A favorite of mine is to have the kids stake out a square meter of ground somewhere on campus using bamboo skewers and kite string. Then they observe and catalog all of the living and non-living things in their ecosystem
and watch how they interact with each other and are interdependent on each other.
You can lead up to this activity with lessons on living vs non-living and other ecosystem concepts such as interdependence, niches, and adaptations.
As the last part of the observation of the square meter, have the kids take a soil sample and put it into a homemade berlese funnel. You can find information
about berlese funnels by serching for that term online. They can be made from a 2-liter soda bottle and a piece of wire mesh from your local hardware store.
