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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  Look At Those Leaves!

  K-2  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson students will learn about leaves by collecting, comparing, and describing 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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  Pond 2: Life in a Drop of Pond Water

  3-5  |  Hands-On
  In this lesson, students investigate the living creatures in a drop of pond water under magnification.
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  A Seabird in the Forest

  3-5  |  Video
  Students learn about the interdependent relationship between the Marbled Murrelet bird and the environment of old growth forests, such as redwood trees.
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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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  Wildflower Garden

  6-8  
  The focus of this lesson is for students to design a wildflower garden in order to gain a better understanding about designing a complex system and realizing that there are always constraints and trade-offs to be made when designing a human-made system.
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  Yellowstone Wolves

  6-8  
  This lesson uses the conflict between ranchers and wolves to explore the relationships between living things and their environments, and the effects of physical and human forces on the natural world.
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  Bird Populations

  9-12  
  In this lesson, students learn how scientists discern patterns and changes in bird populations.
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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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  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.
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  The Wild Trees

  9-12  |  Audio
  This lesson addresses the diversity of scientific research in the context of the story of how researchers learned about the giant redwoods in Northwestern California.

Tools

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  Biodiversity: Life in the City

  K-5  |  Interactive
  In this simple resource, students scroll over a drawing of an urban, park-like setting and find ten examples of hidden "critters." Each critter is then magnified and described.
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  My Life as an Elk

  K-5  |  Interactive
  This interactive story lets you take on the identity of a newborn elk calf and make choices as it grows up in Yellowstone National Park.
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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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  Bug Bios

  K-8  |  Website
  This resource provides a great deal of information about the world's most diverse organisms: insects.
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  Creature Feature Archive

  K-8  |  Website
  The Creature Feature Archive from National Geographic Kids provides a lot of information about a variety of wildlife and habitats.
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  A Touch of Class

  3-8  |  Interactive
  This is an interactive activity in which students classify various plants and animals, including organisms such as a frog, jellyfish, venus flytrap, bat, human, and seaweed.
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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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  Colour and Camouflage

  3-12  |  Interactive
  This interactive activity allows you to check out different types of camouflage that an animal can use to protect itself depending on the habitat in which it lives.
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  Leafsnap App

  3-12  |  Interactive
  Leafsnap is a terrific app for anyone with an iPhone or iPad in the great outdoors.
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  Project BudBurst App

  6-12  |  Interactive
  Project BudBurst is part of a citizen science program designed to encourage local participation in a national research effort.
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  The Tree of Life

  6-12  |  Website
  This resource will introduce you to cladistics, a classification system that scientists use to show the relationships between species.

Science Updates

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  Everglades Pythons

  6-12  |  Audio
  A study of the stomach contents of non native Burmese pythons living in the Everglades shows how many different species the pythons have been poaching.
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  Fish & Flowers

  6-12  |  Audio
  This Science Update reveals a surprising connection between fish and flowers.
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  Impostor Caterpillars

  6-12  |  Audio
  A species of caterpillar tricks ants into treating it better than their own young.
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  Rainforests & Rainfall

  6-12  |  Audio
  Deforestation can lead to droughts hundreds of miles away.
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  Salamander Streambeds

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, learn how streambeds can shape a species.
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  Squirrel Hoarding

  6-12  |  Audio
  Many grays squirrels used to be forest dwellers but have been forced into urban areas due to loss of land. Hear how that loss is affecting the forests.
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  Tree Torture

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, hear about the effects of groundwater pumping on the health of riverbank ecosystems.
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  Urban Greening

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

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, hear about a population of spiders in Mexico that subsists almost entirely on plants.
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  WWII Tree Disease

  6-12  |  Audio
  In this Science Update, learn about the unintended consequences of military invasions on a region's natural environment.
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  Fairy Circles

  6-12  |  Audio
  Mysterious “fairy circles” on African plains are caused by termites, which destroy patches of grass but help the surrounding grass thrive.