The majority of this presentation is a collection of diagrams and graphs that back your lecture on biogeochemical cycles. The last few slides define ecosystems and the Gaia hypothesis. You may find these slides valuable, but will...

Fifth graders work in groups to investigate the proper use of a graph during a schoolyard ecology project. The challenge of the project is for students to choose the proper form of a graph. They gather data and conduct analysis with the...

Young ecologists explore the Aswan Dam in Egypt via the internet. Each collaborative group is assigned a specific article about the ecological impact of the dam. Then they prepare a presentation to share with the rest of the class. Some...

Students participate in a lab designed to facilitate the clean up and remove of substances ranging from heavy metals to dynamite. They focus on the remediation of copper. They discuss their results of this open ended inquiry experiment.

In this environmental science worksheet, learners complete a crossword puzzle with 26 questions about human impact on the environment.

Pupils complete a form that requires them to make decisions about how severely different types of marine debris affect people, animals, vessels, communities. Results are totaled and analyzed to determine which types of marine debris are...

Students explore many of the unusual geographical features of the Amazon River region, and explain the importance of preserving the tropical rainforest.

Students build protiens according to whether they are suppose to be a plant, a cow, or a person. They discover that all proteins are made from the same amino acids and it is just the order of these amino acids that change.

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...

After an introduction to municipal sludge, middle school ecologists consider the pros and cons of dumping in the Hudson River Canyon. The class is split into two groups: one to debate in favor or dumping and one to debate against the...

After reading about the Lake Erie water snake and the change in its population after the introduction of the round goby in 1990, young ecologists graph water snake diet data. They analyze the data and answer 10 questions based on their...

Here is a document full of teaching notes on water quality and bodies of water that you can use in your ecology curriculum. It has information specific to the Hudson River area, but can easily be adapted to any local body of water....

Role play community members who are both for and against the construction of a dam. Research the pros and cons and then hold a classroom debate. This activity ideally follows a series of stream studies, links to which are included. Use...

Students complete four activities to investigate how reef ecology can change. They perform experiments to show how sewage discharge can affect a marine ecosystem, look at substances that don't dissolve in water, examine wave action...

Learners consider how forest fires are both damaging and beneficial to forests.  In this earth science lesson, students are read the book Fire! In Yellowstone by Robert Ekey and watch "Fire Ecology" and "Two Sides of Fire" before...

Students work in collaborative teams with specific roles, use the Internet to research the behavior and ecology of pikas, make predictions about survival rates of pikas in different habitats and organize their data in graphs.

Students examine the theories behind the drastic decline of the wild salmon population and the ecological ramifications of this decline.

Students determine that air pollution control is caused by a combination of market incentives and government regulation. They realize that businesses exist to make profits for their owners and that governments make rules for individuals...

Eleventh graders identify the parts of an ecosystem and how communities change over time.  In this ecology lesson students formulate a habitat restoration plan.

Students incorporate some basic information regarding ocean life and ecological conservation into their "earth watch" lives.

Students describe how shoe design, manufacturing, retailing, consumer use, and disposal impact environments and societies. They discuss ways to reduce, reuse, or recycle resources in the life-cycle for a shoe product.

Students investigate ecological systems and the multiple uses of the environment by studying the osprey population.

Seventh graders discover the impact of man on the environment by analyzing plant and animal data.  In this ecology lesson, 7th graders investigate a nearby road which many cars pass on and examine the impact of the road on the...