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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Selection and Variation in the Egyptian Origami Bird

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students participate in a contrived natural selection simulation in which they build and modify simple paper airplanes. They study divergent and convergent evolution and how it is isolated in sub-populations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Feeding Facilitation: A lesson in Evolution and Sociobiology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students simulate foraging by searching for and gathering toothpicks. Feeding Facilitation is an attempt to show the relationship between energy costs of foraging and predator avoidance with flocking behavior and their relationship to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Genetic Variability

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Using black and white construction paper, evolutionary biologists simulate the classic peppered moth study. They use beans in a frequency and natural selection exercise. Finally, they analyze germinated seeds for variations. All three...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Becoming Whales: Experiencing Discoveries of

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners experience, through a "dig," the historical discovery of fossils which increasingly link whales to earlier land-dwelling mammals. They encounter the intermediate forms which show changes that lead to the modern whale.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clipbirds

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students attempt to pick up various objects with a wide variety of beaks, including scissors, spoons, etc.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Fossil Find - Reconstructing the Pieces

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers go on an imaginary fossil hunt. They follow a script read by the teacher, students "find" (remove from envelope) paper "fossils" of some unknown creature. They attempt to reconstruct fossil pieces into an animal.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Natural Selection of Bean Hunters

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Young scholars, in groups, hunt for beans placed in the lawn. Each group uses a different tool (hand, spoon, fork, etc.) and there are three different colors of beens.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Chips Are Down: A Natural Selection Simulation

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students, in teams, use different colored paper chips to represent prey and a piece of fabric as the environment.
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Lesson Plan
Federal Reserve Bank

The Free Silver Movement and Inflation

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Why are US dollars no longer backed by gold and silver? What is our medium of exchange, and what would it be like to live in a barter economy? Learners consider these questions, as well as learn about the major historical events in the...
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Lesson Plan
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Color Variation over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
A species-specific look at natural selection, the resource herein examines how adaptations have helped the population of rock pocket mice survive in a changing landscape. To begin, middle or high schoolers watch a 10.5 minute video,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evolution of the Virus: Teaching Macroevolution Through Microevolution

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students describe the anatomy of a virus. In this biology lesson, students compare and contrast the characteristics of bacteria and viruses. They discover the genetic adaptations of viruses over time.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deep Time

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers compare geologic time periods to the calendar year. They set up a live-action student timeline in the classroom.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students act out a drama in this lesson on one aspect of the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. They are to follow all stage directions precisely and give it their best effort to get across the main points of the play.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Evolution of Human Rights in Modern Europe - Document Analysis

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students read and analyze three major documents in European history related to articulation of human rights, noting key principles, identify significant similarities and new concepts, and discuss application to contemporary issues in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Peek at the Past: Gradualism vs. Punctuated Equilibria

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider two sets of simulated fossils (caminalcules) that are provided as cutouts. They arrange them on two time scales. One set produces a visual example of gradualism, the other shows punctuated equilibria.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

FOOTSTEPS IN TIME

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students measure and correlate their foot lengths and body heights, then use this data to estimate height of Laetoli hominids. They use metric measurement and graphing to determine these heights.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Opposable Thumb

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils participate in an activity which helps them realize the importance of the opposable thumb through trying to live without it. The goal of this activity is for students to understand the physical importance of the opposable thumb.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Battle of the Beaks

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students explore adaptive advantage, based on beak function, by simulating birds competing for various foods.
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Star in a Box

For Teachers 5th - Higher Ed Standards
What happens to stars as they get older? A simulation takes pupils through the life cycle of stars based on their masses. The resource introduces the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and the common relationships and life cycle patterns observed.
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Lesson Plan
Nature Works Everywhere

Recording the Rainforest

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Animals have evolved to communicate in different frequencies so they can hear each other throughout the rainforest. The first instructional activity in a three-part series begins by exploring an interactive story map online about the...
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Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

Diversity of Living Things

For Teachers 8th Standards
Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have changed along...
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Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Vertebrate Circulatorium

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
When you get to the heart of the matter, you learn a lot about an organism by studying its circulatory system! A perfect resource for a zoology or anatomy class, the simulation gives users a peek inside a variety of vertebrates to...
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Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Deep History of Life on Earth

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Take it all the way back! Young scientists discover the changes that took place from the time Earth became solid to present day through an interesting interactive. The resource guides users through key events that have shaped our world...
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Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Visualizing Gene-Expression Patterns

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
How do genetics gurus know so much about gene expression? See traits materialize before your very eyes using a presentation with embedded simulations. Science scholars develop an understanding of the techniques used to follow the work of...

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