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

This article highlights resources that can be used to supplement lessons on extreme weather, including games and video clips. The article appears in the free, online magazine for K-Grade 5 teachers Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle. The magazine focuses on the essential principles of climate science.

This investigation is a field study where students compare the diversity of plants and insects in a naturally existing habitat to that of a human altered habitat.

This 3-part lesson begins with a field activity beside a lake or stream where students collect and identify macro invertebrates. During the second and third portions of the lesson, students conduct research to answer questions that they have regarding the macro invertebrates that they have identified and then based on the types of macro invertebrates found make a general determination of the cleanliness of the lake.

This activity is field investigation where students map a neighborhood wetland and generate various watershed questions. Students identify engineered structures in or around this wetland and consider how flood water can be controlled.

This first grade field and classroom activity leads students to discover their natural world through observation and measurement.

This activity is a field investigation where students gather data on ponds and compare the results to determine the quality of the water.

Students will observe simple plants, develop an investigable question, and form an investigation. They will document their investigation in their science notebooks.

In this activity students investigate soil pH differences and buffering capacity as it relates to acid rain, interpret and present their findings, and develop a new, experimental question.

This activity is a classroom quick lab where students explore sand, soil, and water in relation to absorption and permeability.

This activity is a guided inquiry investigation where students gather data on which soil is the best for growing plants. Student will interpret their data, and develop a conclusion from the data. The student will determine which type of soil they would like to use in the next activity of making their own terrariums. The data collected could lead to further questions, which can be investigated in some extension activities.

This guided inquiry is a laboratory investigation on soil textures where students gather and analyze data, compare findings and develop new experimental questions.

In activity is a Biology field lab where students will investigate the relative health of an aquatic system based on bioindicators. Students will then summarize and reflect upon their findings.

This activity is a classroom investigation of wolf behavior where students use observational evidence to identify and describe wolf pack structure.

This activity is a field investigation where students conduct biological sampling on goldenrod galls and form conclusions.

In this investigation, students gather biotic and abiotic data and samples in the field, develop an experiment to test another abiotic factor in the lab, synthesize group data, interpret their findings and make a claim on the health of the wetland ecosystem.

This activity is an outdoor lab in which students investigate the process of evaporation, record their findings, and use the data to make connections to the environment around them.

This activity is a field investigation where students collect and design an experiment to identify the water quality of a section of the North Branch of the Root River in Lanesboro, MN. The investigation is done in collaboration with Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center.

This activity is a field investigation where students list plants and animals they observe. Students will organize their data as producers, consumers, or decomposers and create a food web showing how they affect each other. They will predict what will happen if the food web becomes imbalanced by extinction or over population.

This is a lesson designed by a biology teacher. In it, students use maps and evidence of island age, molecular genetics, morphology, and distance apart to determine how the islands came to be occupied by different species of lizards. It will take some time and requires extensive background knowledge.