Curated OER
What's in a Name?
Students study the binomial system of naming organisms. They are given a name of an organism and they must draw a picture of what they think the organism looks like. Then they research the organism, find what it really looks like, and...
Curated OER
What is the Evidence for Evolution?
Students identify one object that would tell the story of their lives. In groups, they determine what can and cannot be told from objects left behind. After watching a video, they compare and contrast chicken bones to human bones. To...
Curated OER
What's In A Name?
Students explore the concept of the binomial system of nomenclature for classifying organisms. Students travel on a field trip to observe organisms displayed and their common names. Students complete several classroom activities and...
Curated OER
Arthropoda Fact Sheets
Young scholars construct classification systems based on structure of organisms.
Curated OER
All in the Family: Calculating Cousins
Students view pictures of distant "cousins" to humans. They place them in order by their distance from humans. Students receive a packet of six pages featuring graphics and a cousins summary page. They work in groups to complete 5 cousin...
Discovery Education
The Key to It All
Which characteristics make organisms unique? Dichotomous keys simplify the process of classifying organisms by focusing on these unique characteristics. Young scholars learn how to use the dichotomous key flow chart by creating their own...
Curated OER
Comparison of Human and Chimpanzee Chromosomes
Students actively engage in the careful analysis of chromosome banding patterns and identify examples of inversion in homologous chromosomes.
Curated OER
Species Diversity and Phylogeny
Students explore the classification system of organisms: taxonomy. They examine prepared slides of Protozoans and record information on a Taxonomy Recording Sheet. Two additional classifying activities are also included in this lesson.
Curated OER
Ocean Creature Classification
Students develop their own system for classifying a group of objects or organisms using observed similarities and differences. They investigate the process of scientific classification, and explain how marine organisms are classified by...
Curated OER
Ocean Creature Classification
Students develop a Taxonomic Key for marine invertebrates from pictures they are given after practicing together with common objects, such as shoes. They then compare their key to a provided Ocean Invertebrates Taxonomic Key.
Curated OER
Ecology and the St. Lawrence River
Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on ecosystems, organism interactions, and energy flow. They create a key for known species of fish, diagram the movement of energy through an ecosystem, and create and present food chains and food...
Curated OER
Diversity and Adaptation
Tenth graders explore structure, function and variation among species. Through field observations, lab activities and homework, 10th graders observe and record examples of adaptation and variation.
Curated OER
A Tree of Life Activity
High schoolers solve a mystery of the identification of a unknown organism by comparing its morphological characteristics to those in a tree of life classification poster. They compare the observable characteristics of the specimen and...
Curated OER
Classification
For this classification worksheet, students will look at how biological classification began and how scientific names are used in biology. Students will use a table showing the classification of four organisms to answer 10 short answer...
Curated OER
Sequence Alignment
High schoolers explore the uses of sequence alignment. In this DNA lesson students complete several experiments on sequencing and algorithms.
Curated OER
What Should You Know about Classification?
Many learners have a tough time picking out pertinent information from a text or in class. Sometimes, all it takes is a study/reading guide to show them the way. The worksheet here focuses on taxonomy and classification, including...
Curated OER
Understanding Cladistics
Students explore cladistics and create a cladogram of their own. They are shown how the scientist at the American Museum of Natural History use a method called cladistics to group animals. Students are asked how the animals (lion,...
Curated OER
Gaia: The Wisdom of the Earth
Learners are introduced to Gaia theory of natural homeostasis. They graph Earth's temperatures over time, construct terrariums or monitor the outdoor environment. Related videos titles are suggested, but may be outdated. The objectives...
Curated OER
The Birds and the Beaks
Students explore the adaptations that birds have. In this adaptations lesson students view a video and create a concept map of birds and their adaptive traits.
Curated OER
Zoology Word Search Puzzle
In this science worksheet, students look for the words that are related to the concept of zoology that is reviewed in the sheet. They also acquire new vocabulary.
Curated OER
Molecular Approaches to Evolution
Students are introduced to working with molecular data. The first activity does both simulated and original data are used to compare amino acid, protein or DNA differences to construct phylogenetic trees or cladograms. These activities...
Curated OER
Primate Classification 2006
Students examine groups of hierarchy and see how primates are categorized. In this primate classification lesson students view video and slides then examine the taxonomy of primates.
Curated OER
Fun with Phylogenetic Trees
Tenth graders differentiate angiosperms and gymnosperms. In this biology lesson, 10th graders construct a musical phylogenetic tree from information they gathered on resource websites. They present their project in class.
Curated OER
What's In A Name?
Pupils create a binomial system of nomenclature for classifying organisms they encounter in a field trip to a natural history museum or from pictures in library books. They work in small groups to create accurate drawings and place the...