Ecology
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Food Web Worksheet Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
Students label the plants and animals of a food web and food chains for producer / consumer and either herbivore / carnivore / omnivore. Students then create their own food web using the animals provided.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by Shannan Muskopf
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Ecosystem Worksheet Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Worksheet
In this ecosystem worksheet, students are introduced to ecosystem stability and the factors that contribute to ecosystem stability. Students are also introduced to the different types of terrestrial ecosystems.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-2
HS-LS2-6
MS-LS2-2 (Interactions Across Multiple Ecosystems)
MS-LS2-4 (Ecosystem Affect on Populations)
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Human Population Growth Worksheet Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
In this worksheet, students will create a graph of human population growth, use it to predict future growth, and identify factors that affect population growth.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
Published by Shannan Muskopf
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Expressing Ideas for Patterns in Ecosystems Worksheet Free Student Handout
Free Multimedia
Free Student Handout
Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
In this ecosystem worksheet, students ask questions about changes to matter and energy in a grassland ecosystem.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-6
MS-LS2-1 (Resource Availability)
Published by Carbon TIME
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Population Growth Worksheet Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Worksheet
In this population growth worksheet, students will build their vocabulary about density-dependent limiting factors and density-independent limiting factors that affect population growth and carrying capacity. The focus of this worksheet is for students to provide definitions for the vocabulary words and compare and contrast density-dependent factors and density-independent limiting factors.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
HS-LS2-6
MS-LS2-4 (Ecosystem Affect on Populations)
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Carbon Cycle Modeling Lab Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Lab
There are four stations where students practice and build the concept that carbon cycles between reservoirs. Each station represents a lesson, and student cycle through the stations to learn from each lesson.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
HS-LS2-5
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Nitrogen Cycle Lab - Fish Tank Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Lab
Students will graph and analyze data to determine why fish died in a pretend fish tank.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Environmental Science Question Bank Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Test
Question bank to build assessments. An active membership is required to view questions.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-7
HS-LS4-6
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Ecosystem Stability Test Question Bank Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Test
Question bank to build assessments. An active membership is required to view questions.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
HS-LS2-6
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Populations Test Question Bank Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Test
Question bank to build assessments. An active membership is required to view questions.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
Published by NGSS Life Science
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California’s Energy Initiative Free Video
Multimedia
California looks into developing clean energy to supply its needs. Economics, environmental science, politics, and electricity generation topics are covered.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-7
HS-LS4-6
Published by WGBH Educational Foundation
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Particulates in the Air Lab Free Lesson Plan
Lab
Students put Petroleum jelly on microscope slides to collect air particulates at different locations. Students then discuss the likely sources of the particulates.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-7
HS-LS4-6
Published by Stephen Levine
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Energy Pyramid Test Question Bank Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Test
The energy pyramid quiz question bank includes food webs, food chains, trophic levels, the energy pyramid, and the 10% rule for energy transfer. You can use the question bank to build assessments, and active membership is required to view questions.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Biogeochemical Cycles Test Question Bank Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Test
The biogeochemical cycles quiz question bank includes carbon, nitrogen, water, and carbon reservoirs and processes. You can use the question bank to build assessments, and an active membership is required to view questions.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
HS-LS2-5
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Carrying Capacity Lab Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Lab
Students will act out a how a population grows and reaches its carrying capacity.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
MS-LS2-4 (Ecosystem Affect on Populations)
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Population Growth Rates Lab Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Lab
A fun predator prey activity that focuses on removal of a limiting factor and how that affects the resilience of the prey population and its environment. Students participate in an activity that models a population of rabbits. Students learn how density-dependent factors affect a population size.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
HS-LS2-6
MS-LS2-4 (Ecosystem Affect on Populations)
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Food Webs and Pond Water Lab Free Lesson Plan
Lab
Students are going to construct a food web, identify aquatic organisms, and determine environmental impacts to aquatic ecosystems.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by Tracy Trimpe
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Examining the Stages in Ecological Succession Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
Students analyze how a pond changes and answer questions based upon the pictures of the pond.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-2
HS-LS2-6
MS-LS2-4 (Ecosystem Affect on Populations)
Published by Shannan Muskopf
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How Matter & Energy Moves Through The Ecosystem Project Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Project
