Skip to main content
Natural Inquirer - Homepage

Free Science Materials for K-12 Students

  • Bookmarks
  • Cart0
  • Account
  • Find Outdoors
  • USDA
  • USDA Forest Service logo.
Natural Inquirer - Homepage
  • About
    • About Natural Inquirer
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Press & Past Events
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
    • View All Resources
    • Grade Levels
      • PreK - 2nd Grade
      • Upper Elementary
      • Middle School
      • High School
      • All Grade Levels
    • Resource Types
      • Articles
      • Activities
      • Collector Cards
      • Coloring Books
      • Glossary
      • Lesson Plans
      • Scientists & Collaborators
      • Spotlights
      • Virtual Learning Adventures
      • All Types
    • Resource Topics
      • Wilderness
      • Wildlife
      • Water
      • Climate
      • Social Science
      • Fire
      • Agriculture
      • Recreation
      • Carbon
      • Insects
      • All Topics
    • Special Collections
      • Artemis Moon Trees
      • Experimental Forests & Ranges
      • Project Learning Tree Connections
      • Globe Connections
      • Smokey Bear
      • Spanish Editions
      • Woodsy Owl
      • World's Forests
      • All Special Collections
  • Order Materials
    • View All Products
    • Journals & Monographs
    • Readers
    • Collector Card Packs
    • Coloring Books
  • Educators
    • For Educators
      • Note to Educators
      • Educator Blog
      • Educator Newsletter
    • Classroom Ready Resources
      • Lesson Plans
      • Activities
      • Learning Modules
      • GLOBE Connections
      • Project Learning Tree
    • Get Involved
      • Volunteer Your Classroom
  • Virtual Learning Adventures
  • Bookmarks
  • Cart
  • Account
  • About
    • About Natural Inquirer
    • Team
    • Partners
    • Press & Past Events
    • Contact
  • Resources
        • View All Resources
        • By Grade
          • PreK - 2nd
          • Upper Elementary
          • Middle School
          • High School
        • By Type
          • Articles
          • Activities
          • Collector Cards
          • Coloring Books
          • Glossary
          • Lesson Plans
          • Learning Modules
          • Journals
          • Monographs
          • Readers
          • Scientists & Collaborators
          • Spotlights
          • Virtual Learning Adventures
          • All Types
        • By Topic
          • Agriculture
          • Carbon
          • Climate
          • Fire
          • Insects
          • Recreation
          • Social Science
          • Water
          • Wilderness
          • Wildlife
          • All Topics
        • Special Collections
          • Artemis Moon Trees
          • Experimental Forests and Ranges
          • GLOBE Connections
          • Project Learning Tree Connections
          • Smokey Bear
          • Spanish Editions
          • Woodsy Owl
          • World's Forests
          • All Special Collections
  • Order Materials
        • Download all resources - FREE!

          **Due to recent government funding changes, we currently are only able to process bulk orders.** We hope that we will be able to resolve this issue in the near future. In the meantime, please feel free to download our resources and explore the website for many great lesson plans and activities. Thank you!

          View All Products
        • Journals & Monographs

          Journals focus on a group of related articles, while monographs focus on one research article.

          Journals & Monographs
        • Collector Cards

          Learn about possible career opportunities in science!

          View All Card Packs
        • Readers

          For a PreK-2nd grade audience, each Reader focuses on one Forest Service scientist and their research.

          View All Readers
        • Coloring Books

          Learn more about science through our coloring books!

          View All Coloring Books
  • Educators
        • Overview
          • Educator Guide
        • Classroom Ready Resources
          • Learning Modules
          • Lesson Plans
          • Explore All
        • Order Materials
          • View All Free Products
          • Contact Us
        • For Educators
          • Educator Blog
          • Educator Newsletter
          • Project Learning Tree
        • Get Involved
          • Volunteer Your Classroom
  • Virtual Learning Adventures

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Resources
  • Learning Module – Caves & Karst
Bookmark
Please login to bookmark Close

Please login to bookmark


Lost your password?

