Going Digital in the Age of Distance Learning

Hello everyone!  Wow, in just a few short weeks our teaching world has been rocked to the core.  If you had told me months ago that we would be in this shape today, I would have thought you had lost your mind. Unprecedented school closures have all of us scratching our heads and trying to figure out how to get through just one day at a time.  Both teachers and parents are scrambling to look for resources for our students that can be used digitally for distance learning.  Since it looks like schools are going to closed for some time, it's "all hands on deck" as we deal with the problems of educating children remotely.  

So let me get right to it.  The purpose of this post is to let you know about resources that are available for both teachers and parents in the world of "distance learning."  The rest of this post will consist of clickable links to resources you might find helpful.

First, I am working to convert the resources in my TpT store over to digital formats for use in Goggle Drive, Google Classroom, and/or Microsoft OneDrive.  As resources are updated with the digital version, I will add them to the "already posted" printable listing on TpT.  In short, this means that if you have purchased a resource from my TpT store, you will be able to download the resource again, at no extra cost, to receive the digital version if one becomes available.  Full disclosure: Converting items to digital resources is time-consuming and tedious work. My resources will not magically appear in digital format overnight, but I will add them as fast as I am able.

Just a reminder:  Do you know how to determine if a resource you have purchased on TpT has been updated? You will not get email notifications from TpT when resources are updated. You'll need to navigate to your "My Purchases" page on TpT and look for notifications that appear with any resources that have been updated.

What items at Amy Brown Science have been updated with new digital formats?
I started with my free resources.  The following resources have been updated. Each includes a detailed Teacher Guide to help you navigate the world of Google Drive.  I have also included a QuickStart Guide for the experienced users.  Click the images or red text below to grab these free distance learning resources:

Backyard Ecology:  This ecology activity is perfect for laying the groundwork prior to your ecology unit. The questionnaire will get your students thinking about the ecology and environmental issues of your local community.

Monohybrid Mice! is great for Punnett Square practice.  These problems are on a beginner level and a perfect way to introduce one-factor genetics problems to your students.

DNA Informational Text Reading: This reading is based on Watson and Crick's famous one-page article published in 1953 in Nature magazine, announcing their discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule. It comes with graphic organizers to help your students read and understand this classic scientific paper.

Compare and Contrast Graphic Organizer: This very simple, two-page graphic organizer has become one of the best study and review techniques that I use in my science classes. It forces students to think deeply about two topics or concepts as they search to find the similarities and differences between them. 

Cell Respiration Word Game Review: This review activity is designed to help your students master the difficult vocabulary in a cell respiration unit. 






I have also created a new custom category in my TpT store called "Digital / Google Apps" where you can find all of my digital resources. Clicking the link to this custom category will sort my store to show all of my digital resources. This is a great link to save.  It will allow you to see if any of the resources you have previously purchased have been updated for Google Apps.

Let me ask a favor of you: Please respect my copyright by NOT posting my resources on a public web site where my resources can be accessed by a Google search and the public world.  You are welcome to post to your own password-protected class site as long as only your students have access.  Thanks so much for your understanding.

One more thing before I move on to other suggestions for resources:  Signing up for my free newsletter is a good way to receive notifications for updates, exclusive freebies, promotions, sales, and news.  Click this link if you are interested in my newsletter.

Okay, now I am going to post links to all sorts of things that I have seen over the last few weeks that I think might be helpful to you.

• From the TpT Blog:  Distance Learning - Tips for Supporting Parents and Families
• From the TpT Blog: Getting Started With Distance Learning
• TpT School Access is a subscription-based service offered to schools.  TpT is currently making School Access available for free (through June 30, 2020) to all schools impacted by the CoronaVirus.  Click red link for more information.
• Have you tried Boom Learning?  Boom Cards are digital task cards, and a fantastic way to keep you students reviewing important content.  Boom Learning is currently offering free memberships through June 30, 2020.  You can find all of my Boom Card listings here.
• Check out The Cornell Lab: Science and Nature for Cooped Up Kids.  You can sign up to receive weekly activities that you can do at home with your kids.
• You can always find great resources at Discovery Education!
• Free memberships are currently being offered on Kahoot!
• Distance learning for lab activities:  Check out these Virtual Labs and Virtual Dissections.
• And, this article provides you with 200+ Online Learning Resources.
• Check out this Pinterest Board from my good friend Utah Roots.  This board contains links to videos for teaching science.
• You cannot go wrong with National Geographic Education.

