In this activity, students will explore what can be learned about a planet by studying the forms of water that exist there. They will begin by using fun facts about Mars to create a comic detailing its cold climate. After finding a frozen reservoir on Mars during the virtual experience, students will look more closely at what can be discovered from studying ice cores. They will ultimately develop a recommendation about which phase of water should be studied to learn more about life on Mars.

Estimated time required: 2-3 class periods.

Technology required for this lesson: .

This activity is designed for students to discover how making observations of the environment is the key to making sound predictions. Students will also learn how both positive and negative outcomes of these predictions can affect and shape future decisions.

In what situations might wildlife and people have to compete with each other for resources? This activity is designed to start your students in recognizing themselves as scientists and thinking critically about problem-solving. The goal is to teach concepts through discovery and to encourage using scientific thought processes. As with all lessons provided, please feel free to adapt them according to your students’ abilities. You may find it more successful to lead activities and discussions as a whole group as opposed to having your students’ work in small groups. Certain scientific vocabulary may or may not be appropriate for your students’ level of understanding. Take these ideas, make them your own and your students will have a greater chance at success.

This video segment adapted from NOVA illustrates why carbon is at the center of life on Earth. It also asks whether carbon-based life might exist on other planets.

Students will create and investigate testable questions about how basil changes based on growing conditions.

During this activity, students will investigate leech behavior. Students will learn to ask a question about leech behavior that can be investigated.

This activity is a field investigation or bio-blitz where students are collecting as many different types of insects as they can. Back in the lab, they will record their findings, sort and classify the insects found. This will lead into a class discussion on biodiversity and the importance of insects and their benefits all living things.

This field activity asks students to examine and interpret a given environmental site where a disturbance (fallen tree, beaver dam etc.) has taken place.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module. Students build spreadsheets to model the growth in population of a species of birds introduced to an isolated island in New Zealand.

This activity is a step by step lesson to introduce a nature journal to students. We will establish the routine we will use.

This activity is a lab where students learn to classify objects that are similar into groups and technically describe their classifications. Introduction to dichotomous keys.

This activity is a field investigation where students will learn the importance of detail when nature journaling.

This activity is a field investigation where students will learn the importance of detail when nature journaling.

This activity is a project in which students research keystone species and report on specific species to the class.

This activity is an inquiry and field study based. Students will be trying to observe, document, compare, contrast, and communicate what information they were able to gather. The will use this information to make in inference about the organisms they have found and classify them as either an insect or not an insect.

Students will investigate the organization of all living things through and learn how to classify through process of classifying their own shoes. Students will complete the classification of a Jaguar and write their own pneumonic device to remember the order of biological classification. (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)

This activity is an interactive game that helps students learn that vertebrates are classified into five groups and that each group has common characteristics that distinguish the animal group from other respective groups.

Students observe the decomposition of a pumpkin under controlled circumstances. These observations are used to take notes and develop questions.

This activity is a field investigation in which students identify organisms and their energy sources. Students collect data and create a food web that explains how the organisms in their ecosystem are related.

This activity is a lab activity where students grow two radish seeds, and manipulate a variable that may affect the germination time and growth of the radish seed.