Students learn about energy and nutrient flow in various biosphere climates and environments. They learn about herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, food chains and food webs, seeing the interdependence between producers, consumers and decomposers. Students are introduced to the roles of the hydrologic (water), carbon, and nitrogen cycles in sustaining the worlds' ecosystems so living organisms survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a meteorologist explains how an unusual weather pattern led to one of the most devastating floods of this century.

In this lesson, students will investigate various environments of the Great Lakes, including an exploration of flora and fauna unique to the region.

In this lesson, students will become familiar with some of the unique meteorology of the Great Lakes region in terms of weather and climate.

In this lesson, students will model how a watershed works to understand how the Great Lakes basin is a large watershed region.

Access to clean water is a critical issue in many countries. In the United States there are few places where we cannot find clean water to drink or swim in. This unit explores some of the potential problems involved in maintaining good water quality. This unit features 3 lessons and 6 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

Students are presented with a guide to rain garden construction in an activity that culminates the unit and pulls together what they have learned and prepared in materials during the three previous associated activities. They learn about the four vertical zones that make up a typical rain garden with the purpose to cultivate natural infiltration of stormwater. Student groups create personal rain gardens planted with native species that can be installed on the school campus, within the surrounding community, or at students' homes to provide a green infrastructure and low-impact development technology solution for areas with poor drainage that often flood during storm events.

In this lesson, students deepen their knowledge of physical and geographic features of the Great Lakes by exploring one of the five Great Lakes in depth with a study group and creating a “for sale sign” poster to present to the class for one of the Great Lakes.

In this video segment adapted from United Tribes Technical College, meet Native Americans who are concerned about climate change and believe that action today can help future generations once again live in harmony with Earth.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the ways in which people encounter the Great Lakes as they explore some of the history of the Great Lakes, including how local people groups regard the waters, how New World explorers from Europe traveled the Great Lakes waterways, and how the Great Lakes are a source of commercial transport.

This video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA profiles two scientists who were surprised in 1984 to discover a hole in our atmosphere's ozone layer as big as the United States.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, dramatic footage of avalanches and animations of ice crystals illustrate how a layer of weakly-bonded snow can contribute to a devastating avalanche.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists use computer simulations to explore the question of how supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes.

In this lesson, students will continue examining the historic significance of the Great Lakes by focusing on one of the key ways that people encounter the Great Lakes—as a source of freshwater.

This formative assessment item uncovers students' ideas about the conservation of water and the water cycle. The probe is aligned with the National Science Education Standards and can be used before, during, or after instruction. Resources are provided as well as instructional strategies.

This video segment adapted from KET's Where the River Bends demonstrates how climate change and glacier movement during the Ice Ages destroyed the old Teays River and created the Ohio River, Kentucky's northern border.

Students learn about the human water cycle, or how humans impact the water cycle by settling down in civilizations. Specifically, they learn how people obtain, use and dispose of water. Students also learn about shortages of treated, clean and safe water and learn about ways that engineers address this issue through water conservation and graywater recycling.

In this video segment adapted from the National Film Board of Canada, learn how the Inuit people have used their traditional knowledge to understand and adapt to changes in their Arctic environment, particularly when hunting and navigating the landscape.

Take water to a whole new level with a career that revolves around the natural water cycle through studies of rivers, lakes and oceans.

Hands-on group activity in where children go outside to find clouds, document with pictures, and identify them.