Curated OER
Building Bodies
Students identify key anatomical similarities and differences between great apes and humans. They infer likely anatomical features in ancient human ancestors and list principal anatomical changes in primates necessary for adaptation to...
Curated OER
Molecular Biology and Primate Phylogenics
By counting differences in amino acids, biology stars examine the relationships between different primates. With information gleaned, they map out a phylogenic tree and discover common ancestry. You will need to create printable versions...
Curated OER
Route 66 And Population Patterns
Students investigate the geography located along Route 66. They research how the population patterns change in certain areas along the highway. Students use the information in order to form hypotheses about how and why the population...
Curated OER
Figure of Speech
Examine the changing nature of language in the U.S. View and discuss excerpts from a PBS documentary with your class and then conduct Internet research, and complete a team project on the evolution of teen expressions.
Curated OER
The Real Eve
Learners research about human migration during a specific time period. In this physical science lesson, students watch a video about human evolution. They prepare a presentation on human migration and share it with the class.
Curated OER
Survival of the Fittest – Battling Beetles
Students explore natural selection. For this genetic adaptation lesson, students discover why certain traits continue and some traits disappear. Students discover how species evolve and change. Resources are provided.
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Becoming Whales: Experiencing Discoveries of
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.
Curated OER
The Great Fossil Find - Reconstructing the Pieces
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.
Curated OER
Examining the Fossil Record
Students create an evolutionary tree based on fossil morphology and their ages. In this fossil record lesson plan, students are given 23 pictures of fossil. They study their morphology and arrange the fossils by age and structures on a...
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The Cytochrome-C Lab
Students examine a method biologists use to try to determine relationships. They examine how amino acid sequences have been determined for a number of proteins, and how scientists can make inferences about DNA based on the amino acid...
Curated OER
Why Do People Fall in Love?
Students discuss human behavior, sexual selection and the underlying genetic and evolutionary reasons for mate selection. The, in groups, they rate the attractiveness of certain individuals and measure facial features for symmetry.
NASA
What’s the Problem with Isotropy?
Some patterns are so small, we can't see them without the help of technology. The same is true for cosmic microwave background radiation. During this activity and discussion, scholars examine both anisotropic and isotropic items and...
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The Tibetan Plateau
Middle schoolers discuss the characteristics of the biosphere, with a focus on the Tibetan Plateau. They participate in a question and answer period discussing biomes and climate patterns. They compare and contrast different ecosystems.
University of Colorado
Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?
Did you know scientists can tell the age of an asteroid by looking closely at its craters? This final lesson of a six-part series focuses on two asteroids, Gaspra and Ida, in order to demonstrate the concept of dating asteroids. Scholars...
Curated OER
Mystery of the Matching Marks
Students view a Power Point and complete activities related to genetic evidence of human evolution. In this molecular evolution instructional activity, students view and discuss a provide presentation. They search for the "tell-tale...
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Learning Cycle Lesson Plan #6 (Misconception)
Ninth graders investigate evolution via natural selection and form an opinion. They support their opinion using scientific evidence and apply this to adaptations that have allowed certain organisms to survive.
Curated OER
A Scientific Approach to Teaching about Evolution
Students examine fossils and analyzing their significance in relation to theories of evolution. Hand-outs are provided. This lesson could be supplementary to a broader unit on evolution or geology.
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Population Biology
Students define the following terms: predation, competition, carrying capacity and population. They can explain the patterns of growth and the limitations of growth. Students explain the difference between density-dependent and...
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A Peek at the Past: Gradualism vs. Punctuated Equilibria
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.
Curated OER
FOOTSTEPS IN TIME
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.
University of Colorado
Are All Asteroids' Surfaces the Same Age?
There are more than 600,000 asteroids in our solar system. Pupils analyze images of two asteroids in order to determine if they are the same age. They count craters for each asteroid and compare numbers.
Curated OER
Environmental Studies: The Environment Rocks!
Rock exploration, so exciting! After reading the book Everybody Needs a Rock, the class makes sandwiches to better understand that the Earth is made in layers. They then use a description of the 3 types of rock to conduct an observation...
Curated OER
A STEP IN SPECIATION
Students place different subspecies of a CA salamander are placed on grid map of CA according to where samples were collected. Then discuss patterns of their distribution, their likely evolutionary relationships, and probable sequence of...
Curated OER
Immigration in the United States
Students explore how recent immigration and migration patterns impact social and political issues. They apply affective learning techniques