No account yet? Register

Learning Module – Caves & Karst

  • Learning Module
  • High School
  • Middle School
  • Upper Elementary
  • 1 Week+
  • 2 Weeks+
  • 2-3 Classroom Periods
  • 5 Classroom Periods
  • Insects
  • Water
  • Wilderness
  • Wildlife
  • Bats
  • Cave Ecology
  • Cave Formations
  • Caving
  • Fossils
  • Geology
  • Glaciers
  • Karst
  • LiDAR
  • Mapping
  • Microbes
  • Safety
  • White Nose Syndrome
Scientist standing inside cave
SHARE
  • Copy Link
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Google Classroom

From the formation of caves by the movement of groundwater to mapping them and exploring their unique ecosystems to the importance of their conservation, this module is designed to explore the distinct environment of caves and the characteristics of karst landscapes. As a follow-up to our Freshwater Module or as a stand-alone unit, this module provides everything you might need to teach about caves and karst.

Below you will find links to videos, experiments, and articles all about Caves and Karst. If you would like to complete the entire module, it will take about ten days. If you are looking for a more focused lesson, the module includes three main units: Formation & Mapping of Caves, Flora & Fauna, and Conserving & Protecting Caves. Follow the links below for activities and more within each section. This module can easily follow the Freshwater Module.

Learning Module – Caves & Karst

Introduction to Caves and Karst

This introduction includes activities that should take about an hour and a half to complete.

  • Watch this Caves LIVE introductory video.
  • Explore the topic of karst before heading underground into the caves with “Tropic Topic” from our Caves and Karst NI about the chemistry of soil and leaves in wet and dry karst zones.
  • Answer the reflection section questions as you read. You can review your answers here.
  • Complete the FACTivity from “Tropic Topic” and measure different plants’ transcription rates to examine their water usages.
  • Watch this clip from Caves LIVE as an introduction to cave ecology.

Formation & Mapping of Caves

This sub unit includes activities that should take about 2 hours to complete.

Scientist standing inside cave
  • Read “A Tale of Two Caves” from our Caves and Karst Natural Inquirer about comparing the morphology of two different cave systems.
  • Answer the reflection section questions as you read. You can review your answers here.
  • Complete the FACTivity from “A Tale of Two Caves” and explore the formation of speleothems by growing your own stalactite.
  • Watch the clip (below) from Caves LIVE about measuring caves.
  • Watch the clip (below) from Caves LIVE about using LiDAR.

Optional: To learn more about the use of LiDAR, check out “Beam Me Down, Scotty” and “Treasure Islands” in the Hawai’i-Pacific Islands edition of Natural Inquirer.

  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about glacier caves.

Flora & Fauna

This subunit includes activities that should take about 2 hours to complete.

Beach dune flora and fauna
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about cave fauna.
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about caves on other planets.
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about fossils in caves.
  • Read “The Whole Kit and Kaboodle” from our Caves and Karst NI about the presence of land otters in cave systems and how their presence may have influenced the Tlingit people’s beliefs.
  • Answer the reflection section questions as you read. You can review your answers here.
  • Complete the FACTivity from “The Whole Kit and Kaboodle” and design a time capsule to show future archaeologists what life is like now.
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about Planinska Jama in Slovenia.

Conserving and Protecting Caves

This subunit includes activities that should take about 2 hours to complete.

Scientist standing inside cave
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about conserving and protecting caves.
  • Watch this clip from Caves LIVE about White-nose Syndrome in bats.
  • Read “Cave Conundrum” from the Caves and Karst Natural Inquirer and learn about whether white-nose syndrome is responsible for all declining bat populations.
  • Answer the reflection section questions as you read. You can review your answers here.
  • Complete the FACTivity from “Cave Conundrum” and simulate the spread of infectious disease. This activity may be modified to fit different class sizes.
  • Complete the unit by discussing or writing about the importance of caves and steps we can take to protect them.

