Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 1
First of three lessons, this is a great start to a unit on energy. As you demonstrate, learners discover different types of energy and how it is converted from one form to another. They then focus in on the generation of electricity by...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 2
In this second of three lessons on power plants, future engineers find out how we generate electricity and how coal-powered plants operate. They work in small groups to make electromagnet generators to light LED bulbs. A set of...
Carnegie Mellon University
How Power Plants Work 3
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Find out what drives a turbine to generate electricity and whether or not it has an impact on the environment. A discussion and lecture is divided by a hands-on activity in...
Curated OER
Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources
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...
Curated OER
The Effects of Agricultural Fertilizer Runoff Upon Aquatic Ecosystems
Learners measure the toxic levels of runoff and discuss the effects it would have on the aquatic system. In this runoff lesson plan, students answer questions to how runoff would affect the animals in an aquatic system.
Curated OER
River and Us (A)
Students define and demonstrate proper use of common good, preserve (as in clean water) and public good as applicable to clean water.
Curated OER
Happy the Fish
Students explore the ways in which people's actions affect fish. They discuss pollutants that are in the water. Students define the terms chemicals, cooling pond, and pollutant. They create a book about Happy the Fish.
Curated OER
Microbial Contaminants in Drinking Water
When presented with three unopened bottles of water, pupils are asked to tell decide which one is contaminated with a microbe. Students work in small groups and role play being a Microbiologist, a patient, or a recorder. The patient is...
Curated OER
How Clean Is Our Water?
Students examine samples of water to determine its cleanliness. They visit a waste treatment plant and/or reservoir. Students explore what protects the water supply from contamination by chemical or organize pollution. They trace the...
What happened to the frogs?
Students will select ten rubber frogs and determine their pollutant source based on their malformations. Students will write a brief essay on their findings. Students will be engaged in the lesson the entire time!
National Wildlife Federation
Ghost Town
Around 93 percent of the reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been bleached, and almost one quarter of them are now dead. Scholars research the sea temperatures, especially around the areas with coral reefs, to make connections...
Curated OER
Dissolved Oxygen and Respiration
Young scholars are presented with the question, "Do plants that grow underwater use oxygen?" They create an experiment to test the presence of dissolved oxygen in the water using provided materials. Student experiments include a control...
Curated OER
Tides in the Hudson
Learners view an illustration of the Hudson River watershed and identify the bodies of water shown. They discuss what happens when fresh and salt water mix. Students view a teacher demonstration of the stratification of fresh and salt...
Curated OER
Keep Away
Study biological diversity by analyzing given data, and make inferences about the possible effects of oil drilling operations on specific benthic communities. This lesson allows students to use their statistical analysis skills asweel as...
University of Wisconsin
Designing a Rain Garden
Now it's time for all of the data collected in previous lessons to be applied to the design of a rain garden. This resource can only be used as part of the greater whole, since learners will need to rely on gathered knowledge in order to...
Japan Society
Nature and the Environment in Postwar Japan
Japan has a complex relationship with the environment. Explore this relationship with your class through this resource. Included are thought questions, several activity ideas that range from writing, to discussion, to research, and an...
Georgia Aquarium
The Ocean's Nursery
Linear perspective, estuaries, and water ways converge in a science-inspired art project. The class uses what they've learned about eco-systems, estuaries, and the food chain to create scale models of a local marsh. While the lesson...
Curated OER
The Chemistry of Refining Crude Oil
Consider our energy sources: wood, coal, oil, uranium. Learners compare the pollution to energy produced for each. They practice fractional distillation of an alcohol/water mixture to simulate the process of refining crude oil....
Curated OER
Fall 1-The Rain Forest Biome and the Effects of Acid Rain - Biology Teaching Thesis
Students explain why rain forests have great biodiversity, and list each layer of a rain forest and tell an organism that lives in each. They identify the cause of acid rain and its affect on a rain forest. Students hypothesize the...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Winning Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Don't desert a resource on the desert! Scholars work in groups to build on their ideas from the previous lesson to design a sustainable guest village in the Saguaro National Park. Each group produces a PowerPoint presentation to share...
University of Wisconsin
Sizing a Rain Garden
Most appropriate if you are applying the entire unit to build a rain garden at your school, this installment involves calculating the area that will drain into it. Your garden planners will need data from previous lessons, so this one...
Cloud Front
Weathering, Erosion, and Landforms—Student Activities
Tired of your students taking you for granite? Use a unit that offers multiple hands-on weathering and erosion labs and interactive activities. Some of the exciting lessons include planning a tour of Australia, using ice...
Curated OER
"Tri-County" Project--Well in a Cup
Students construct a model of a well to identify how water is brought to the surface. Signs of pollution are investigated.
Curated OER
"Tri-County" Project--Ogallala Aquifer
Students explore the Ogallala Aquifer in the state of Nebraska. The signs of pollution found are examined and the data classified.