Please note: All online learning sites should be throughly vetted by teachers and parents before allowing access to your students.

I hope that this post gives you some places to start as you begin your journey into distance learning.  Good luck to you, and please stay well!

P.S. The adorable "Dot Dudes" in the heading image are the copyrighted work of Sarah Pecorino Illustration.

"Words to Live By" from Famous Scientists

These famous scientists teach us about life as well as about science.

#KindnessNation

#WeHoldTheseTruths

We teach about the work of famous scientists all the time in our classes.  If you take one of my classes, then it is a given that you know that Jonas Salk developed a life-saving polio vaccine, that Stephen Hawking changed the way we think about our universe, that Jane Goodall works tirelessly on behalf of her beloved chimpanzees, and that nothing makes sense in a biology class without the work of Charles Darwin.   These people made (and make) tremendous contributions to various fields of study, but they also have a "human" side.  They teach us not only about science, but about human nature, about the value of hard work, about tolerance and acceptance, and about the importance of perseverance, never giving up, and never losing hope.

Click image to download free mini-posters.

With this in mind, I have developed a set of classroom mini-posters highlighting quotes from scientists that offer words of wisdom.  This is a "forever free" product in my TeachersPayTeachers store.  All of the mini-posters print out on 8.5 x 11 sized paper.  They can be quickly laminated and used to make a bulletin board or wall display.  As our students sit in our classes and look about the room, hopefully their eyes will land on one of these posters and provide them with the inspiration to succeed and overcome the hurdles of life.

So, what's up with the hashtags?  I am honored to join a large group of teacher-authors on TpT in this hashtag event to provide lots and lots of free classroom materials for all subjects and grade levels.  The idea is to provide a wealth of free materials that teach and reinforce character, kindness, tolerance, anti-bullying, empathy, inclusion, and equality for all.  Let's face it ... 2016 was a very difficult year for our nation.  Regardless of your beliefs, opinions or convictions, teachers need materials to bring out the best in our students.  This hashtag event will offer "forever free" materials that are not political in nature, but rather offer quality life lessons.

Here is a sample of the mini-posters.

Be sure to search on TpT, Facebook, and Instagram for these hashtags:  #KindnessNation and #WeHoldTheseTruths.  

This blog post is part of the Secondary Smorgasbord Blog Hop event.  As always, thanks to Darlene Anne Curran (The ELA Buffet) and Pamela Kranz (Desktop Learning Adventures) for hosting this event!  

An InLinkz Link-up

5 Free Lessons to Leave in Your Science Sub Folder

Prepare your sub folder NOW for your unexpected absence!

We all know this story.  We have lived this story over and over and over in our teaching careers.

• It is 4:30 am and you wake up to a very sick child.  You have to call by 5 am to get a sub.
• You are already running late. On the way to school, you have a flat tire. There is no way you are going to make it in time.
• While at school, you get an emergency call, and have to leave immediately.
• And occasionally, even WE (teachers) get sick and need to see a doctor.
• How many times have you said, "I would rather go to school than have to make out plans for the substitute teacher?"

Such is the nature of life. There are always going to be unexpected events in our lives that we have no control over. What you do have control over is how you handle them. Do you really want to be scrambling around in the dark at 4:30 an trying to put together some materials to send to your substitute teacher? Well, I must admit, I have been that teacher.  And you have, too!

Let's change that right now.  Here are 5 FREE lessons that you can download, print, and leave in your sub folder.  Even better, these are available in paperless digital versions for use in Google Apps.  The printable lessons are perfect for traditional classroom settings, and the digital versions are perfect for distance learning and 1:1 classrooms. When the unexpected happens to you, you can remain calm knowing that your students will have quality lessons to complete in your absence.  Of the 5 lessons listed and linked below, 3 of them can be used in any type of science class.  If you teach, for example, a life science class and a physical science class, you can leave these three lessons for both classes.

So here they are.  Don't procrastinate.... go ahead and click on the links and print these lessons out!  They are free, so what do you have to lose?

Click image to download free lesson.

1.  GRAPHING:  The need to review and reinforce graphing and data analysis skills is constant with our students.  Truly, this is the subject for another blog post!  Our students can use all the practice they can get, so why not have them practice while you are away from school?  In fact, if our students completed this activity several times during the year, it would be to their advantage!  In this activity, students are given data that must be graphed, followed by a set of thought-provoking and critical thinking data analysis questions.

