Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Alzheimer’s Disease: Piecing Together the Evidence
5.7 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease. With limited funding for research, where should scientists focus? Young scientists learn about current research and create their own questions. They then decide the best areas to focus...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
How Animals Use Sound to Communicate
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...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Central Dogma and Genetic Medicine
Scientists work every day to find solutions to genetic diseases. Scholars learn about the process of gene sequencing, mutations, and the results. They explore genetic diseases and therapies to intervene and help and, through case...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Human Impacts on Biodiversity
Have you always wanted to take your science class on an amazing field trip they will never forget? Now you can! Observe the wildlife in an African savanna through trail cameras with a five-part data analysis activity. Learners analyze...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Ebola: Disease Detectives
How did the Ebola virus first infect humans? Young virologists examine genetic sequences from the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak to find similarities during a riveting activity. Following similar methods used by MIT and Harvard, partners...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
DNA Profiling Activity
Everyone loves a good mystery ... can your class actually solve one? Partnered pupils take on the role of forensic investigators during a three-part activity focusing on DNA evidence processing. Learners discover the methods used to...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Exploring Trophic Cascades
What happens when the top predator on an ecosystem disappears? Scholars explore this idea through an introduction example and four case studies. They learn to analyze the importance of every member in a food pyramid to come to their...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Virus Hunters: Epidemiology of Nipah Virus
Who actually goes looking for a virus? Expose your class to the high-stakes life of an epidemiologist on the trail of the Nipah virus. Pupils engage in a short video, then examine how scientists predict, model, and find the source of...
California Academy of Science
Using Empirical Data in the Classroom: Raptor Migrations!
Raptor flight patterns align with seasonal changes in net primary productivity. Here is a thought-provoking lesson that uses empirical data from a video to help scholars understand raptor migrations, producers/consumers, and ecosystems....
Polar Trec
Do Microorganisms Live in Antarctica?
Can microorganisms live in the dry, cold climate of Antarctica? Young scientists view a research project measuring microorganisms in the Taylor Glacier. They record the findings from dirty ice, clean ice, boots, sediment, and more. Then...
Polar Trec
Ozone Data Comparison over the South Pole
Did you know the hole in the ozone is seasonal and filled by January every year? The lesson uses scientific measurements of the ozone over the South Pole to understand patterns. Scholars learn that the hole grew bigger annually before...
Polar Trec
Permafrost Thaw Depth and Ground Cover
The thaw depth of tundra creates a positive feedback loop with both global warming and the carbon cycle. Scholars sort photos and develop a hypothesis for ground cover and permafrost depth. Then they review the data and measurements...
Polar Trec
Where in the World Is Our Teacher?
Kirk Beckendorf, a middle school teacher, joined researchers at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica to help maintain automatic weather stations. The lesson encourages pupils to track his travels around the region. They connect with the...
NOAA
Climate, Corals and Change
Global warming isn't just an issue on land; deep ocean waters are also showing troubling signs. Young scientists learn more about deep water corals and the many recent discoveries researchers have made. Then they examine data related to...
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Morse v. Frederick
If you stop a student from expressing views that advocate drug use, are you violating their right to free speech? Use the 2007 Supreme Court case Morse v. Frederick to discuss a nuanced interpretation of the First Amendment. Learners...
Insted
Bullying Around Racism, Religion and Culture
Racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia. How to counter prejudice-driven bullying in schools is the focus of a packet of materials that provides information and advice on how to respond to and prevent bullying, materials for in-service and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Plant Phenology Data Analysis
Scientists monitor seasonal changes in plants to better understand their responses to climate change, in turn allowing them to make predictions regarding the future. The last activity in the series of six has scholars analyze BudBurst...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
Scientists use ice core samples to obtain temperatures of the earth from 400,000 years ago! The third of five lessons instructs pupils to interpret historical climate data to see changes over time. In part I, participants interpret...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
Ice core samples give scientists access to climates of old—those from more than 800,000 years ago. Through an analysis of various temperature graphs from ice cores, tree rings, and weather stations, scholars compare historical climates...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Plant Phenology Data Analysis
Beginning in 1851, Thoreau recorded the dates of the first spring blooms in Concord, and this data is helping scientists analyze climate change! The culminating instructional activity in the series of four has pupils graph and analyze...
Advocates for Human Rights
Undocumented Immigrants
Stay or go? As part of a study of immigration and human rights, class members listen to the stories of several immigrants and must decide if the story was their own if they would stay in the United States as an undocumented immigrant or...
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Don't Mess with Mercury (Lesson A)
Mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature. Teach your class this and many more interesting mercury facts by assigning an engaging task. A public relations activity, the exercise informs pupils of the hazards of...
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Don't Mess with Mercury (Lesson C)
The health effects of mercury exposure if the focus of the first of three activities about the properties of metals. Pairs research mercury to write, prepare, and share posters, articles, or PSAs with the class.
NOAA
Biological Oceanographic Investigations – Through Robot Eyes
How can a robot measure the length of something when we don't know how far the camera is from the object? The lesson explains the concept of perspective and many others. Scholars apply this knowledge to judge the length of fish and the...