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Freshwater fish make vast treks, but their migrations remain hidden beneath the surfaces of rivers. This invisibility has left freshwater fish largely overlooked, even as their populations worldwide have plummeted. Now, global “swimways” for migratory fish are emerging as an important conservation focus.

In this activity, students will create their own dioramas. To do this, students will observe their local ecosystem and take pictures of parts of their ecosystem that they believe tell a story. Students will then learn about how dioramas can be used to tell scientific or historical stories and will convert their ecosystem stories into 3-dimensional dioramas.

Predation occurs when one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. In this lesson, students will learn about the recently discovered chemical predation tactics of the feather-legged lace weaver spider, which vomits toxins on its prey. Students will explore the possible evolutionary advantages and disadvantages of this technique and research another organism that uses chemical means for predation.

Use this lesson plan to learn about an article type called Analyze This that is published by Science News Explores in print and online. You can also access a lesson plan template that can be used with any Analyze This article. Each Analyze This article includes a graph or data visualization that is paired with questions for students to answer and a short story that provides context.

Use this lesson plan and the provided template to have your students practice the KWL strategy. This note-taking strategy helps students organize their thoughts and reflect on their knowledge around a particular reading.

How can comic strips help teach experimental design of research studies? Use this lesson plan to learn about an article type called Wild Things that is published by Science News Explores in print and online. Wild Things use comic strips that tell the stories of research studies on animals’ biology and behavior. You can also access a lesson plan template that can be used with any Wild Things article.

Use this lesson plan and the provided template to have your students practice the 3-2-1 strategy. This literacy strategy is a quick way to check students’ understanding of a concept, reading or lesson. It helps them summarize and organize their thoughts by listing three responses to one prompt, two responses to another prompt and one response to a final prompt.

Use this lesson plan to learn about an article type called Technically Fiction that is published by Science News Explores in print and online. Technically Fiction articles focus on a fictional phenomenon and explain whether it could be possible and the science it would take to make it a reality. You can also access a lesson plan template that can be used with any Technically Fiction article.

Use this lesson plan and the provided template to have your students practice creating concept maps for any article. This literacy strategy boosts critical thinking and reading retention by having students organize information and connect important ideas, concepts and terms.

Use this lesson plan to learn about an article type called Explainers that is published by Science News Explores in print and online. You can also access a lesson plan template that can be used with any Explainer article. Explainer articles take a deep dive into a key scientific concept or process.

Use this lesson plan and the provided template to have your students practice the Cornell Note-taking System with any article. This literacy strategy organizes notes into two columns that provide structure for note-taking, analysis and review and that will help increase students’ learning, comprehension and retention.

Scientists agree that the Amazon is in grave trouble because of human activities, such as deforestation, and climate change. Past studies have suggested certain rates of deforestation would trigger the Amazon to transform into a savanna, but many scientists now say the forest probably doesn’t have a single, clear tipping point. Still, researchers are working to understand what needs to be done — and how soon — to save the forest. Use the map and graph titled “Rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon” to have students analyze the area and rate of deforestation in the Amazon.