Curated OER
Microscopes Online
In this microscopes worksheet, students access a website to complete questions about the early compound microscopes and the scientist involved in the development. This worksheet has 1 graphic organizer, 7 fill in the blank, and 10 short...
Curated OER
Microscopes and Telescopes
Young scholars analyze a microscope and study what they do. In this investigative lesson students study how microscopes were first invented, and how ray diagrams are used in conjunction.
Baylor College
They're Everywhere: Bacteria
Totally gross out your class with the eighth lesson plan in this series on food science. Explore the microscopic world of bacteria by taking swabs of different classroom objects and growing colonies in petri dishes. An engaging activity...
NOAA
Toxic! Or Is It?
Super scientists tests the toxicity of water using radish seed bioassays. Over the course of five days, scholars observe the germination process of several radish seeds, looking closely at their roots to determine the level of toxins...
Cornell University
Classification
Explore the scientific method of classification. An interactive activity asks learners to create a classification system for a group of objects and develop a flow chart to communicate their systems. In addition, individuals use a...
Curated OER
Measuring Permeability of Soil, Sand and Gravel
Students investigate the different materials in their environment. In this geology lesson, students collaborate in groups to examine the differences in sand, soil and gravel. Students utilize a magnifying glass or microscope and record...
Curated OER
Why Is My Bread Fuzzy?
Students explore the organisms that live on counters or surfaces in the classroom. In this mold experiment, students observe mold in different conditons. Students record their observations on a worksheet. Students understand how mold...
Curated OER
Biological Sampling Device Using a Sea Perch
Students construct plankton nets to be towed and collect specimens to be examined and analyzed in the classroom. They develop research skills through collection of an aquatic sample. They write lab reports after interpreting, identifying...
Curated OER
Elaine Humphrey, Gwynne Thompson
Second graders become familiar with the parts of the microscope and how it works. In this microscope activity, 2nd graders experiment with different light and settings. Students answer questions based on their experiment.
Curated OER
Air Pollution
Students collect and examine particulate matter found in the air. In this pollution lesson, students use microscope slides and petroleum jelly to collect particulate matter from several different locations, then use a microscope to...
Curated OER
Mastering the Parts of a Cell
There are great lessons and tricks you can use for teaching your students about cellular organelles.
Curated OER
Cell Size and Shape; Diffusion and Osmosis Processes
Use salmon eggs as a cell model for demonstrating the movement of water over concentration gradients. Junior scientists examine the same process microscopically with an onion cell. They use a thistle tube and a semipermeable membrane to...
Curated OER
Cell Structures and Their Functions
Life science learners investigate live cells. They examine wet mount slides of cyanobacteria and Elodea plants. They peer into the dynamic microscopic world of protists. Afterward, they construct a model of a cell, including rudimentary...
Curated OER
How Many Cells Are Born in a Day?
Students predict the number of cells after a series of cell divisions. In this cells lesson students create a graph of their results and create a patterned drawing.
Curated OER
Embryological Development Using Medaka Fish
Students analyze and record major events that occur in the development of Medaka fish eggs from fertilization to hatching. In small group, students describe the processes involved, creating a timeline of the major events in the...
Curated OER
Ice Mummies: Frozen in Heaven
Students conduct an experiment to investigate the rate of microbial growth at different temperatures. Students predict what will happen to the food at various temperature and test their hypotheses. Students describe the differences in...
Curated OER
DNA Basics, Bacterial Cell Walls
Some basic descriptions of DNA and the appearance of structures in a bacteria are included along with great diagrams. The presentation has clear, but detailed slides, and your students will find the information about Gram staining easy...
Curated OER
Looking at French Decorative Arts: The Science of Good Design
Learners examine the style of an 18th-century compound microscope and its case. In this scientific design lesson plan, students look at Jacques Caffieri's, "Compound Microscope and Case" before comparing the design to a modern...
Curated OER
Seed Dispersion of Strawberries and Dandelions
Young scholars investigate how seeds are dispersed on land. In this plant biology lesson, students use a dissecting microscope to study strawberry seeds and dandelion seeds, they draw what they see, then create a hypothesis on the seeds...
Curated OER
A Limnology Study of Drainage Ditches
Students chemically test water, observe microscopic organisms in the classroom, and screen the sample for macroinvertebrates. They design a reporting sheet that list all the items to be tested and a space to record the results.
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Step Inside the Brain
Before digital microscopes, scientists hired artists to draw the things visible in the microscope. Through training in neuroscience and art, Cajal revolutionized the way we view the beautiful brain. The third lesson in a series of four...
Curated OER
It's a Small World After All! (Pond Microcosms)
Students use microscopes to investigate the diversity of life that exists in pond water. They then conduct a controlled investigation to study the effect of a pollutant (rice) on a microcosm ecosystem.
Curated OER
BIoluminescence
Students investigate the concept of bioluminescence. They use dinoflagellates in a lab situation to study photosynthesis. They conduct research into the concept using a variety of resources. Also the class is taken on a field trip to...
Michigan State University
Gases Matter
Young scientists learn that seeing isn't necessarily believing when it comes to the states of matter. After performing a fun class demonstration that models the difference between solids, liquids, and gases, children complete a series of...