Human Impacts on Earth Systems Science Games

In this series of games, your students will learn how different types of human activity affect the Earth’s ecosystems. The Human Impacts on Earth Systems learning objective — based on NGSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic performance in your classroom, as demonstrated by research.

Scroll down for a preview of this learning objective’s games and the concepts they drive home.

Concepts Covered

Living things have traits that allow them to survive in their specific ecosystems. When their environment changes, they may be unable to adapt to the new conditions, forcing them to leave or die.

Environmental changes are often caused by human activity. Many ocean, river, lake, forest, desert, and underground ecosystems have transformed because of agriculture, mining, drilling, water extraction, deforestation, development, hunting, fishing, damming, recreation, and other industries.

Activities like these can have massive impacts, such as habitat destruction, erosion, soil loss, climate change, and pollution of the air, water, and land. This can cause species to migrate or become extinct, disrupting food chains and competition for resources, throwing off the balance of the ecosystem.

A preview of each game in the learning objective is found below.

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