Free textbooks, virtual labs, interactives, and activities for building units on ecology or environmental science:
Here’s a downloadof free Earth Day activities.
Ecology in your Own Backyard: Check out the free resources at EcologyOnline, with free videos and activities for exploring the ABCs of Ecology; and Watersheds.
There’s also CK-12’s Intro to Ecology, with 35 sections covering ecosystems and related topics. Sections include reading, related videos and links, and online practice questions. You can easily create your own “Flexbook” with only the sections you want to cover. The Ecology chapter is part of CK-12’s Life Science textbook.
Free PDF Readers:
Here are some links to free resources for explaining and learning about various ecology and environmental science topics through interactives, labs, assignments and activities.
Levels of Organization:
Food Chains/Webs:
Symbiosis and Other Interactions:
Nature Cycles:
- Water Cycle: Interactive
- Carbon Cycle: Interactive
Nitrogen Cycle: Visualize the flow of nitrogen in the environment.
Photosynthesis and Respiration:
Earth’s Biomes:
- Six Virtual Biomes: Description of plant and animal life in the major biomes and ecosystems.
- Free Biome Readers
Habitats and Ecosystems:
Biodiversity:
- 3 Levels of Biodiversity Interactive
- Hands-On Biodiversity Acitivities
- Backyard Biodiversity: Kids search for animal life in microhabitats close to home. Involves observation, classification, and species mapping. Includes links to several citizen science projects.
- Endangered Species Assignment: Using earthsendangered.com, create a graphic organizer comparing 4 endangered species from an area of the world.
Environmental Problems and Solutions:
- Earth Day Interactives
- Reduce/Reuse/Recycle: Visit the interactive Recycle City to play a game in which you improve a city by starting recycling programs.
- Will There Be Enough Fresh Water? Interactive module with five activities exploring the distribution and use of fresh water. Check out the other High Adventure Science modules covering clean air and Earth’s climate.
