What's the best way to learn how watersheds work? Build one! Combining engineering, the water cycle, and ecology concerns, the activity is the perfect fit for an interdisciplinary unit. Teams construct a model watershed with simple...

Emerging ecologists need a full understanding of life, from the inner workings of a cell to the complex relationships among organisms. This examination is meant to assess high schoolers after an entire year of courses on the living...

Environmental science enthusiasts show what they know at the end of the year by taking this full-fledged final exam. They answer multiple-choice, graph interpretation, and essay-analysis questions, 73 of them in all. Topics range from...

The 2005 version of the Regents High School Examination in ecology is as comprehensive as previous years' exams. It consists of 40 multiple-choice questions on topics ranging from the structure of DNA to interactions within an ecosystem....

Students study wildlife management as it relates to ecological principles and whole systems. They role play professional ecologists working for the fish and wildlife service to develop a plan to manage a new wildlife refuge along the Rio...

Students engage students in an ecological inquiry. They author a presentation to the Grounds Management Committee of their school giving their recommendation for the control of the invasive species purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)...

Dinnertime on the African savanna is a highly choreographed event! Introduce young ecologists to the concept of niche partitioning through a hands-on activity. Pupils research animal behaviors and use data to develop an understanding of...

Young scholars describe the characteristics of wetlands and identify their ecological functions. They inspect items and use them to create metaphors about wetlands.

Students identify and experiment with dendrochronology (the study of tree rings to answer ecological questions about the recent past) and come up with conclusions as to what possible climatic conditions might affect tree growth in their...

To describe the ecological and aesthetic importance of the Potomac River, Middle schoolers name the ways in which the river's values are jeopardized and explain the purpose of Earth Day. They write a response to a newspaper article in a...

Springboard your fourth and fifth graders into the study geologic time. They will complete 7 activities to learn about geologic time and the topics most often associated with it: astronomy, creation, planet formation, volcanology,...

Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...

Students exchange information with students from various geographic biomes. They explore the unique ecologically significant features of the biomes and share with other students.

High schoolers examine the effect of chemicals from marine plants or animals on predator's preferences. In this ecology lesson, students conduct taste tests and collect necessary data. They write their conclusion after...

Students write poetry to describe a noxious weed. They form a personal relationship with, and a better comprehension of weeds. Students explain what the basic elements of a haiku are. They describe a particular weed, and comprehend...

Students experience an inequitable resource distribution and electronically calculate their own Ecological Footprint. The assess their resource use and learn more about sustainable living strategies in a video tour by Penn State...

Students study how standards are established in Science. They also look at the value of different perspectives with questions about ecological standards. The class creates its own standards for ecology with the help of a survey to obtain...

Fourth graders explore lumbering in Michigan.  For this lumbering lesson, 4th graders examine the life of a modern day lumberjack and how technology can interfere with natural ecology.  Students create a list of products from...

Young scholars research where in the world coral reefs are located. In this ecology instructional activity, students create food chains and food web. They simulate growing coral reefs to understand their characteristics better.

Students explore the route that Minnesota ospreys follow during spring and fall migration. They describe the important ecological characteristics of the places that ospreys pass through during their migration. They determine where...

Young scholars compare the obeservations of traditional people with the oberservations of Western science. They validate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) through comparison and the identification...

Students analyze data to solve the mystery of what contributed to an ecological disaster at Great Flathead Lake. They read and graph the available data, create a food web of the problem ecosystem, and construct a formal problem statement...

Students investigate ecological systems and the cause and effect relationship between humans and the environment by using the prey items of Ospreys.

Students explore wetlands. In this ecology lesson, students visit a wetland site and collect data about the wetland functions. Students record their results and use the data recorded to rate the wetland site on its function.