Presents an activity that helps students explore how energy moves through an ecosystem. Students become plants and animals that thrive in a place near the school. In these roles they are allowed to experience the energy cycle. Materials for this activity are simple and easy to acquire. (DDR)

Explores the ecosystem in Pacific Northwest Coastal America and investigates land management issues. Discusses the impact of canopy trees on temperature and the forest itself. Explains fungi's relationship with trees and presents activities on stream flow, wood, volcanoes, and plants for the classroom. (YDS)

Just asking questions can lead to the best classroom experiences. After a three-week unit on living things, one of the authors asked their second-grade students what else they wanted to learn about plants. Their questions were the prelude to a three-week inquiry on plant growth. From question formulation to presentation of results, the students…

Many preschoolers know that plants and animals share basic biological properties, but this knowledge does not usually lead them to conclude that plants, like animals, are living things. To resolve this seeming paradox, we hypothesized that preschoolers largely base their judgments of life status on a biological property, capacity for teleological…

A natural history museum is a building where animals, plants, minerals, and other things in nature are kept and exhibited for study. This document is a curriculum guide to provide a variety of activities for educators and their students to use not only when visiting the International Wildlife Museum (Tuscon, Arizona), but also with natural history…

Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Washington is managed by the Washington State Department of Ecology, Shorelands and Coastal Zone management Program. This guide is designed for primary teachers to complement a visit to the reserve and is a useful resource to teach about estuaries, shorelands, and coastal resources. Activities are…

Describes the Sonoran Desert, the hottest desert in North America. Discusses management challenges, recreation, exotic plants, threatened and endangered species, American Indian traditional cultural places, and riparian areas. Presents classroom activities aimed at educating youth about the area's many distinctive features and the importance of…

Presents three science activities targeted to help urban students learn about nature: (1) observing coloration patterns of pigeons; (2) measuring local rainfall and comparing it to other areas; and (3) conducting a biodiversity study by observing a patch of lawn. (YDS)

The grade three curriculum set out by the British Columbia Ministry of Education has four categories for science: Processes of Science, Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth and Space Science. Within each of these categories there are numerous topics to teach. For example, the physical science curriculum requires students to learn about…

Children and teachers may not think in the same way about particular science concepts. Such parallel lines of thought can compound children's confusion and misunderstanding as they learn science at primary school. The situation could be more acute when student teachers are teaching science, because of their limited experience of considering…

This document was developed in response to California Senate Bill No. 885, "The Endangered Species Education Project," that called for a statewide program in which schools adopt a local endangered species, research past and current efforts to preserve the species' habitat, develop and implement an action plan to educate the community…

Describes symbiosis and its significance in the day-to-day lives of plants and animals. Gives specific examples of mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism in the relationships among fungus and plant roots, animals and bacteria, birds and animals, fish, and predator and prey. (MDH)

Suggests activities for studying the variety of life forms found and the interaction of living things during a class trip to the beach. (WRM)

As the articles in this issue attest, U-shaped curves in development have stimulated a wide spectrum of research across disparate task domains and age groups and have provoked a variety of ideas about their origins and theoretical significance. In the authors' view, the ubiquity of the general pattern suggests that U-shaped curves can arise from…

Riparian ecosystems are an exciting and dynamic subject for study. These areas are valuable lands and important wildlife habitats, and they contribute greatly to the environmental health of an area. Definitions for the term "riparian" vary, but in this curriculum, the land called the "Green Zone" lies between flowing water and upland ecosystems.…