How Plants and Animals Prepare for Winter
As the temperature outside begins to drop, noticeable changes take place all around us. All living things, including humans, must adapt to their environment in order to survive. Let’s take a closer look at how plants and animals prepare for winter.
Illuminate Your Science Class with Glow-in-the-Dark Experiments and Activities
Some animals, insects, and organisms have evolved to produce light for various reasons. Capture your students’ curiosity and love of learning by using bioluminescence as a springboard into the world of luminescence. There are many ways of adapting glow-in-the-dark lessons to a variety of subjects and grade levels.
Go to Bat for Bats This October
Bat Week is Oct 24-Oct 31! Use these free activities to celebrate and teach kids about the important role bats play in nature.
Better Together: Mutualistic Relationships Between Plants and Insects
Plants help protect insects, and insects help plants pollinate and disperse seeds. Learn about some specialized symbiotic relationships that benefit both organisms involved.
Most Unwanted: Invasive Insects in U.S. Forests
An invasive species is any kind of organism that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm to the environment, economy and possibly even human health. Gypsy moths, Asian longhorned beetles, emerald ash borers, and woolly adelgids are among the growing list of invasive insects that threaten U.S. forests and urban landscapes.
How Students Can Help Reduce Single-Use Plastic to Protect the Environment
Thirty-two percent of the plastics produced each year flow into our oceans. Here are a few ways you can encourage your students to reflect on how much plastic they use and how they can reduce their plastic consumption to protect the environment.
10 Hands-On Science Projects to Teach About Pollution
These experiments, games, and activities can help students in grades K-8 learn about the effect pollution has on the environment and inspire us to make a change.
Animals that live in trees (and how they’ve adapted to survive)
Sloths, koalas, geckos, and opossums have found unique ways to live in tree-tops. Find out how these animals have adapted to life in the tree canopy.
14 Winter-Themed Experiments and Activities for Any Climate
Embrace the cold this winter and have some fun with these hands-on science experiments and activities.
Educational Children’s Songs About Trees
Engage children in learning about trees and forests through music! Sing about the seasons, leaves, animals, and more with these fun and educational songs about trees.
10 ways to add an artistic twist to indoor planting projects
These fun planter/pot activities for kids encourage artistic creativity, and many use recycled materials from around the home.
12 Videos to Help Us Understand Climate Change
Videos are a great way to introduce some of the complex topics associated with climate change. Check out these 12 videos to spark discussion with your middle or high school students.
Back to School: Advice from a Pencil
Inspire your students from Day One with advice like “Take Note of What’s Important”, “Set Your Sights High” or “Stay Balanced and Lean into Life’s Curves.”
Outdoor Science Games for Elementary and Middle School Students
These science games are an interactive way to get students learning outdoors. There’s so much to learn from going out and observing nature!
10 Books About Trees for Elementary Students
These stories will not only help students learn about trees, but more importantly, appreciate their significance and value. These books can help start a conversation about our relationship with nature, conservation, and life cycles.
12 Nature Walk Activities for Earth Day (or Any Day!)
One simple way schools can observe Earth Day is to take learning outside the classroom and have students interact with their environment. Here are some activities that will ensure your nature walks are an engaging and enriching learning experience for students of all ages.
Fun and Educational Science Apps for Elementary Students
These fun, educational apps focus on topics such as food webs, climate change, trees, conservation, and weather and they complement Project Learning Tree’s lesson plans.
Easy Plant Science Experiments for the Classroom
Looking for inexpensive and interactive STEM activities for your classroom? Conducting science experiments with plants is an easy way to incorporate hands-on experiences to your curriculum.
10 Outdoor Winter Activities for Preschoolers
The winter environment offers an abundance of learning opportunities for preschoolers, even in cold climates. Here are 10 winter activities that you and your preschoolers can enjoy outdoors.
Hands-On Activities to Explore the Many Uses of Trees
Learning about trees is a great introduction to many subject areas – from science to music to geography. Here are some outdoor lesson ideas for students in any grade.
15 Spooky STEM Challenges for Halloween
The best way to keep your students focused and learning during the lead up to trick-or-treat is to bring Halloween into the classroom.
