Middle School Environment and Ecology Lessons

University of Connecticut’s Full Integrated Pest Management Curriculum

• A Weed by Any Other Name (Biodiversity of plants, especially weeds in a given area)

• Dormant Demons (Plant life cycles, seed banks, mulching, weed management)

• There's No Such Thing As Free Lunch (Model predator/prey population dynamics; demonstrate the impact of density-independent factors on predator and prey populations)

• Time Trials (Movement of pesticides through earth’s surface to ground water)

• A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words(Define and visualize biodiversity)

• More Than The Spice of Life    (Necessity of biodiversity)

   movie clip

Above is a link to a youtube clip that covers some of the same concepts as the WWF Exploring the Web of Life video listed in the materials section of More than the Spice of Life lesson.

• E³ - Earth’s Endangered Ecosystemsn   (Endangered Ecosystems)

• Acid Rain Ruin (Acid rain pollution; causes, effects etc.)

• Biosphere- Building a Balanced World (CO2, photosynthetic activity, relation to greenhouse gases)

• Building your Own Biosphere (Design an enclosed environment that will support plant and animal life)

• Exploding Population (Human population and the sharing of global resources)

• Consuming Passions(Environmental issues, and brainstorming ways to solve them)

• Biodiversity in Your Own Backyard (Observe diverse populations that occur locally; how humans effect biodiversity)
• View University of Connecticut's Full IPM Lessons here

Pennsylvania State University Middle School Integrated Pest Management Lessons

• Simple Samples (Conducting a simple field sample in ecological investigations)
• Vertebrates (Classify vertebrates, food chains etc.)
• View all Pennsylvania State University IPM Lessons here

Iowa State University IPM Pilot Program

• Beautiful Butterflies – Activity Centers (Habitats, ecosystems, organism modifications, and organisms survival techniques)
• The Sweet Connection (Bee and plant relationships)
• Insect Travel Brochure (Habitats, trophic levels and organism interactions)
• Let’s Create an Ecosystem (Creating an ecosystem in a jar)
• What Makes Up an Ecosystem? (Students create ecosystems and food webs)
• View all Iowa State University IPM Lessons here

Clemson University Integrated Pest Management Teacher Resources

• Discovering IPM: An Inquiry Approach to Learning Integrated Pest Management
  • Contains the Lessons: Discovering Pests, Learning More About Pests, Taking a Closer Look at Pests, Making Decisions, and IPM Discovered
• View All Clemson University Lessons Here The lessons are listed for Grades 4 and 5, but can be modified to be applicable for Middle School.

Cornell University, New York State Integrated Pest Management Program: Teaching IPM

Browse the list below to find lessons of interest and then find the corresponding lesson on the host website above.

• Green Science: Composting for Better Soil (Teach students all about composting and start your own composting project at your school)
• Green Science: Experiment #1- Sun, Water or Both? (Experiment with plant requirements for growth)
• Green Science: Experiment #2- Bean Sprouts (Experiment with plant requirements for growth)
• Green Science: What do Plants Need for Growth? (Plant growth requirements)
• Land: Earthworms on the Job (Earthworm biology)
• Land: Erosion (Soil erosion)
• Land: Soil is Important (Soil ecology)
• Land: Taking Care of the Land (Maintaining soils for agriculture)
• Land: Water Quality (Water cycles, water quality)
• Land: What is Soil? (Basics on soil)
• Land: What’s in soil, anyways? (Soil ecology)
• Land: What’s Living in my soil? (Soil ecology)
• Plant Science: Grow an Indoor Salad Garden (Comparing indoor and outdoor plant requirements)
• Plant Science: Photosynthesis (Plant anatomy and Photosynthesis)
• Plant Science: Plants as Living Things (All about plants)
• View all Cornell University IPM Lessons Here