Additional Resources

  • Caves LIVE: Live from Luray Caverns – Q&A session with Forest Service and National Park Service scientists
  • General information about caves
  • Additional lesson plans
  • Other useful links
SHARE
  • Copy Link
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Google Classroom

Introduction to Caves and Karst

This introduction includes activities that should take about an hour and a half to complete.

  • Watch this Caves LIVE introductory video.
  • Explore the topic of karst before heading underground into the caves with “Tropic Topic” from our Caves and Karst NI about the chemistry of soil and leaves in wet and dry karst zones.
  • Answer the reflection section questions as you read. You can review your answers here.
  • Complete the FACTivity from “Tropic Topic” and measure different plants’ transcription rates to examine their water usages.
  • Watch this clip from Caves LIVE as an introduction to cave ecology.

Formation & Mapping of Caves

This sub unit includes activities that should take about 2 hours to complete.

Scientist standing inside cave
  • Read “A Tale of Two Caves” from our Caves and Karst Natural Inquirer about comparing the morphology of two different cave systems.
  • Answer the reflection section questions as you read. You can review your answers here.
  • Complete the FACTivity from “A Tale of Two Caves” and explore the formation of speleothems by growing your own stalactite.
  • Watch the clip (below) from Caves LIVE about measuring caves.
  • Watch the clip (below) from Caves LIVE about using LiDAR.

Optional: To learn more about the use of LiDAR, check out “Beam Me Down, Scotty” and “Treasure Islands” in the Hawai’i-Pacific Islands edition of Natural Inquirer.

  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about glacier caves.

Flora & Fauna

This subunit includes activities that should take about 2 hours to complete.

Beach dune flora and fauna
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about cave fauna.
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about caves on other planets.
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about fossils in caves.
  • Read “The Whole Kit and Kaboodle” from our Caves and Karst NI about the presence of land otters in cave systems and how their presence may have influenced the Tlingit people’s beliefs.
  • Answer the reflection section questions as you read. You can review your answers here.
  • Complete the FACTivity from “The Whole Kit and Kaboodle” and design a time capsule to show future archaeologists what life is like now.
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about Planinska Jama in Slovenia.

Conserving and Protecting Caves

This subunit includes activities that should take about 2 hours to complete.

Scientist standing inside cave
  • Watch this clip (below) from Caves LIVE about conserving and protecting caves.
  • Watch this clip from Caves LIVE about White-nose Syndrome in bats.
  • Read “Cave Conundrum” from the Caves and Karst Natural Inquirer and learn about whether white-nose syndrome is responsible for all declining bat populations.
  • Answer the reflection section questions as you read. You can review your answers here.
  • Complete the FACTivity from “Cave Conundrum” and simulate the spread of infectious disease. This activity may be modified to fit different class sizes.
  • Complete the unit by discussing or writing about the importance of caves and steps we can take to protect them.

Additional Resources

  • Caves LIVE: Live from Luray Caverns – Q&A session with Forest Service and National Park Service scientists
  • General information about caves
  • Additional lesson plans
  • Other useful links

Standards addressed in this Learning Module:

Social Studies Standards

Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
  • People, Places, and Environments
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Time, Continuity, and Change
Back to Top
  • Natural Inquirer - Homepage
  • Find Outdoors
  • USDA
  • USDA Forest Service logo.

The Natural Inquirer program produces a variety of science education materials for PreK through grade 12. Natural Inquirer products are produced by the USDA Forest Service, FIND Outdoors, and other cooperators and partners.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
* denotes mandatory fields
Loading
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • X, formerly Twitter
  • YouTube
  • About Natural Inquirer
  • Team
  • Partners
  • Press & Past Events
  • Contact Us
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Shipping Policy
© 2025 - Natural Inquirer | Website Credit