Ecology Lesson Plans

Ecology: Forest Diversity
        Ecology lesson plans designed for high school, middle school, and elementary school science teachers are downloadable here. Click the titles below to see a list of lessons for each category. Free biological evolution lesson plans include:

  • Environmental Science Lesson Plans

    • Acid Rain - air pollution, sulfuric acid.
    • Global Warming - greenhouse gases, greenhouse effect.
    • Ozone Layer - CFC chlorofluorocarbons, O3, ultra violent radiation.
    • Loss of Biodiversity - deforestation, extinction of species.
    • Toxic Magnification - accumulation of toxins in higher trophic levels.
    • Resource Depletion - topsoil erosion, ground water pollution and depletion, non-renewable resources, rate of renewable resources.
    • Human Population Growth - growth rate, ecological footprint.

  • Population Ecology Lesson Plans

    • Populations - size, density, dispersion.
    • Population Growth Model - exponential growth, carrying capacity, density-dependent factors, logistic growth, density-independent factors, r-strategists, K-strategists.
    • Hardy-Weinberg Equalibrium - allele frequencies

  • Biological Communities Lesson Plans

    • Ecosystem Biodiversity - biotic factors and abiotic factors.
    • Competition - niche, limited resources.
    • Predator and Prey Interactions
    • Symbiosis - parasites, mutualism, commensalism, symbiotic relationship.
    • Biological Communities - the different species living in a habitat.
    • Biomes of the World - tundra biome, desert biome, marine biome, grassland biome, taiga biome, temperate grassland biomes, temperate deciduous forest biome, tropical rain forest biome, savanna biome, polar ice biome.
    • What is an Ecosystem - biological community and physical environmental factors.
    • Forest Ecosystems - rainforest ecosystem, tropical rainforest ecosystems, temperate rainforest ecosystems, tropical dry forests, deciduous forests, coniferous forests.
    • Aquatic Ecosystems - freshwater ecosystems, ocean ecosystems, wetland ecosystem, marine ecosystems, pond ecosystems.
    • Other Ecosystems - desert ecosystems, tundra ecosystem, grassland ecosystems, soil ecosystems.

  • Energy Flow Lesson Plans

    • Food Chain - feed from lower trophic level.
    • Food Web - multiple food chains.
    • Energy Pyramid - energy transfer, 10%, energy efficiency, biomass.
    • Trophic Levels - producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, detritivores, decomposers.

  • Biogeochemical Cycles Lesson Plans

    • Water Cycle - ground water, percolation, run off, transpiration, precipitation, evaporation, water vapor.
    • Carbon Cycle - atmospheric CO2, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, combustion, death and decomposition, fossil fuels, erosion from marine organisms.
    • Nitrogen Cycle - nitrogen fixation, nitrogen fixing bacteria, assimilation, ammonification, nitrification, nitrifying bacteria, denitrification, denitrifying bacteria, atmospheric N2, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites.
    • Phosphorous Cycle
Earth Recycle Symbol

Lesson Plans by Subject



Free Lesson Plans

NGSS Life Science is a curriculum community for middle school and high school science teachers. High school and middle school curriculums include population ecology experiments, ecology labs, environmental science projects, ecology activities, predator and prey demos, ecosystem worksheets, and ecological exam / test / quiz questions. Some lesson plan topics include population growth, tropical rainforest ecosystems, ocean biomes, energy flow, biogeochemical cycles, and more.