In this carbon cycle project, students will model how a carbon atom makes a round trip from a person through the atmosphere and ecosystem and end finally back in the same person. This carbon cycle project video covers concepts like photosynthesis, consumption, cellular respiration, carbon reservoirs, and the 10% rule for energy flow.NGSS Standard
HS-LS1-5
HS-LS1-7
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Populations & Ecosystem Stability Lab Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Lab
In this population and ecosystem stability lab, students participate in an activity that models predator-prey and how resilient a population can be when limiting factors are introduced or removed. Students will model biotic and abiotic factors and how those factors affect population size. At the end of the experiment, students will make a population growth graph based on the experiment and calculate the growth rate through many generations.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
HS-LS2-6
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Carbon in the Biosphere Worksheet Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Worksheet
Students will fill out the worksheet based on photosynthesis and cellular respiration reactants and products.NGSS Standard
HS-LS1-5
HS-LS1-7
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by NGSS Life Science
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The Carbon Dice Game Lab Free Student Handout
Free Multimedia
Free Lesson Plan
Lab
Students play the roles of individual carbon atoms going through carbon-transforming processes in an ecosystem. Key ideas include (a) carbon-transforming processes in individual organisms (eating, digestion, biosynthesis, photosynthesis, cellular respiration and death/defecation) move carbon atoms from one carbon pool to another, (b) carbon atoms visit some pools much more often than others, and (c) the game is a model of how atoms move through ecosystems—like real ecosystems in some ways and unlike it in others.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
HS-LS2-5
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by CarbonTIME
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Biogeochemical Cycles Worksheet Free Lesson Plan (PDF)
Lesson Plan (DOCX) & Answer Key with Membership
Worksheet
Students will fill out this simple worksheet with information on carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
Published by NGSS Life Science
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Build an Food Web Lab Free Lesson Plan
Lab
Using biotic and abiotic factors, students will build a food web and energy pyramid using examples of producers, consumers, and decomposers. Craters of the Moon National MonumentNGSS Standard
5-LS2-1 (Movement of Matter)
Published by National Park Service
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Graphing Deer Populations Worksheet Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
Students use data about deer populations to create a graph and answer conceptual questions based upon the data.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
MS-LS2-4 (Ecosystem Affect on Populations)
Published by Shannan Muskopf
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Food for Thought Lab Free Lesson Plan
Lab
Students model how populations of different regions of the world compare with regards to numbers and food availabilty. Students will be divided by regions, and given food. The amount of food is based on statistics of each region.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-1
HS-LS2-2
Published by Shannan Muskopf
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Tracing Energy Through an Ecosystem Free Student Handout
Free Multimedia
Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
In this activity students are reminded of why organisms need to lose carbon atoms: They need to use the chemical energy in organic molecules. All carbon-transforming processes use chemical energy for some cell functions; then lose heat to the environment (this heat is ultimately radiated into outer space). Thus, matter cycles; energy flows in ecosystems.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by CarbonTIME
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Tracing Carbon Through an Ecosystem Lab Free Student Handout
Free Multimedia
Free Lesson Plan
Lab
In this activity students shift to following a pulse of 500 carbon atoms through all the carbon pools in an ecosystem, considering the carbon transforming processes (eating, digestion, biosynthesis, photosynthesis, cellular respiration and death/defecation) that move atoms from one pool to another. They see how the pattern they observed in Lesson 2—the organic matter pyramid—emerges from these carbon-transforming processes.NGSS Standard
HS-LS1-5
HS-LS1-7
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by CarbonTIME
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Organic Carbon Pools in Other in Ecosystems Worksheet Free Student Handout
Free Multimedia
Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
Students consider different ecosystems that have different amounts of organic carbon to begin to think about carrying capacity.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS2-3 (Cycles & Energy Flow)
Published by CarbonTIME
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Biomass Patterns in Ecosystems Free Student Handout
Free Multimedia
Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
Students use the results of the Meadow Simulation to recognize a consistent pattern in ecosystems: the biomass in the herbivore population is smaller than the producer biomass, and biomass in the carnivore population is always the smallest.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
Published by Carbon TIME
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Carbon Pools Free Student Handout
Free Multimedia
Free Student Handout
Free Lesson Plan
Multimedia
In this carbon pools lesson, students will identify what are carbon pools and where they are located in an ecosystem.NGSS Standard
HS-LS2-4
HS-LS2-5
Published by CarbonTIME
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North American Biomes Worksheet Free Lesson Plan
Worksheet
Students color in the appropriate biome on a map of North America. Students then answer several questions about those biomes.NGSS Standard
MS-LS2-1 (Resource Availability)
Published by Shannan Muskopf
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Human Population Growth Lab - Spread of an Infectious Disease Free Student Handout
Free Teacher Notes
Lab
In this human population growth lab, students simulate the exponential growth of an infectious disease in a population. Students then discuss how human diseases spread and their exponential and logistic growth curves. Lastly, students graph the simulated results.NGSS Standard
HS-LS1-2
Published by Ingrid Waldron and Jennifer Doherty
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Food Chain Lab - Owl Pellets Free Student Handout
Lab
In this food chain lab, students dissect owl pellets to learn how the owl is part of a food chain. Since the owl regurgitates these compact pellets, owl pellets are undigested parts that the owl eats, which contain fur and bones of small rodents. Dry pellets will not smell and are acceptable for students to handle with gloves.NGSS Standard
HS-LS1-2
HS-LS2-4
MS-LS1-7 (Metabolism)
MS-LS2-1 (Resource Availability)
Published by Shannan Muskopf