2.  CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE POWERPOINT PLUS STUDENT WORKSHEETS:

This is best used near the beginning of the school year, but it can also serve as a great review for your end of course test in the spring. This resource consists of 11 PowerPoint slides (and Google Slides!) that cover the basic characteristics of all living things. The slides are bright and colorful and contain some really cool pictures. As the PowerPoint is played, students complete the 3-page worksheet. The questions on the student worksheet are designed to get students thinking and to generate class discussion.

Click image to download

Click image to download.

3.  STUDY SKILL GRAPHIC ORGANIZER: Want to leave a sub plan that covers what you have just been teaching?  This is a "compare and contrast" graphic organizer.  I use this single page all year long in my science classes.  Whatever it is that you have been teaching in science, I am quite sure that it contains concepts that can be compared and contrasted.  For example:  Students might compare and contrast photosynthesis to respiration, mitosis to meiosis, vascular plants to nonvascular plants, the three chambered heart to the four chambered heart or prokaryotic cells to eukaryotic cells. 

Click image to download.

4.  DNA INFORMATIONAL TEXT WITH GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS:  This download has everything you need to leave an informational text lesson for your students.  Watson and Crick wrote a famous one page paper on the structure of DNA.  (This paper is in the public domain.)  This lesson provides the article, and the graphic organizers.  This is still a perfect lesson for a sub even if you are not covering DNA in your class.  The idea is that students get practice reading scientific journal articles. The graphic organizers help them read for understanding.

Click image to download.

5.  GENETICS MONOHYBRID PRACTICE PROBLEMS: This lesson is best suited for life science or biology classes. Students are given a two-page worksheet of monohybrid, or one factor, genetics problems. This is a great review for end of course testing!

As already stated, the above 5 lessons are free.  Go ahead and download them all and check them out.  I am certain that you will find them suitable for use as emergency lesson plans in your science classes. After all, this (<---) is what we hope for our students in our absence!

Keep Wild Animals Wild!

Fantastic curricula for multiple grade levels!

We, as science teachers, must do more than just teach science.  We absolutely should teach the important concepts that are appropriate to our subject areas and grade levels.  But doesn't our responsibility go further than that?  Shouldn't we also be charged with giving our students a global awareness of societal and ecological issues?  The students we teach today will be the decision makers of tomorrow.  Let's make sure they have a solid foundation in the ecological and environmental issues that we are currently facing.

Click image to view curriculum.

To that end, I am proud to tell you about an exciting curriculum called "Keep Wild Animals Wild."

The International Fund for Animal Welfare and We Are Teachers have teamed up together to bring lesson plans, printables, teaching guides, and lesson plans that teach our students the importance of preserving wildlife.  The materials have been developed with different age groups in mind.  Teaching lessons are available for grades K- 2,
3 - 5, and 6 - 8.  Each curriculum contains a student magazine, a teaching guide, lesson plans, and an age appropriate video.  I will be focusing on the  grade 6-8 curriculum, but you will find a consolidated list of links to all components of each grade level at the end of this post.

The threats to wildlife and Earth's fragile ecosystems are real.  Many of these threats, if not most, are from human causes.  The "Keep Wild Animals Wild" curriculum focuses on the important ecological concepts of habitat destruction, climate change, the commercial wildlife trade, poaching, and how the extinction of one species can affect the entire ecosystem.

As stated above, each curriculum has several components:  A teaching video, a student magazine, a teaching guide, and lesson plans.  Let's take a look at each component.

First, the teaching video.  This is a 26-minute video, which is the perfect length for middle school students.  The video is packed with fantastic footage of wild animals in their natural habitats.  Students from around the world are included which gives a rich cultural flavor to the video.

Highlights and concepts covered in the video include:

• Differences between wild and domesticated animals.
• What happens when wild animals are kept in captivity.
• The illegal wildlife trade.
• The effects of logging and habitat destruction.
• The role of animals in the ecosystem.
• How the loss of biodiversity effects all populations in an ecosystem.
• What we can do to protect the animals on Earth.

When this teaching video is used in combination with the printable student magazine, these wildlife and environmental lessons will really come to life!

Click image to download student magazine for grades 6 - 8.

The student magazine is 20 pages in length.  I read it from top to bottom and found it to be entertaining, engaging, colorful, and extremely informative. The magazine is packed with great photos, animal facts, age appropriate vocabulary terms and interesting infographics.  If you are required to demonstrate the teaching of common core standards, this magazine is a great source for informational text readings.  Your students are going to love both the video and the magazine!

