+
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Investigating Bat Adaptations

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Bats may look the same, but are actually very different. Some bats eat meat and others fruit, while some have bright colors and others are dark colors. Learners examine the differences, view them as adaptations, and then play a game to...
+
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Prairie Chicken Pageant

For Teachers K - 8th Standards
Diminishing habitats is a real concern that is threatening endangered species. Learners examine these concerns by studying the prairie chicken. Groups get a card with characteristics and threats to the species that they turn into skits.
+
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Brown Pelicans

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Even animals that are part of the same species have differences. Learners read a passage about white and brown pelicans and compare their features. They recognize that although the birds look very similar, they also have their own unique...
+
Lesson Plan
Alabama Wildlife Federation

Big Fish, Little Fish

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Tag, you're eaten! A lesson on predator-prey relationships uses the game freeze tag as a model. Learners become either a predator or prey and play a game of tag as the prey tries to reach areas that house food and shelter. During the...
+
Lesson Plan
Alabama Wildlife Federation

Adapt-A-Bird

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Not every animal has the best features for its environment. Learners study the characteristics of birds and the implications of these characteristics as related to their environments. They use what they learn to create their own new...
+
Lesson Plan
Alabama Wildlife Federation

Fill the Bill

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
A hummingbird isn't the only bird with a unique beak. After a discussion about the specific characteristics of bird beaks, pupils complete a station rotation and use different tools to simulate the function of different beaks. They...
+
Activity
1
1
NOAA

Climate Is Our Friend…Isn’t It?: Make an Extinction Polyhedron

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Climate affects populations in different ways. Scholars research extinct organisms and mass extinctions in part three of the 10-installment Discover Your Changing World series. They create graphic organizers, then fill in the information...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading about Freaky Frogs: “The Amazon Horned Frog"

For Teachers 3rd Standards
The Amazon Horned Frog is the focus of a activity designed to encourage readers to ask and answer questions. A frog-themed poem opens the door to a whole-group discussion. Following a read-aloud of an informational text, a three-page...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading about Freaky Frogs: “The Water-Holding Frog"

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Boost reading comprehension skills with a lesson all about freaky frogs. A poem hooks scholars and takes them into a reading of an informational text followed by peer discussions. A three-page worksheet focuses on text features and...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading of Pages 4 - 7 and 12 - 15 of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Bullfrog Circle

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Scholars take part in a close reading of pages four through seven and 12-15 of the book, Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Bullfrog Circle by Deborah Dennard. Readers identify the story's main idea, list its key details, and examine...
+
Worksheet
Great Books Foundation

On the Origin of Species

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
How did Charles Darwin support his controversial theory of evolution with evidence? Use an excerpt from his 1859 work On the Origin of Species to reinforce the importance of making inferences within an informational text, and to discuss...
+
Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Sorting Finch Species

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Don't just tell your class about Darwin's finches ... show them! Sort some of science's most famous birds using an interactive lesson. Learners try their hand at classifying finches using song, sonogram, and beak appearance, as well as...
+
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Whether or not you think mice are nice, you'll love the colorful activity! Scholars examine evidence for evolution in the rock pocket mouse through video, discussion, and collaborative work. Learners watch a video regarding variation in...
+
Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

How Animals Use Sound to Communicate

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Communication involves the visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile senses. Scholars observe groups of animals communicating through multiple senses. They note and learn why different species use different senses depending on their...
+
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Zebrafish and Skin Color

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
You may not know if that zebrafish in your fish tank is a model citizen—but it is definitely a model organism! What can we learn about ourselves from a tiny zebrafish? Discover more about the polygenic trait of skin color through a...
+
Activity
Science Matters

Formative Assessment #2

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Learners work collaboratively to predict what life would be like as an Arctic Hare. Teams go on a hunt where scholars role play an owl, white hares, and gray hares. Independently, pupils record their findings and reflect on their...
+
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Blubber Gloves: It’s All About Insulation

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Instill the concept of adaptation with the help of Blubber Gloves—ziplock bags, shortening, and duct tape. Scholars discuss how animals and plants keep warm in polar regions, record their predictions, and try on their Blubber Gloves to...
+
Interactive
1
1
NOAA

Tides

For Students 6th - 12th
Sometimes low, sometimes high, but always in motion! Explore Earth's tidal system in the 10th interactive in a series of 13. Engaging life and earth science students alike, the versatile resource demonstrates cause and effect between...
+
Interactive
1
1
NOAA

Deep-Sea Benthos

For Students 6th - 12th
Much like a distant planet, the underwater world of deep-sea benthos is strange and largely unknown. How do creatures survive and thrive in such extreme pressure and temperature conditions? Young oceanographers join the crew of Operation...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
Channel Islands Film

Dark Water: Lesson Plan 2 - Grade 3

For Teachers 3rd Standards
A discussion of bioluminescence launches an investigation of animal adaptations. After re-watching the opening minutes of Dark Water, class members listen to a reading of What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and then create a new animal...
+
Unit Plan
University of Southern California

What Lives In The Ocean?

For Students 4th - 8th
One of the most diverse environments on Earth is the ocean. Young scientists explore the living things found in the ocean during an exciting seven-lesson unit. Their study includes organisms from plankton to invertebrates and vertebrates...
+
Interactive
Wildlife Conservation Society

Build Your Wild Self

For Students K - 5th Standards
Get wild with an interactive web site that challenges scholars to create their wildest self. Future wild things begin as an average person—eyes, mouth, clothes—then morph into animal attributes—horns, tails, wings—and end in the desert,...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
NOAA

Individual Species in the Deep Sea

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A tube worm's outer covering is made of chitin, the same material that makes up the shells of lobsters and crabs. Scholars create tube worms and analyze and discuss the longevity of organisms living near cold seeps. They then discuss and...
+
Lesson Plan
1
1
NOAA

Ocean Zones

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How can organisms light up in water? Bioluminescence is light produced in a chemical reaction that can occur in an organism's body. First, learners determine what happens to light/color as you move into the deep ocean. In groups, they...