Curated OER
Animal Behavior
Can you train a worm? Biology buffs will have a blast trying! Using planaria or earthworms, they introduce a certain stimulus repeatedly until the desired response happens more quickly. They also explore the response of their own eyes to...
Curated OER
Isopod Behavior, of the Rolly Polly Lab
Learners investigate the behavior of isopods. In this isopod lesson plan, students make observations of an isopod and sketch the pillbug. They study the orientation of the isopods in relation to moisture in a chamber they construct from...
Agriculture in the Classroom
"Steer" Toward STEM: Careers in Animal Agriculture
Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists, and...
Curated OER
Termite Trail Marking Behavior
Students examine termites and their trail-marking behaviors. They draw lines on paper with various ink pens and experiment to see which types of ink the termites follow--or which inks do and do not elicit trail marking behavior.
Curated OER
Analysis of Grooming Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster
Learners engage in a lab that focuses on animal behavior in an open ended inquiry based laboratory experience. They build an ethogram, display a transition matrix and analyze a Markov Chain. They remove wings from the drosophila and...
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Amazing Birds
What's so amazing about birds? Find out just how amazing birds are with a physics of animal behavior unit created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Have learners explore and tap into their observational skills and notice how birds fly, what...
Curated OER
Investigating the Behavior of Lumbriculus
Students perform a classroom experiment on the organisms of worms. They view the behaviors of the worms and analyze their results. This instructional activity introduces students to the techniques involved in behavioral studies.
Curated OER
The "How's and Whys" of Animal Behavior
Students read examples of behaviors in various animals. They design an experimental question about the behavior. They explain if the question involves the proximate or ultimate level of causation.
Curated OER
Inquiry in Science Using an Animal Behavior Model
Young scholars observe a planaria without a microscope and with a stereoscopic microscope. They draw the planaria and describe its motion and eating habits. Students research planarias various body systems and behavior. They design an...
American Physiological Society
Drug the Water Flea
This is a flea. This is a flea on drugs. Any questions? Your class will have questions aplenty during an impactful experiment. Lab groups get to know Daphnia magna, the humble water flea, and study the effects of stimulants and...
Curated OER
Ants In Motion
Students brainstorm ants and their characteristics in a class discussion. They observe the ants and answer question pertaining to their behavior; then they apply the scientific method in creating and investigating a problem.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Life In A Nest: Exploring Life Cycles With Bird Cams
Why read about it when you can watch it happen? Bird cams make it possible for learners to experience the life cycle of a bird in real time! An engaging set of lessons provides activities to connect their learning to bird cam...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Building Ecological Pyramids
Looking for a fresh take on traditional food/energy pyramids? Conduct an innovative activity where pupils build their own! The lesson uses research data from Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique for a real-life safari touch. Scholars...
Curated OER
Termite Lab
Students examine insect behavior in a lab activity. Students explore the idea of chemical specificity and the reactions of termites to a chemical found in their trail pheromone. Students watch a demonstration with termites before...
Curated OER
What Do We Learn From Fossils?
Students investigate what a fossil is and how it came to be. In this fossil lesson, students examine pictures of skeletons and identify characteristics that can and cannot be determined by a fossil. Students complete diagrams of a...
Curated OER
Introduction to Lumbriculus variegatus
Students conduct two set experiments on Lumbriculus worms and create a third experiment of their own. The first of the two set experiments allows students to observe regeneration of the worms while the second allows students to test the...
Curated OER
Annual Skinner Box Rat Training Competition
Students explore animal behvior. Using Skinner boxes, they monitor and train rats to accomplish a set of tasks. They maintain a log of observations, task completions and data.
Curated OER
Survival Under a Rock
Students investigate ways that animals adapt to their environments through hands-on activities using isopods and an interactive video.
Curated OER
The Effect of Automobile Exhaust on Hydra in an Environmental Chamber
High schoolers study the structure and habitat of the hydra in this lab lesson. Students determine if the hydra can be used as an indicator to detect pollution from automobile exhaust.
Curated OER
Effects of Water Pollution on Aquatic Organisms
Students investigate water pollution. They develop an understanding of the behavior of organisms, of the structure and properties of matter, and of natural and human induced hazards by conducting lab tests. They present their data...
Curated OER
Hawaii's Freshwater Animals - Species Report
Students explore biology by creating a report for the class. In this oceanography lesson, students research and identify the survival characteristics of a list of freshwater animals by utilizing the Internet and library. Students...
Curated OER
Worm Weather Predicted
Students examine worm habitats. In this animal habitats instructional activity, students participate in a lab activity that requires them to explore the adaptations that earthworms make to their environment.
Curated OER
Population Density
Students use the scientific method to conduct an experiment and use varied methods to gather background information. They correctly use lab equipment and prepare tables and graphs that organize, conclude, and present their findings. ...
Curated OER
Nasonia Genetics-A Jewel of a Wasp
Students investigate the inheritance pattern of eye color in Nasonia wasps. In this genetics and inheritance lesson plan, students read about the life cycle of Nasonia wasps and hypothesize about the possibilities of eye color inherited...