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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Importance of Deep-Sea Ecosystems – How Diverse is That?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When judging diversity of an ecosystem, both species evenness and species richness must contribute. After a discussion of diversity and a guided example using the Shannon-Weaver function, scholars use the same function on two other...
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Unit Plan
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Schoolyard Biodiversity Investigation Educator Guide

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
In 1980, in the tropical rainforests of Panama, scientists discovered 1,200 species of beetles living in and around just 19 trees, with most of the species new to science—that's biodiversity! In the activity, learners work in teams to...
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Lesson Plan
University of Connecticut

Building Your Own Biosphere

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...
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Lesson Plan
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Section Four: How Can We Protect Biodiversity?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Look into the future with a lesson plan on biodiversity and natural habitats. Learners read articles about different perspectives when it comes to planning future development, and decide which angle is the highest priority in a group...
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Lesson Plan
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Section Three: What's the Status of Biodiversity?

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Biodiversity is essential for every habitat, but many species are at risk due to pollution and other factors. Explore several different species native to Illinois in a gallery walk with posters that learners have created after research...
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Lesson Plan
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Rainforest Alliance

Colombia Biodiversity

For Teachers K
How diverse is the rainforest? How much more diverse is a rain forest than a temperate forest? Explore these focus questions in a lesson that explores the plants, animals, and insects in forests. After listening to a reading about...
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Lesson Plan
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National Science Teacher Association

Middle School Sampler: Science

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis and...
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Activity
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It's About Time

Who Eats Whom?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Packed with visual aids and multiple learning opportunities, an engaging exercise challenges individuals as they explore the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers. After discussing differences between food chains, food...
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Activity
It's About Time

Diversity in Living Things

For Teachers 7th - 12th
How diverse is the world we live in compared to the way things used to be? Young biologists explore diverse organisms and relate the structure of each organism to its ability to survive in our current environmental conditions....
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Activity
Wilderness Classroom

Ocean Life

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Our oceans are composed of many complex relationships. Young oceanographers explore relationships between organisms, understand the world ocean's currents, and discover the effects of water pollution and how it behaves. There are three...
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Lesson Plan
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Section Two: Why is Biodiversity Important?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.
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Lesson Plan
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Section One: What is Biodiversity?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Four intriguing and scientific activities invite learners to explore the natural resources of their town. The activities cover concepts such as genetic traits, organizing species in a taxonomy, the differences between different species...
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Lesson Plan
ARKive

Species Discovery

For Teachers 6th - 8th
How do you classify a newly discovered species? Learners view a presentation and complete research about biodiversity and the classification hierarchy. The lesson includes activities with dichotomous keys and work on classifying both...
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Lesson Plan
Michigan State University

Bug Lyphe!

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...
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Worksheet
French Teacher

La Biodiversite

For Students 11th - 12th
What is biodiversity, and how has it been impacted? Advanced French readers learn about the changes in species around the world and what the United Nations decided to do about it. After reading the page-long text, your readers complete...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Community Action

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders decide how one uses resources within a particular bioregion.  In this decision making lesson, 5th graders consider the biodiversity and complexity of the ecosystem.  Students select a resource (water, paper, electricity)...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

7.012 Fall 2004 Section Self-quiz

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
This quiz just looks neat! It has two cell diagrams for biology class members to label. They also describe the function of each organelle. A prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell are displayed for them to compare, and then they fill in the...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

AP: Chapter 29 and 30: Plant Diversity

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
It's a jungle out there! That is because of the tremendous diversity among plants. In this AP biology assignment, botanists answer questions about plant evolution, diversity, and reproduction. They differentiate between monocots and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

School Forest

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore the concept of biodiversity.  In this biodiversity lesson, 6th graders discover a variety of planets and animals that live in forests, and how a rotting log benefits that environment.  Students also locate seven...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Invertebrate Diversity

For Students 6th - 12th
Comparative anatomy prevails in the lesson exploring diversity among invertebrates. Biologists examine physical characteristics of an earthworm from phylum annelida and a meal worm from phylum insecta. They also inspect a cricket and a...
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PPT
Curated OER

Glacier Bay Seabirds

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
A gorgeous collection of photographs take viewers on a virtual tour or Glacier Bay National Park with a focus on the seabirds living in the area. Adaptations to the polar climate are highlighted, different species of birds are displayed,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's go to the Video Tape!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Using actual data from a deep-sea video survey, high school marine biologists consider the biodiversity, compare species richness between two communities, and learn to calculate the diversity index. The lesson plan is all-inclusive,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Big Fleas Have Little Fleas

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A benthic habitat hosts a vast collection of organisms and its structure influences the biodiversity. Middle-school marine biology explorers will discuss how corals impact structure, and therefore diversity, on the ocean floor. They draw...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sorting Things Out

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Written to examine seeds that grow in Kansas, you can adapt this lesson to anywhere you live. Learners sort a mixture of five different seeds to by any characteristic of their choice. When your budding scientists are exploring the life...