And what has been included for the teacher?  Just everything to make your lesson planning stress free!  There are two separate documents to be used by teachers:  A Teaching Guide/Program Overview and a Lesson Plan Guide.

The 18-page Teaching Guide/Program Overview provides just what you need to put together a fantastic unit for your students.

Click image to download Teaching Guide.

Highlights include:

• An introduction to the curriculum.
• Rationale for the "Keep Wild Animals Wild" program.
• Objectives.
• An overview of the curriculum components for the three different age groups.
• How to teach sensitive issues.
• Activities.
• Pre- and Post-assessments.
• Worksheets.
• Answer Keys.

And, finally, this brings us to the Lesson Planning Guide.  This 22-page guide brings you instructional goals, lesson objectives, essential questions, discussion, activities, reflections, and extensions.  Lesson plans are included for 9 separate lessons.

Click image to download the Lesson Plan guide.

Folks, to put it simply ..... These are quality materials.  Your students are going to benefit from these lessons, and you are helping to develop well-rounded science students who will possess the knowledge and skills needed to make important decisions about the environment when they are older.  It's win-win all the way around.

Remember, the links above are for the grade 6-8 materials.  Here are links to all grade levels:

Students ages 5 to 7 (grade K-2) are introduced to the concepts of what makes an animal wild and how people can observe and appreciate wildlife responsibly.

o   Lesson plans http://ow.ly/UBNGE

o   Student magazine http://ow.ly/UBNMW

o   K-2 Video http://ow.ly/UBPDG

Students ages 8 to 10 (grade 3-5) learn about wildlife trade, how it is relevant to them, and how they can take action to help protect wild animals from wildlife trade.

o   Lesson plans http://ow.ly/UBPJK

o   Student magazine http://ow.ly/UBPPg

o   3-5 video http://ow.ly/UBPTU 

Students ages and 11 to 14 (grade 6-8) also learn about wildlife trade and its relevance to their world.

o   Lesson plans http://ow.ly/UBQ0r

o   Student magazine http://ow.ly/UBQ5r

o   Classroom poster http://ow.ly/UBQdu

o   6-8 video http://ow.ly/UBQjl   

Get your students excited about the curriculum by using this great classroom poster.

Click image to download poster.

Many thanks to We Are Teachers and the International Fund for Animal Welfare for providing these valuable resources to our students.  Enjoy!

Let's Take a Virtual Field Trip to China!

Want to hang out in China with The Nature Conservancy and NatureWorks Everywhere?
  

YES, PLEASE!

Then this virtual field trip is for you!  Few things excite me more as a science teacher than teaching my students about how to protect and conserve our natural world.  Education is the key, and it is our responsibility as science teachers to make sure that our students are well educated about ecology and the environment.

I am extremely proud to be teaming up with The Nature Conversancy and NatureWorks Everywhere to bring you news of the 4th upcoming virtual field trip.  I have watched each of the first three virtual field trips and they are truly wonderful experiences that need to be shared in your classrooms.

Students love a field trip!  This special treat is usually reserved for the end of the school year.  But this December 4th, you can give them a live, virtual field trip experience that they will enjoy and remember!

Click image to go to the sign up page.

"Join our expert scientist Yue Wang, a conservation planning officer for The Nature Conservancy, on a virtual field trip across the world to two stunning provinces in China—Sichuan and Yunnan—where we will explore majestic forests, towering mountains, and other iconic landscapes. While examining the role these vital natural areas play in the carbon cycle and climate change, as well as the benefits of reforestation, we will learn about the magnificent creatures who call these habitats home: giant pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, and the elusive and odd-looking takin.

Exploring these critical areas will help students understand how important all habitats are for both people and animals—no matter where you are in the world. Our journey will demonstrate how scientists work with local communities to protect nature and create new wilderness."

The content of this virtual field trip is aligned with the  Next Generation Science Standards and the National Geography Standards. 

Ready to take the plunge and take your students on this amazing virtual field trip?  

This is what you need to do:

Step 1:  Sign Up!  Click this link to jump to the sign up page.  Sign up is quick, easy, and FREE!

Step 2:  Remember this is a live event!  Put the time and date on your planning calendar and start getting your students prepared for great lessons about our fragile environment.

Step 3:  Prepare yourself!  To aid in your preparation, download a copy of the standards that are being met.  This virtual field trip is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and National Geography Standards.  The downloadable standards page will help in your lesson planning.  Click here to download:  China Virtual Field Trip Standards.

Click to view video.

