Students explore the ecosystem by conducting a ziploc bag experiment. In this recycling instructional activity, students identify decomposer organisms in our environment and how they speed up the recycling process. Students utilize a...

Learners examine a crushed rock and sort the minerals they find in that rock by color and other properties.

Young scholars examine their assumptions about forest fires. They explore the conflicts involved with the forest service's new strategy. in addition, they will study one case where a prescribed natural burn had a significant impact on a...

Students explore the natural environment through a video and nature sounds tape. They keep journal's of the unit's activities and vocabulary terms. They play a web of interdependence game and compose a list of forest animals and write...

Sixth graders read and discuss background information and brainstorm reasons for wildfires. They use a Venn Diagram to list the similarities and differences between wildfires and prescribed fires and then track the weather forecast for...

Students visit the UBC Farm. For this lesson on various landscapes, students spend a day at the University of British Columbia exploring the farm and trail adjoining the campus. This lesson could be modified for use in any region that...

Students explore the forest. In this ecosystems lesson plan, students rotate through sensory activity centers, brainstorm, and read about temperate forests.

Students read the story Ancient Ones about a forest that is connected to all the life around it. In this reading lesson plan, students also create a tall folding book about the forest.

Students examine biodiversity and interrelatedness concepts.  In this ecology lesson students go on a field trip and fill out a data sheet. 

Students examine an area of land and assess its suitability for construction purposes. This project requires a vast amount of hands-on experimentation, data analysis, community involvement, and job shadowing/career awareness.

Learners grow duckweed, observe what happens when an organism population is allowed to grow without predation or competition, view videos about invasive species, and develop a proposal for controlling the growth of an invasive species in...

Students study the Temperate Grasslands biome of North America. They explain that it is an endangered ecosystem because the rich soils have been converted to farming in most areas. They view videos imbedded in this plan, then complete...

Students study the effects of the Great Exchange on the Americas.

Learners examine the value of ecosystems. They read and analyze an article, evaluate ecosystem services, research the benefits of biomonitors, and design a public service announcement.

Starting with a simple food chain, young scientists interpret the difference and interrelatedness between herbivores, carnivores and producers. They answer questions related to cause and effect of food chain disruptions, including the...

A food web consists of complex food chains and the more complex the web, the better likelihood of survival. Learners compare and contrast food webs and food chains and discuss concepts like the predator-prey and consumer-producer...

Students gain skill in the design, implementation, and reporting of a scientific research project using the scientific method. They set up an experiment to determine the effect of adding the Rhizobium bacteria to one group of legume...

Students create a book about bats. They write a letter to a scientist containing questions about bats. They compare the socialization of bats to humans; compare the needs of bats to humans and other animals.

In this biology worksheet, students read about the parts of plant seeds and look at a seed diagram. They read about the roots, endosperm, embryo, and the process of germination. They answer 8 online multiple choice questions based on the...

Students explore organic and inorganic objects. In this environmental lesson students perform a composting experiment using flowers in different soils. Students record their observations.

In this recognizing items that can be composted worksheet, students identify organic items that can be composted, write items that can be composted for each of the letters in the word compost, and make a list of vegetables and fruits....

Fourth graders experiment to see which objects decompose. In this compost lesson, 4th graders observe the changes of labeled objects in a bag. Leave the objects for one month and record the changes by observation and weight. Students...

Students understand how clouds are formed. For this cloud lesson, students participate in three experiments to make clouds. Students complete activity sheets for each experiment.

Students explore the concept of food webs.  In this food web lesson, students demonstarte the connection between species.  Students use a ball of string show how the food web works, then have a class discussion.