Curated OER
Citizenship in Action
Students discover citizenship at work. In this current events lesson, students visit selected websites to discover information about animal testing and discuss how to solve some of the issues associated with animal experimentation.
Virginia Department of Education
Heat Loss from a Fur-Insulated Animal
How do animals adapt to weather changes? Provide your class with the ability to understand adaptations and body temperature as they participate in this hands on experiment, using fake fur and hot water. Pupils collect data and...
American Physiological Society
Sticky Adaptations A Lesson on Natural Selection
Now you see it, now you don't! The stick bug exhibits the ability to disappear into a wooded environment. Why does this adaptation manifest in some species, but not in others? Life science students explore animal adaptations in nature...
Statistics Education Web
The Case of the Careless Zookeeper
Herbivores and carnivores just don't get along. Using a box of animal crackers, classes collect data about the injury status of herbivores and carnivores in the box. They complete the process of chi-square testing on the data from...
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
Animal Behavior
Students investigate stimulus-response behavior, learned behavior in animals and innate behavior in animals. In this animal behavior lesson plan, students answer questions about their reactions to a toy cap gun that is fired off in...
Curated OER
Counting Animal Populations
Students learn how to count animal populations by the Mark and Recapture method. In this counting animal populations lesson plan, students begin by predicting amounts of different candies in a jar. Students then simulate using beans, two...
American Chemical Society
Changing State: Melting
Dry ice is extremely cold — it is -109.3°F or -78.5°C. Scholars observe and explain the molecular motion associated with melting. Then they design their own experiments to speed up the melting process. Finally, a teacher presents a...
Curated OER
Analysis of Grooming Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster
Students 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...
Curated OER
ANIMALS OF ANTARCTICA
Students are introduced to the animals of Antarctica and how they adapt to their environment and the changes of the seasons after being read the story,"Counting Penguins" . They pick an animal and predict how he/she thinks this animal...
Curated OER
Land Plants and Algae
Students compare and contrast algae and land plants. In this plant lesson students discover what algae and land plants require for growth. The students discuss experimental design. The students experiment with different treatments of...
Curated OER
The Legendary Raptors
How are raptors and airplanes alike? Combine science and language arts in this fun and interactive project. Young scientists research the animal in order to design their own aircraft, and compete in a contest for farthest, fastest, and...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Classroom Activities: Stem Cells and Diabetes
A multi-faceted lesson immerses AP biologists into the world of the stem cell. Using PowerPoint presentations, you introduce your class to diabetes and the possibility of finding cures through stem cell research. Online animations and...
Curated OER
Open Inquiry Using C. elegans
Ever wondered what motivates a roundworm? Introduce your biology class to C. elegans, a non-parasitic model organism that can help them understand behavioral stimuli. Paired pupils design an experiment to test the worm's reaction to...
Curated OER
Go Fish!
So much science in one tiny fish! Introduce young biologists to the zebrafish, a common aquarium inhabitant. The small, unassuming organism presents an opportunity for learners to study habituation using an easy-to-care-for species. Lab...
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
Inquiry in Science Using an Animal Behavior Model
Students 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 Chemical Society
Changing State: Evaporation
Why do experiments require a control? Guide scholars through designing an experiment to see what they can do to evaporate water faster with a lesson that stresses the importance of controlling all variables. The second activity...
Curated OER
Ants In Motion
Learners 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.
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 Weight of Water
Students examine how salt water is more dense than fresh water through experimentation with eggs.
Curated OER
Experimental Archaeology: Making Cordage
Students make a cordage and use an activity sheet to experience a skill that ancient Native American in North Carolina neded for everyday life.
Curated OER
Robert Boyle and Experimental Methods
Students discuss the difference between the Baconian inductive method and the Aristotelian deductive approaches. They complete a given set of questions then discuss them with the class.
Curated OER
Experimentation with Teratogens on Zebrafish
Pupils compare mitosis and meiosis with regard to chromosome number in parent cells versus daughter cells, types of cells produced, total number of cells produced, and the number of divisions. In groups, identify and differentiate the...