7 Fun and Rigorous High School Environmental Science Activities

Read on for the ways that environmental science webquests can spark interest and learning in 9th grade through 12th grade.

Specific environmental science and ecology webquests for high school students are shown. (Click on any image to go to a specific webquest.)

Webquest lessons help environmental science students get in the habit of using the internet for useful information.

Show students that there is more to the internet than Facebook and Twitter. There are high-quality sites that can enrich their understanding of environmental science issues. Within the United States and around the world, this information is compiled and vetted by government agencies, non-profits, and universities in order to educate the public. Why not make use of it?

Webquests point students toward authoritative science sources.

In the real world, there isn’t normally a textbook at hand for keeping up with current global and environmental issues.  There are, however, lots of low-quality media sources clamoring for screen space and attention. We can prepare students during the middle and high school years to proactively seek out information from more-authoritative, less-biased sources. Many authoritative real-world sources have a web presence.

If high school students spend time reading and understanding real-world information from quality real-world sources outside of a textbook, they will be in a much better position to recognize quality information and utilize it when they become adults.

The challenge with online learning:

Most authoritative sites, though useful for students, are not written expressly for students. Yet, they are exactly the kinds of sources that students should discover. With careful sourcing of the material, students can explore these sites while still anchored to classroom objectives.

Webquests can save teachers tons of lesson planning time.

Finding relevant and grade-appropriate information for students on the web can be surprisingly time-consuming. Although there is a lot of great real-world science content on the web for students, it’s often hidden among other content that is not necessarily grade-appropriate or consistent with curriculum goals.  And more than one source is often needed to inform a balanced lesson. (All of the webquests shown here use several sources.)

This is where the seven environmental science webquests on this page can really help. Use just one activity or use the full set. Clicking any image on this page will bring you to more details, including visual previews, specific online sources used, and straightforward step-by-step instructions.

Learning environmental science can be fun!

These webquests are designed to be visually-appealing for students. Teachers report over and over that their students enjoyed using these activities to learn.

Teacher feedback on Forward-Thinking Curriculum webquests:

·          “Really in-depth! Great resource for my students!”

·         “Really liked the format with the pictures and having links available to students!”

·         “What a great activity! The kids really liked it and it made them more globally aware.”