Curated OER
Where Do Plants Get Their Food?
Plants need food to survive, just like any other living organism. Young biologists analyze an experiment performed in 1610 by Jan van Helmont to determine if plant nutrition is obtained through the soil. First, lab groups work together...
Curated OER
Population Vs Consumption: Which is a Bigger Problem for the Environment & Who is Getting the Lion's Share of the World's Resources?
Students develop critical thinking and awareness about the complexity of natural resource use, wealth distribution, population densities, poverty, and the environment. They think about people living in different parts of the world and...
Curated OER
Living in Space
Students explore space science by viewing a video in class. In this astronaut lesson plan, students identify the living habits of astronauts by researching the NASA website and observing a space science video in class. Students...
Curated OER
Food Safety Lab
Students use the scientific method to investigate the role of temperature in microbial growth. In this food preservation lesson, students set up an experiment with fruit in room temperature and in a refrigerator. They record the...
McGraw Hill
Population Biology
The carrying capacity of an environment varies based on the organisms that live there. Using a virtual lab simulation, scholars test two protists living in their own environments and a third environment where both protists live. They...
Kenan Fellows
Microorganisms in Pond Water
That is living in the water? Groups of two to three view pond water with microscopes in order to find microorganisms. They draw pictures of the ones they find in their slides. The groups compare their drawings to pictures of common pond...
Polar Trec
Frozen Fish? Unique Adaptations of Antarctic Fish
Some fish contain proteins that act like antifreeze in order for them to live in the frigid waters of Antarctica! High schoolers determine how much antifreeze a fish needs to lower its body temp to -2.5 degrees. Teachers act as a...
Curated OER
Pond-life Safari
Students determine the living and non-living parts of pond life. In this pond life instructional activity, students examine the plants, animals, and insects that live in ponds. They look through a variety of print media, cut out...
Curated OER
Deserts: How Do You Define One?
Second graders identify what constitutes as a desert by reading a habitat checklist. In this environment lesson, 2nd graders read a nature website to discover facts about the desert and where they are located. Students utilize art...
Curated OER
Lizard Lab
In this detailed and comprehensive multi-day activity, budding evolutionary biologists use real data from lizard populations in the Canary Islands to examine evolution and natural selection.
University of Washington
Toothpick Fish
With colored toothpicks representing genes, youngsters practice passing them through generations of fish and learn about heredity. Consider this as an introductory activity since it does not represent recessive genes with lowercase...
Curated OER
Biocomplexity Lab Activity: Measuring Water pH
Students test unknown solutions for pH levels to determine which organism can live in each environment. They name three substances that they think are acids. Students determine a solution is an acid or base. They define the term pH.
Curated OER
The Environment and Interactions of Living Organisms
Students study the environment and interactions of living organisms. They identify abiotic and biotic factors and create a foldable and vocabulary cards. They create a poster illustrating soil and watch a video to study symbiosis.
Curated OER
Ecology - Biodiversity Lab
Studnents examine the degree of biodiversity that exists in one's everyday environment, in order to develop an understanding of how scientists classify organisms and to explain why biodiversity is important for living things.
Curated OER
Understanding Interactions Among Local Species and the Local Environment
Students examine the differences between biotic and abiotic factors, explain the difference between habitat and niche and compare how organisms get their nutritional needs. In this local environment lesson students trace the path of...
Curated OER
Life Cycle: Diversity in a Balance
In this life cycle workbook, 3rd graders complete several different activities in which they analyze different invertebrates, identify arthropods, examine human biology and plants, and study natural environments. 20 different activities...
Curated OER
Investigative Case - Living in an Alkaline Environment
Young scholars are shown many ways in which Mono Lake water and distilled water are different. They demonstrate that the survival of common soil bacteria declines as pH increases. Students examine the behaviors, adaptations, energy...
Curated OER
Water, Water Everywhere!
Learners brainstorm on ways they use water, and where water comes from. They view video, Down the Drain, to gain specific facts about water use, properties of water, problems of water and the water cycle. They perform a lab activity...
Curated OER
Return Of The Living Dead
Young scholars research endangered animal species that have 'beaten the odds' as they continue to survive longer than scientists had expected. They write individual pages for a class book about endangered species.
Curated OER
Inside the Cranium: Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Students analyze different regions of the brain which are responsible for different aspects of cognition, awareness and regulating the body's process.
Curated OER
Saving Big Cats from Extinction
Students explore extinction. In this biology and environmental science instructional activity, students define extinction, identify what living things need to survive, and create a persuasive poster about "saving the big cats" using a...
Curated OER
Rainforests: What Are They?
Second graders investigate rain forests by reading a habitat checklist. In this environment lesson, 2nd graders read the book The Great Kapok Tree, and discuss what characteristics make up a rain forest. Students explore a habitat...
Curated OER
Digital Video Lesson Plan: Brine Shrimp
Middle schoolers participate in classroom experiment to gain better understanding of type of environment brine shrimp can best survive. Students then explore effects of common saltwater pollutants on survival of animals in sea.
Columbus City Schools
The Mystery of Earth’s History
Every living creature can leave a fossil record, yet most fossils belong to extinct organisms rather than ones currently living. Scholars learn about dating rock layers, fossils, and the environment of the past. Pupils understand that...