In this activity the students will be making a model of a polar bear and describing the color of the fur and skin to understand why the color is important. Measuring the temperature of a black sock and a white sock and comparing temperatures is also included in the activity so that the students can understand the difference in heat retention. Students will then look up the word adaptation in dictionary, ... Full description.

Using the example of the Eastern United States continental shelf, this lesson helps students understand how alien species enter non-native habitats, what problems are associated with these species, and what can be done about them. Students will be able to compare and contrast "alien species" and "invasive species," explain positive and negative impacts associated with the introduction of non-native ... Full description.

This set of activities is designed to help students understand water pollution and its potential effects on human and wildlife habitats. They will understand that pollutants can be divided into three groups: chemical, thermal, and biological. Learning objectives include identification of two or more pollutants in a bog, marsh, stream or other wetland area, using words and art to relate a message about ... Full description.

This lesson shows students that living things can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which things belong to which group and that classification schemes will vary with purpose. This lesson is the second of a two-part series on classification. It exposes students to the idea that a variety of plants and animals (organisms) can be classified into one or more groups based ... Full description.

This lesson introduces students to fossilized dinosaur excrement, known as coprolites. Topics include the usefulness of coprolites in determining diet, the issue of matching coprolites to species of dinosaur, and the presence of dung beetle burrows in coprolites as an indication that they are, in fact, fossil excrement. There is also an exercise in which students read through background material and ... Full description.

In this learning module, students are involved in an observational study of air pollutants in the atmosphere. The students collect and examine air quality and weather data, looking for correlations between weather and air quality. They discover through their observations that certain atmospheric conditions, including high pressure, clear skies and little or no wind create the conditions for poor air ... Full description.

In this lesson, students investigate the habitats of local plants and animals and explore some of the ways animals depend on plants and each other. They will observe living organisms in a local ecosystem and create detailed drawings and descriptions of them. The final section of this lesson offers a few Internet resources to extend the ideas of this lesson and give students opportunities to observe ... Full description.

This lesson focuses on global warming and a possible connection with the Paleocene extinction event. Students will explore how a global warming episode associated with the release of methane from methane hydrate deposits could have been responsible for the Paleocene extinction event 55 million years ago. They will be able to describe the overall events that occurred during the Paleocene extinction ... Full description.

This activity will promote an awareness of environmental issues and ways that each student can help to improve our Earth. Research will be done by students on a variety of topics and they will create a book about the environment, which includes an index. When the activity is finished, students should be aware of the condition of our environment and what they can do to help improve it. This activity ... Full description.

In this lesson students investigate climate change in the Arctic Ocean to discover the potential impact of observed reduction in sea ice in the Arctic Ocean on ocean life. As a result of this activity, they will be able to identify the three biological realms of the Arctic Ocean and describe the relationships between these realms. They will graphically analyze data on sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean, ... Full description.