Search Results

Studying ecosystems can be done everywhere, and you don't need a lot of materials to do so!  These lessons and investigations will support you in your efforts to get students outside, studying their own backyard using simple methods and materials.  

The series of lessons that comprise this unit are intended to take students from direct observations of their schoolyard to interpretation of air photographs of their schoolyard.  

The lessons in this unit provide methods for students to carry out three investigations to ask questions about differences in the land cover types for three important dimensions of the schoolyard ecosystem:

Different areas of the world have varying amounts of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources available. These resources may be utilized in many ways based on human needs. Obtaining and utilizing these resources will have a direct affect on the quality of the environment in a given area

The central investigation of this unit helps students answer the question "Where does the stuff living things are made of go after those organisms die?"  Throughout the unit, students grapple with the notion that matter is neither created nor destroyed, but it takes different forms as it cycles - as part of a living thing at one point in time, then as part of the non-loving environment at another

In this module students learn about microbes as decomposers, develop experimental design skills, and apply their knowledge to a variety of everyday situations.

When we think about the water cycle, most of us think of a diagram with arrows moving from alpine peaks into the big, blue ocean. Unless we live in such a place, this idealized diagram does not teach us where our water comes from or what happens to rain that falls on our neighborhoods.  These lessons can also be used to explore your schoolyard water cycle using hands-on activities.  

The SWEAP materials and activities assist teachers in guiding their students as they compare the ecology of three small watersheds with different land uses (e.g., agricultural, forested, developed).  Students learn about the factors that determine the quantity and quality of water flowing from any watershed, and the impact this has on aquatic ecosystems.  

Students' central challenge is to determine the food web of a local site. By investigating a familiar area, such as their schoolyard or a neighborhood park, students see their everyday environment as an ecosystem of which they are part.

In this module students will learn how land use has changed in the Hudson River watershed, both in geologic history and in more recent times in response to human pressures. Lessons include using paleoecology to understand change since the last glaciation, and using macroinvertebrates as an indicator for ecosystem health as it relates to land use.

In this module, students learn how to monitor a local waterway for changes in water quality, and how the Hudson River has changed over time due to pollutants including nitrates, phosphates, and salt.

Students will investigate the physical and chemical parameters of a waterway, discuss the impact of different types of land cover, and use data from Wappinger Creek collected before, during, and after a storm to examine the effects of storm water on a small stream.

Students will learn how and why invasive species have such large ecosystem impacts and how they have changed the Hudson River. This unit includes a more in-depth investigation of three species: zebra mussels, water chestnut, and common reed.

Ecosystems are defined as all the organisms along with all the components of the abiotic environment, interacting together as a system, within specific spatial boundaries.  The Hudson's ecosystem is connected by the streams, rainfall, runoff and seepage to the forest, atmosphere, and groundwater systems that are in its watershed and airshed.

This unit introduces students to the ecosystem concept using the Hudson River ecosystem. Students learn about both the biotic and physical history of the Hudson River ecosystem, including its geology, tides, and watershed. This unit's focus is on the  characteristics and historical drivers that primarily shaped the Hudson River ecosystem before European settlement. Changes after European settlement are explored in the following unit "The Hudson Valley: A Social-Ecological System."

Students observe soil samples, talk about where soil nutrients come from, receive a letter from a company that wants to know if dead plants can be used as fertilizer, then develop research questions.

Students analyze a trial involving a dispute about a composting business, then outline how a Special Investigator could gather evidence to help settle the case.

Students recieve a request to survey animals and their food resources on a local site, then talk about what they already know and how they could find out more.

Scientists make hypotheses at the beginning of any scientific study. A school site consists of both living and non-living things. School sites are designed for humans and human activities. School sites are habitat for creatures other than humans.