Lessons

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  Animal Diversity

  K-2  |  Interactive
  This lesson about animal diversity will help students understand the difference between actual physical attributes of animals and fictional ones.
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  Investigating Local Ecosystems

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson students explore the habitats of local plants and animals to learn about how living things depend on one another.
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  Where in the Wild?

  K-2  |  Audio
  This students introduces children to the concept of animal camouflage.
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  Just Turn It Off

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students will probe the problem of what happens to a battery-operated flashlight when it is not turned off.
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  Cycle of Life 1: Food Chain

  3-5  
  In this lesson, students explore how almost all kinds of animals’ food can be traced back to plants and that the sun is often the ultimate source of energy.
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  Cycle of Life 2: Food Webs

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson helps students understand that some insects depend on dead plant material for food and they interact with other organisms in various ways.
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  Energy Sources and Use

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students distinguish between renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy while comparing the benefits and drawbacks of each.
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  Introducing Biodiversity

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson introduces students to the amazing variety of life around them.
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  Pond 1: Pond Life

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson explores how organisms satisfy their needs within their environments and the relationships that exist between organisms within an environment.
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  Power Up!

  3-5  |  Interactive
  In this lesson, students compare and contrast different energy sources and the trade-offs of using them.
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  True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  This lesson shows that products and objects have lifespans so we need to recycle, reuse, and re-imagine new purposes for them.
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  Endangered Species 1: Why Are Species Endangered?

  6-8  
  This lesson introduces and explores the various issues and problems faced by endangered species globally.
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  Endangered Species 2: Working to Save Endangered Species

  6-8  
  This lesson focuses less on the science and more on the actual work of saving endangered species.
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  Food Webs in the Bay

  6-8  
  This lesson is a study of the plants that comprise the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) of a bay, as well as the animals that feed on and live in the SAV.
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  How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate

  6-8  |  Audio
  The lesson introduces students to the scientific basis of climate change.
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  Jean Craighead George: Unsentimental Naturalist

  6-8  
  This lesson explores the contributions made to science and society by the naturalist, Jean Craighead George.
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  Marine Sanctuaries

  6-8  
  In this lesson, students will learn about the national marine sanctuaries found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and off the coast of American Samoa.
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  Renewable Energy Sources

  6-8  |  Website
  In this lesson, students will use Internet resources to investigate renewable sources of energy.
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  Green Roof Design

  9-12  
  In this student-centered learning model, students work collaboratively in small teams to design a heat- and water-conserving “green roof” of plant material for an urban apartment building.
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  Preserving Health through Biological Diversity

  9-12  
  This lesson advances student understanding of why diversity within and among species is important.
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  Simulating Climate Change Research in Grasslands

  9-12  |  Video
  In this lesson, students learn about organism interactions and how those interactions shift in response to climate change, especially in grassland communities.
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  Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations

  9-12  |  Audio
  This lesson provides an introduction to conservation biology via the memoirs of a scientist who has traveled throughout the world to study and defend endangered species.

Tools

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  The Amateur Naturalist

  3-12  |  Website
  This resource discusses The Amateur Naturalist, by Nick Baker, which is full of information to enhance any outdoor learning experience.
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  Biomes of the World

  K-8  |  Website
  The Biomes of the World resource provides information on rainforest, tundra, taiga, desert, temperate, and grassland biomes.
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  Coral Reef Connections

  3-8  |  Interactive
  This resource explores Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the largest structure on Earth built by living organisms.
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  Communicating and Learning about Global Climate Change

  6-12  |  Video
  This 12-minute video produced by AAAS features a number of experts on global climate change talking about its impacts to our planet.
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  Earth Day Lessons

  6-12  |  Interactive
  Earth Day Lessons focus on conservation, ecosystems, ecology, and more and have been tailored to encourage a deeper exploration of different environmental issues.
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  Estuaries: Finding the Balance

  9-12  |  Teaching Aid
  Students can use this resource from the National Geographic to examine the conflict between development and the environment by focusing on estuaries across the United States.
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  Going Green: An Earth Day Bibliography

  K-12  |  Teaching Aid
  SB&F has put together a list of our top environmental books to help the consumer make informed, eco-friendly choices and to encourage children to take an active role in saving the environment.
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  NASA's Climate Kids

  K-8  |  Video
  NASA's climate change site for kids asks and answers important questions relating to climate change as well as providing entertaining career insights, online games, videos, and hands-on activities.
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  Nowhere to Hide

  K-12  |  Interactive
  This interactive is based on the classic story of evolution by natural selection—the story of the peppered moths in England during the Industrial Revolution.
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  The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America’s Lost Grasslands

  6-8  |  Teaching Aid
  Learn about The Prairie Builders, which tells the remarkable story of an effort to bring back part of the native tallgrass prairie in Iowa.
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  What We Know

  9-12  |  Video
  What We Know is an assessment of current climate science and impacts that emphasizes the need to understand and recognize possible high-risk scenarios.
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  YardMap

  K-12  |  Interactive
  YardMap is a free, interactive, citizen science mapping project about habitat creation and low-impact land use.

Science Updates

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  Ascending Plants

  6-12  |  Audio
  As climate change heats up the world's ecosystems, many species of plants and animals, from songbirds to whales, are leaving their time-tested home ecosystems for uncharted territory. This Science Update looks at how some plants are changing altitude to find a cooler place to live.
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  Carbon Emissions

  6-12  |  Audio
  Carbon gases are prime culprits in global warming. One study suggests we're making even more of them than we thought. You can learn why in this Science Update.
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  Climate and Conflict

  6-12  |  Audio
  Climate change may precipitate violence, according to a historical analysis.
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  Early Climate Change

  6-12  |  Audio
  Human activities like farming have contributed some amount of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere for ages
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  Fish on Acid

  6-12  |  Audio
  Fish in acidified waters exhibit strange and often reckless behaviors.
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  Fossil Fuel Switch

  6-12  |  Audio
  Learn about a thirty-year plan to replace 70 percent of our fossil fuels, using only current technologies like storable solar power, safer nuclear plants, and methanol from crop waste.
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  Mountain Rain

  6-12  |  Audio
  This Science Update explores why pollution from cities could dry out nearby mountains.
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  Nitrogen Pollution

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, learn why human sources of nitrogen may be just as environmentally costly as carbon emissions.
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  Ships to Reefs

  6-12  |  Audio
  Sinking old warships creates new habitats for marine species.
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  Siberian Permafrost

  6-12  |  Audio
  Once the Earth warms to a critical temperature, permafrost in Siberia will melt, releasing massive amounts of carbon.
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  Thoreau's Plants

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, hear how researches are using Henry David Thoreau's plant journals to study climate change.
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  Rainforests & Rainfall

  6-12  |  Audio
  Deforestation can lead to droughts hundreds of miles away.
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  Urban Greening

  6-12  |  Audio
  Strategically placed grass, ivy, and other greenery can significantly improve air quality in urban centers.

Videos

• Forest Health in a Changing World

  6-12  |  Video
  This video from Science Magazine explores how today's forests have been greatly altered by human activity and face increasing threats from drought, insect infestations, and fire.