Examine this graph from FRONTLINE/NOVA: What's Up with the Weather? Web site to see dramatic increases in three greenhouse gases over the last two hundred years.
This visualization from NASA shows global rainfall patterns over a 22-year span. It incorporates data from a combination of remote-sensing and ground-based sources.
In this lesson, students expand their understanding of solid waste management to include the idea of 3RC (reduce, reuse, recycle and compost). They will look at the effects of packaging decisions (reducing) and learn about engineering advancements in packaging materials and solid waste management. Also, they will observe biodegradation in a model landfill (composting).
This lesson is based on the book, "The Tiny Seed", by Eric Carle. This story will be used to introduce the children to the concept that seeds change and grow into plants when conditions in the environment including temperature, light, water and soil are appropriate. Children will learn that plants produce seeds that can become new plants. Through extended activities, the children will experience first-hand the germination of seeds. They will become familiar with the parts of a plant and learn how each part works to produce a healthy plant.
Green plants make their own food by a process called photosynthesis. They also use nutrients and water from the soil to grow. Primary consumers (insects, chipmunks, mice and deer) eat green plants.
Add acidity to a healthy lake and see what happens to the plants and animals in this interactive activity adapted from EcoKids.
Plants and animals that live in water create some amount of acid in the water. The carbon dioxide that plants and animals release into the water makes the water acidic and unsafe for living organisms. This is why the water of captive aquatic animals and plants must be changed often.
The Monarch butterfly is an insect and has six legs and two sets of wings. The butterfly drinks using a straw-like mouth structure.
The butterfly can fly around using its wings and sees where it is going through its eyes. The spiracles allow the butterfly to breathe and the legs are what it uses to walk or crawl around on. The antennae help the butterfly know where it is going. The proboscis is what the butterfly uses to drink nectar from flowers.
The adult zebra fish is the final stage in the zebra fish life cycle. At this point, the adult can lay eggs and a male zebra fish will fertilize them.
When a city is built, habitat and most organisms living in it are killed or forced to flee. Cities use a lot of energy and water and create a tremendous amount of waste and runoff. Development is the biggest source of pollution.
This is an inquiry-based animal study for early childhood students centered around a visit to the African Continent of the North Carolina Zoo.
This video from First Alaskans Institute spotlights the Alaska Native community of St. Paul and its hands-on commitment to care for the land and animals on which it depends.
Large amounts of nutrients from agricultural runoff and pollution cause increased growth of algae. Algal blooms cause other organisms to die because the algae uses up all the oxygen in the water to grow. Eventually, this body of water will have no life in it.
Algae are producers. This means that they make their own energy and food and do not need to eat other organisms to gain energy and live. Algae use the sun, water, and carbon dioxide to go through photosynthesis and make their own energy to grow, bloom, and reproduce.
This red algal cell (Chlamydomonas nivalis) gives mountain snow packs a red tint. It uses the pollutants in snow as food. It cannot be seen without a microscope.
Students will discover which kinds of trash break down naturally and which do not when they make their own landfills.
Alligator weed is a non-native species of plant in the United States that can damage waterways by clogging them and reducing water flow. Also, it grows in a way that reduces light penetration into the water. Alligator weed is being reduced by a few different insects that were released as biological control agents, such as the alligator weed flea beetle.
Students use their knowledge of the alphabet and letter sounds to create an alphabet PowerPoint presentation. Each slide will contain a letter of the alphabet, a sentence and the sound that corresponds to that letter.
Students are asked to explain what needs to be considered if alternative energy sources are to be used.