Step 4:  Prepare your students! Help your students get the most from this unique experience. In the days before the virtual field trip, use these free resources to teach your students the concepts of deforestation and reforestation, the carbon cycle, greenhouse gases, and climate change. Don't worry!  All of this has been prepared for you.  This video, "Reforestation: Impact on Climate Change" has everything you need to ensure that your students master the concepts.

While you are visiting this video link, be sure to download the FREE Climate Change Lesson Plans. The 17-page lesson plan includes lesson overviews, time frames, vocabulary, background for the teacher, activities, self-assessments, extensions, infographics, and evaluations.  This is truly a teacher treasure trove of great lesson plans in an easy-to-use format.  What a gift for the busy teacher!

Step 5:  You should be all ready now!!   Let your students know that on December 4th they are going on a field trip!

PSSSSSSST:  Want to get an idea of the treat you are in for?  Take a look at the 3rd virtual field trip that occurred last May:  The Coral Reefs of Palau: Nature's Amazing Underwater Cities.

Disclosure:  This post has been sponsored through a partnership with WeAreTeachers and NatureWorks Everywhere.

Take an Amazing Virtual Field Trip With The Nature Conservancy

Link up and hang out with The Nature Conservancy for a super-fun classroom virtual field trip!

Field trips are a common occurrence in schools, especially near the end of the school year.  However, funds are often nonexistent, and with the crushing pressure of end of course testing, time may not be available to take the kids out of school for the day.

What is the solution?  Take an exciting virtual field trip with The Nature Conservancy!

Tell me more!  The NatureWorks Everywhere website (presented by The Nature Conservancy) offers a wide range of lessons, videos and virtual field trips for our science classrooms.  The videos are highly engaging, and the downloadable free lesson plans are perfectly designed to complement and enhance your teaching.

What about the virtual field trip?  The third virtual field trip is just around the corner!  It is entitled:  "The Coral Reefs of Palau: Nature's Amazing Underwater Cities."  The mission of this field trip is to design, plan and execute a live Google Hangout for grade 3 - 8 classrooms in order to learn about the diverse ecosystem of Palau's Coral Reefs.  Students will learn about the symbiotic relationships between the many organisms, the environmental dangers facing the coral reef, and how people can act to protect the reef. From the developers, "We hope the virtual field trip will build student's knowledge of and emotional connection to environmental issues that are at the heart of The Nature Conservancy's mission."

When is it?  The live Google Hangout will take place on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at 12:00 pm.

How do I sign up?  Click this link to sign your class up  for the coral reef virtual field trip.

What will my students learn on this virtual field trip?  "Join the Nature Conservancy on a Virtual Field Trip to the Coral Reefs of Palau: a remote network of islands deep in the Pacific Ocean. Here, sharks snatch up smaller prey; decorator crabs apply bits of shell, algae, and sponge to their own backs for camouflage; and massive 2,000-pound sea cows graze. Our journey to the Coral Reefs will open students’ eyes to an amazing, interconnected ecosystem built on symbiosis and mutualism, where diverse organisms are designed to protect, clean, nourish, and even camouflage one another. In this underwater city, the coral supports its many “workers” and they, in turn, keep the coral healthy. 

Called “the medicine chests of the sea,” Coral Reefs provide ingredients that are leading to new lifesaving medications. They are also an astonishingly rich source of food for many species, including humans, and provide a perfect buffer to protect shorelines from erosion. Join our expert scientist, Marine Biologist Stephanie Wear, as we take a deep dive to learn about one of the “seven underwater wonders of the world.” May 19, 2015 at 12:00 pm (ET). Length: 40 minutes."

Many of the key ecological concepts that we have been teaching all year long will be reviewed and reinforced:  Symbiosis, mutualism, interactions within communities, predation, competition, food chains and food webs.  

Who will be leading this virtual field trip?  Marine biologist Stephanie Wear will be leading us on this adventure.  Stephanie is Director of Coral Reef Conservation for The Nature Conservancy.  Stephanie is articulate, engaging and explains concepts in a clear and easy to understand manner.  You can take a look at one of her coral reef videos at this link:  Coral Reefs - Feeding and Protecting Us.

Are there resources I can use to get prepared before we take the virtual field trip?  YES!!  These links will provide you with many free resources to prepare you for teaching and your students for learning.

