We hear the word ecosystems in the news and at school but just what are ecosystems? It turns out there are lots of ecosystems. You might even learn you have some inside you! Also in: French | Spanish

This activity is designed for students to discover how making observations of the environment is the key to making sound predictions. Students will also learn how both positive and negative outcomes of these predictions can affect and shape future decisions.

This visualization is a collection of maps, by continent, that project the impact on coastlines of a 216-foot rise in sea level, which is assumed to be the result of melting all the land ice on Earth.

This collection of photos from the NASA Climate website features images of global change, such as floods, wildfires, and retreating glaciers. Not all images show change caused directly by climate change and energy use, and descriptive captions indicate causes for change in most of the images.

A simple three-part diagram from UNEP GRID Vital Water Graphics showing how global warming could impact coastlines and populated areas of Bangladesh with a 1 and 1.5 meter sea level rise relative to the current coastline.

This is a five-activity module that explores the evidence for and impacts of melting glacial ice, with resources from major institutions and scientists who study glaciers -- primarily in Arctic areas. The suite of activities includes both glaciers and melting ice, as well as the impact of melt water downstream. Each activity follows the 5E model of Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation.

This lesson is comprised of three activities (three class periods). Students use web-based animations to explore the impacts of ice melt and changes to sea level. Students are introduced to topographic maps by doing a hands-on activity to model the contours of an island. Then students examine the relationship between topography and sea level rise by mapping changing shorelines using a topographic map.

In this video segment adapted from NASA, astronomer Michelle Thaller introduces the world of infrared light and demonstrates how infrared cameras allow us to see more than what the naked eye can perceive.

Students will create and investigate testable questions about how basil changes based on growing conditions.

This resource provides guidance on site selection for the GLOBE Atmosphere data collection protocols. Instructions for building an instrument shelter, a snowboard, an ozone measurement station, and a wind direction instrument are included.

This field activity asks students to examine and interpret a given environmental site where a disturbance (fallen tree, beaver dam etc.) has taken place.

In this activity, students graph and analyze methane data, extracted from an ice core, to examine how atmospheric methane has changed over the past 109,000 years in a case study format. Calculating the rate of change of modern methane concentrations, they compare the radiative forcing of methane and carbon dioxide and make predictions about the future, based on what they have learned from the data and man's role in that future.

This video segment from NOVA: "The Sea Behind the Dunes" explores the community of organisms that exists in the New England tidal marsh.

Students are are introduced to Excel and its capabilities by building some simple spreadsheets.

Students continue their introduction to Excel by building spreadsheets that estimate the risk of a major earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone to Benton County, Oregon.

This activity is a field investigation where students will learn the importance of detail when nature journaling.

This activity introduces students to the process of converting sunlight into electricity through the use of photovoltaics (solar cells). Students complete a reading passage with questions and an inquiry lab using small photovoltaic cells.

This activity is a project in which students research keystone species and report on specific species to the class.

This is an introductory lab for Environmental Science, investigating the bulk density of soil and water holding capacity.

This video features changes in the land, sea, and animals that are being observed by the residents of Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, Canada â many of whom hunt, trap, and fishâbecause of their long-standing and intimate connection with their ecosystem. Scientists interview the residents and record their observations in order to deepen our understanding of climate change in the polar region. Background essay and discussion questions are included.