Students study ways to take care of the environment as part of an Earth Day activity. In this environment instructional activity, student listen to a read aloud of Barbara Cooney's, Miss Rumphius, before discussing how she works alone...

Students study the complexities for getting definitive answers for past and present happenings in our environment. They discover past global changes on earth and the evidence for why these changes took place before believing everything...

Students test for the presence of enzymes in fruit and the specificity of those enzymes. They identify the susceptibility of enzymes to certain environmental factors such as temperature and pH in the enzymes environment.

Learners compare and contrast the Sidewinder of the U.S. Southwest and the Namib Desert. They watch and discuss a video, complete a journal entry, color templates of both types of sidewinders, and discuss the differences between the two.

Students explore the 5 themes of geography. In this cross curriculum literacy and geography lesson plan, students listen to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, and make a list of the needs of the people in Chewandswallow....

Students demonstrate effects of waste on environment and ways of reducing it, observe how much packaging goes into bag lunches each day, and survey their families to assess awareness levels and household recycling practices. Lessons all...

Not every animal has the best features for its environment. Learners study the characteristics of birds and the implications of these characteristics as related to their environments. They use what they learn to create their own new...

Is cattle ranching on Santa Rosa island viable or non-viable? Rather than focusing on the issues of the transition of Santa Rosa island from a privately owned island cattle ranch to a national park, class members are asked to consider if...

Students, working in groups, create "artificial seeds" for a wind dispersal experiment. After trial runs, they redesign their seeds, and re-test them under the same conditions. Finally, they interpret, compare, and evaluate the original...

Students examine bioluminescence and camouflage of deep sea creatures. In this deep sea creatures instructional activity, students investigate the visible and near-visible light spectrum. They work in small groups to complete a light,...

Sixth graders participate in an online, cooperative project researching trees in their local environments for use in an online knowledge game. They take digital pictures of the trees, bark, and leaves. After completing their research,...

Students research different mammals and create illustrations and narratives about them. Working individually or in small groups, students compose their rough drafts prior to creating their posters or dioramas. Students present short...

Second graders observe, identify, and document birds sighted at the library feeder station. They observe and document birds in order to begin their birder's life list. They apply scientific concepts and principles by using library...

Learners explore animal habitats.  In this cross curriculum animal survival and writing lesson, students view a website about wild horses on Shackelford Island and discuss ways in which the horses have changed to this...

What are the pros and cons to having either permeable or impermeable materials for building? How do they affect the environment? Use this role-play and the extension activities to get your environmental scientists thinking about the...

How do genetic mutations within a population lead to future variations? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question and more upon completing an activity on natural selection. The entire class participates in a...

Students explore how to describe the Gulf Stream, how Benjamin Franklin charted it, and correctly plot it on a map.

Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...

Beginning biologists place a drop of food coloring into water of differing temperatures to observe the effect on the diffusion rate. They remove the shells from raw eggs and then experiment with osmosis over the remaining membranes....

Get out the goggles and conduct a simple experiment to model and explore the harmful effects of acid rain (vinegar) on living (green leaf and eggshell) and non-living (paper clip) objects. Young chemists observe and describe the harmful...

Young farmers explore the world of farm animals. They are introduced to a variety of animals, what their role is, how many legs they have, and what sounds they make. Worksheets and websites embedded in the plan are used to carry it out....

Light is such an amazing thing! Elementary schoolers explore the wonderful world of light and shadow. The lesson is meant to be carried out on a whiteboard. Objects are placed in front of a light source, and learners must predict what...

The goal of this science lesson is to have youngsters be able to identify the physical and chemical changes in the carbon cycle, and water cycle due to weathering. The in-class inquiry/experiment is quite interesting and easy to...

The saguaro cactus has an amazing ability to survive in a harsh environment. Learners identify the many adaptations for desert life that the saguaro employs. They look at each part of the saguaro and determine what role it plays in the...