• The Need Is Mutual Lesson Plan
• NOAA: Coral Ecosystems Education Collection
• NOAA - Ocean Acidification Education Collections

You mentioned above that this is the third virtual field trip presented by The Nature Conservancy.  Can I still view the first two fields trips?  Absolutely!  The first two virtual field trips can be viewed below:

Wild Biomes:  From America's Rainforests to America's Deserts

Deserts and Grasslands of Africa

This sounds great!  What do I do now?  Be sure to sign up for the live Google Hangout.  Then sit back and get ready for a fun classroom adventure!

Disclosure:  This post has been sponsored through a partnership with WeAreTeachers and NatureWorks Everywhere.

The Latest eBook for Science (and Other) Teachers

These are the simple truths:  Teachers are busy, busy, busy! Teachers spend WAY too much of their own money for materials for their classroom.  Teachers are always on the look-out for something new and innovative for their kids.

Well, the teacher/authors of TpT are here to help.  This is the latest of the FREE eBooks that you can download.  These eBooks (there is one for each subject area) will provide middle and high school teachers with instant resources that can be used immediately in the classroom.  Simply print and teach!!  

The Science eBook has 30 contributors, so that is 30 FREE resources for your classroom.  Each science teacher submitted two pages:  The first page tells you a little about the teacher, and the second page is a resource that we hope you can use ... and use ... and use!

You'll find pages from all of these amazing science teachers!

There are four eBooks, one for each subject area.  You can download them all at the following links:

• Science
• Math
• ELA
• Humanities

Thanks goes to these amazing ladies for their hard work in compiling these fantastic resources for our fellow teachers:  Brain Waves Instruction, Literary Sherri, Getting Nerdy with Mel and Gerdy, and Lindsay Perro.

Remember, all of these eBooks are free downloads, and I have no doubt that you will find plenty that you can use in your classroom

Have fun teaching!

An InLinkz Link-up

New Feature on Pinterest

I just love Pinterest....both professionally and personally.  Professionally, it lets me get the word out about my new products, and advertise for the old ones.  Personally, I love trying new recipes!  And Pinterest is a never ending source of new recipes!  Another favorite of mine is my gardening board.  I love planting, watering, and watching my yard bloom in the summertime.

But I digress.  The purpose of this post is to try out a new feature that I just discovered on Pinterest.  The new feature allows you to grab the html code for a particular board (or all of your boards) in order to showcase a particular board on your web site.

So I thought I would give this new feature a try.  Let's see how well this works......

I would like to feature my "FREE Teaching Materials for Biology and Chemistry"  board.  On this board you will fine free labs, worksheets, graphic organizers, and more.  Remember, this is my FREE board, so click those pins and start downloading!

     Follow Science Stuff's board FREE Biology / Chemistry Teaching Materials on Pinterest. 

Enjoy... and have fun teaching!!!

Backyard Ecology Freebie

Backyard Ecology: An Ecological Assessment of Your Neck of the Woods

Every once in a while, we should abandon the textbook and take a look at the world around us.  There's a lot going on out there!  Many schools now have outdoor classrooms, but even if you don't have an official outdoor classroom, there is still a lot of nature going on in your school yard.  Unfortunately, most of us are tied to a very strict science curriculum, and of course, the dreaded season of standardized testing.  The ecology of your local community isn't going to be on "the test" but it is still a vital and important lesson for our science students.

Here's an activity that you might find helpful and beneficial.  And best of all ... it's FREE!  I created and used this with my students for the first time this past school year.  I was so pleased with the activity that I decided to share it with all of you.

This activity is a 23-question worksheet that the student should complete at the beginning of a unit on ecology.  The student should be given the worksheets in advance and given a few days to work on it.  The questions are designed to get the student thinking about the environment, especially about things that happen in their own home and community. Some of the items on the questionnaire can be completed at school, but a few will require just a bit of research.    The end result is that our students will learn many things about their local environment and community.

The printable lesson is perfect for traditional classroom settings, and the paperless, digital Google Apps version is perfect for distance learning and 1:1 classrooms. 

A few sample questions include:

• Name 5 plants that seem to be native to your area.  For each plant, list one reason why it is important to humans.  For example, can these plants be used as a source of food?  Are they used in landscaping?
• What agricultural products are grown in your area?  Is there a problem in obtaining the water necessary for growing these crops?
• Other than recycling, what is done in your home that could be considered “conservation”?    
• List three organizations or agencies in your area that are involved in the conservation and protection of the environment.  Describe the purpose of each agency/organization.

Click image for free download.

I was very pleased with the results.  My students put time and energy into supplying thoughtful answers that generated much classroom discussion during our unit on ecology.  I hope you enjoy this freebie!

Have fun teaching!