Middle School, Environmental Science Lesson Plans (2024)

Make a Water Cycle Model

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5 reviews

Earth is a planet full of water. 70% of its surface is covered with water in oceans, lakes, rivers, and more. Water on our planet can also be found in the atmosphere and underground. In this lesson, students will explore how water is continually cycled among land, the oceans, and the atmosphere. As students build a physical model of the water cycle, they will be able to simulate and observe evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and other water cycle processes in real-time. Remote… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• MS-ESS2-4. Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.

Science Project Pathways

Try our new Science Project Pathways in Google Classroom. One tool to plan, assign, and manage a science project in your class.

Simply enter the project start date to get a customizable science project schedule that breaks the science project into a series of smaller more manageable assignments to keep students on track. The assignments use Science Buddies guide to the scientific method to take students step-by-step through a science project. From the schedule, teachers can make assignments in Google Classroom and view student progress on each assignment.

Sustainability: Reduce Your Environmental Impact!

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2 reviews

Global warming, pollution, and deforestation are just a few examples of how human actions affect our planet. How can we reduce our impact on the environment? In this lesson, students will find out by using an online tool called Your Plan, Your Planet. Based on their findings, students will come up with their own action plans aimed at reducing their personal ecological footprint and assess its effectiveness after implementation. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

Design a Seeding Machine to Counteract Deforestation

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1 review

Forests are the green lung of the Earth and home to millions of different plant, fungi, animal, and bacteria species. Unfortunately, today many forests are threatened by deforestation, which causes significant biodiversity loss. Ongoing reforestation efforts across the world intend to counteract the effects of deforestation. As planting trees by hand does not scale well, machines on the ground, as well as flying drones have been developed to help plant tree seedlings or seeds. In this lesson,… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• MS-ETS1-2.Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem.
• MS-ESS3-5.Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.

Fossil Fuels: Chocolate Chip Mining

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3 reviews

The problems with using fossil fuels starts with extraction. In this activity, students "mine" chocolate chips out of cookies to demonstrate the effects mining can have on habitats. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• 4-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment.
• MS-ESS3-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.

How Stable is Your Food Web?

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1 review

Could you describe the kelp forest food web as a system? Your students will design and use a simple model to test cause and effect relationships or interactions concerning the functioning of a marine food web, ranking their hypothetical ecosystems according to their stability when faced with a natural or man-made disturbance. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• 5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
• MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
• MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
• HS-LS2-6. Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

Oceanic Circulation: What Keeps the Ocean in Motion?

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Why is the ocean vital to our planet? There are many reasons, but one important one is that the ocean is a major player in regulating our weather and climate through currents. In this lesson plan, your students will model ocean currents with cups, water, and food coloring, and explore how temperature and density differences set deep ocean waters in motion to create a global oceanic circulation system. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• MS-ESS2-6. Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.

Climate Change and Sea Level Rise

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Do sea levels rise when ice melts? Does it matter whether the ice is on land or in the ocean? Students design an experiment to find out. They collect data, graph their results, and interpret their findings. Along the way, they learn about density, displacement, and climate change. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• 5-PS1-2. Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.
• MS-PS1-5. Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.

Food Waste Audit

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3 reviews

Have you ever thrown away food after a meal? Have you ever thrown away a whole piece of food? What are some of the reasons you threw away that food?During this Food Waste Audit, students will explore their own impact on our food system. Students will brainstorm solutions to reduce their food waste and be challenged to try out their solution! Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• MS-ESS3-3.Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

Compost: A Scientific Investigation

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2 reviews

In this two-part inquiry-based activity, students will practice using the scientific method while learning about decomposition, exploring how some types of garbage will decompose while others will not. Students can then go on to design their own experiment to test different variables affecting the rate of decomposition. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• 5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.

Environmental Monitoring

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Does human activity impact the environment? If so, how can we measure our impact on the environment? How can we use these measurements to change our behavior? In this project, your students will explore these questions by designing and building an electronic circuit that can measure environmental parameters like water quality or light pollution. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

• MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.