Pennsylvania. Groups then need to determine the boundaries of the...
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. For this forestry lesson, 12th graders discuss the importance of trees. They read a timeline and add future events to show...
Curated OER
Biodiesel Demand Could Destroy World's Forests
In this global issues worksheet, learners read a 1-page article about biodiesel demand then write PPC articles that address the costs of biodiesel use.
Curated OER
The Role of Fire in Healthy Prairie, Brush and Forest Lands
Students create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast wildfires and prescribed fires. In this earth science lesson, students conduct a series of experiment to explore fire characteristics. They describe favorable conditions to start a...
Curated OER
Layers of the Rainforest
What a great way to discuss the rainforest! Learners discuss the importance of adaptation in the environment and how it is linked to survival. They use critical thinking and inference skills to place animals and insects in the different...
It's About Time
Succession in Communities
What occurs following a natural disaster? High schoolers research this question and others as they investigate natural succession after a disaster. First, as they differentiate between primary and secondary succession, they explain...
American Museum of Natural History
What is Biodiversity?
Not all dogs are the same just like not all finches are the same. An interactive online lesson helps individuals learn about the causes and limitations to biodiversity. The clickable sections describe the basics of the genetics of...