12 Engaging Science Apps for Middle and High School Students
If you have access to tablets, there are many educational apps that you can integrate into lesson plans. We’ve pulled together 12 science apps for middle and high school students on the topics of climate change, conservation, weather, and more.
14 Animal Art Projects Made with Recycled Materials
Incorporating art projects into a lesson plan about temperate deciduous forests is a great way to make learning fun. Using recycled and waste materials can make these projects more eco-friendly.
32 Examples of Camouflage in Nature
Predators and prey animals use camouflage so they don’t attract too much attention. Here are examples of color matching, disruptive coloration, self-decoration, active camouflage, and mimesis.
Earth Day activities to inspire your students and make a difference
Earth Day is about raising awareness about the importance of protecting our planet and taking action. Use these activities to inspire your students to take action this Earth Day, and every day.
Teaching About Trees: Activity and Fun Facts About 10 Trees from Around the World
Fun facts about 10 trees from around the world to incorporate into a lesson about geography, science, language arts, and art. Students can create tree profiles to demonstrate their new knowledge.
11 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Lesson Ideas for Every Subject
Give “reduce, reuse, recycle” a whole new meaning by incorporating this concept into many subject areas. Many of these hands-on project ideas can be adapted for any grade.
Pollinators: Why They’re Important and How Schools Can Help
It’s critical we teach students about the role of pollinators. See how students of all ages can put their knowledge into practice and support pollinators.
Leaf Activities for Young Learners
Fall is a great time to teach young students about the changing seasons and the science of leaves. Check out over 50 ideas for incorporating science, math, art, and literature into your lesson plan about leaves.
21 Endangered Species Art Project Ideas for Elementary Kids
There are tens of thousands of known threatened species. It’s critical to teach our children about endangered species because if we don’t know about the problem, we can’t take steps to find solutions.
Summer Reading List
From informative nonfiction reads to silly fictional tales, this list separated by grade level will help kids–and adults–stay on top of their reading.
An Easy-to-Make Model that Explains the Inner Parts of a Tree
Help students visualize and better understand the function of the inner parts of a tree trunk by creating this easy-to-make visual aid.
Agent of Change: Accolades for Our PLT State Coordinator
Ten years ago, my life changed. It happened when I met Pat Maloney, the Project Learning Tree State Coordinator in Maine.
Social Media and the Classroom
With hundreds of social media outlets available, PLT highlights 4 social media platforms that have useful applications for teachers.
3 Rules and 3 Ideas for Involving Parents in Children’s Learning
When parents take an active interest in their child’s education, students benefit. Here are 3 tested ways to engage parents in learning with their children.
Tree Planting Tips
Ready, set, plant! Tree planting tips for your class, community group, or family to use when planting trees.
Top 10 Benefits of Environmental Education
Enthusiasm for learning. Empowered to make a difference. Improved health and academic performance. Just some of the benefits of EE for youth, educators, schools, communities.
What Makes Trees So Colorful in the Fall?
Visible and invisible changes happen in leaves this season. Explore these changes and how to use a classic PLT activity to teach about fall colors.
Activities for Girl Scout Badges and Journeys
Scout troop leaders and volunteers, and those who provide scout programs at nature centers, parks, and community recreation facilities, can quickly identify Project Learning Tree …
A School Nature Trail Creates a Pathway to Learning
Pairing older and younger students to create a nature trail around a New York school’s perimeter provides learning experiences for both.
Lesson Plans to Support Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
Download these six Project Learning Tree activities to support “teachable moments” related to this classic children’s book and film.
Top Ten Tips for Teaching Outside – High School
There are lots of reasons to learn outside. If you are thinking about trying out teaching in the outdoors, check out these tips.
Top Ten Tips for Teaching Outside – Elementary
There are lots of reasons to learn outside. If you are thinking about trying out teaching in the outdoors, check out these tips.
Top Ten Tips for Teaching Outside – Early Childhood
There are lots of reasons to learn outside. If you are thinking about trying out teaching in the outdoors, check out these tips.
Lab Coats Paint a Thousand Words
Create your own painted lab coats! These powerful visual tools engage students in learning about science and the environment.
Six Steps for Successful Service Learning
A successful service-learning project is more than just volunteering—it involves students applying knowledge and skills to make a difference in their communities.