Nature League
What Are Adaptations? - Lesson Plan
Texas short-horned lizards shoot blood out of their eyes to deter predators. The unique adaption allows them to thrive in a hostile environment. Pupils learn more about this and other adaptations of plants, animals, and humans in the...
PBS
Mollusc Animation: Shell Repair
It often feels like homes need constant work and repairs. Mollusks might feel the same way since they continually repair their shells. A video presents an explanation of how mollusks can survive even a deep crack. Viewers observe the...
Be Smart
20 Million Year Old Spider! Unweaving Spider Silk
Talk about a sticky situation! What is spider silk, anyway? Scholars scope out the science behind one of the world's strongest substances through a video from an intriguing science series. A leading spider scientist discusses the types...
Be Smart
The Most Extreme Life Forms on Earth… and Beyond?
Earth's strangest creatures may be the key to finding life on other planets! Introduce biology scholars to the extreme world of extremophiles with a video from a large science playlist. From the depths of the ocean to the heart of the...
Be Smart
Tuatara All the Way Down: Face to Face with a Living Fossil!
Change is good ... unless you're a tuatara! Meet Earth's oldest surviving reptile species in a fun video from an extensive science playlist. Content includes why the tuatara did not evolve and its unique anatomy.
Be Smart
Why Are There as Many Males as Females?
From anteaters to zebras, why are both sexes equally represented in number? Explore a quirk in evolution with a video from a thought-provoking science playlist. The narrator shows examples of species that might only need a few males,...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Anole Lizards: An Example of Speciation
What happens to a species when members become separated by changes in their environment? Present young biologists with the ultimate example species—the anole lizard. A brief video describes the origins of the multitude of anole species...
PBS
DNA Spells Evolution
In humans, the rate of mutation from one generation to the next is between 100 and 200 mutations. Discover the role of DNA mutation in evolution with an enriching lab activity.
TED-Ed
The Surprising Reasons Animals Play Dead
Many animals have methods of surviving. But did you know that opossums are not the only animals known for "playing opossum"? Watch a video that explains the unique survival techniques and behaviors of animals, including tonic immobility...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Natural Selection and Adaptation
It's not every day that you end up rooting for a mouse. A breathtaking video takes scholars to the American Southwest to learn about the rock pocket mouse. It describes how mice with black fur had an evolutionary advantage in the dark...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Birth and Death of Genes
Notothenioids are not your average fish—they contain antifreeze! An interesting video introduces the icefish, a scaleless fish with colorless blood that lives in the oceans around Antarctica. It explains how gene duplication and...
PBS
How Sex Became a Thing
Birds, bees, flowers, trees ... and Funisia dorothea? Biology scholars journey back in time to discover more about the history of sexual reproduction. The video, one of many in a biology playlist, covers our earliest eukaryotic ancestor,...
PBS
The Whole Saga of the Supercontinents
See the world as it was—and also how it will be! A riveting video from a vast biology and earth science playlist takes viewers back in time to see how supercontinents formed, broke apart, and formed again. The resource includes a sneak...
Be Smart
Do Plants Think?
Plants react to many different stimuli, but do they think? After many years, scientists now have a definite answer. A video shares the theories and facts as part of a larger biology playlist. From plants listening to music to plants...
FuseSchool
Extinction of Species
Extinction: i's not just for dinosaurs! Young ecologists examine the alarming facts about the causes of mass extinctions by watching this engaging Fuse School Evolution video. Topics include previous extinction events, living fossils,...
Crash Course
The Evolutionary Epic: Crash Course Big History #5
In the timeline of history, Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex lived further apart from each other than Tyrannosaurus rex and humans. The fifth Crash Course-Big History video in a series of 16 introduces the concept of evolution. It...
Bozeman Science
LS3B - Variation of Traits
Make sure your unit on trait variation causes a sensation! Take an in-depth look at standard LS3B, an important component of the Next Generation Science Standards. The narrator discusses methods of delivering the standard to younger...
Bozeman Science
LS4C - Adaptation
Learn how the study of adaptation progresses through grade levels. The narrator provides a curricular view of teaching adaptation complete with examples. Concepts range from simple trait adaptations to speciation and natural selection.
Teacher's Pet
Allele Frequencies
One way scientists describe diversity in a population is through allele frequencies. The video explains how to perform these simple calculations. Then it presents the Hardy-Weinberg assumptions and the difference between acclimation and...
Deep Look
The Fantastic Fur of Sea Otters
Surviving in the harshest climates takes some strategic planning. Sea otters' planning requires an adaptation of their fur to withstand freezing ocean temperatures. Learners explore the ingenious makeup of their fur.
Deep Look
How Electric Light Changed the Night
Explore the changes in sleep patterns over time. Pupils learn how the changes in lighting have triggered adaptations in sleep patterns. Modern lighting mimics the light waves of the sun, which suppresses melatonin production and makes...
MinuteEarth
Why Did T Rex Have Such Tiny Arms?
Explore explanations for the shockingly small size of the T-rex arms. A video lesson considers reasons why a T-rex has small arms through a process of elimination. Maybe the arms provide an advantage to the animal or maybe larger arms...
MinuteEarth
This Is Not A Bee
Is it a bee or not a bee? That seems to be the question of a video lesson that explains how insects such as flies and moths mimic the coloring of bees. The narrator discusses the purpose of the coloring in association to predators.
MinuteEarth
Why Do Some Species Thrive in Cities?
How do wild animals adapt to our urban expansion? An interesting video lesson describes different adaptation strategies of common species. The narrator includes a discussion of the changes in DNA.