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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fish Eyes - More than Meets the Eye

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Inform your class about the adaptations in fish eyes: cones, lens size, endothermy, and speed of vision. The adaptations are related to diving behavior. Junior marine scientists compare the adaptations of four different fish species to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Massive Migrations

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Here is an exciting exploration of a fascinating topic for your emerging ecologists: bird migration! They begin by visiting the US Fish & Wildlife Service website to discover which Arctic birds come to their areas. They are assigned...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Growing Penguins

For Teachers 4th - 8th
A collection of photos and accompanying descriptions describing the life cycle of an Adelie penguin is the highlight of this resource. Working in groups, polar explorers match the descriptions to the pictures and create a timeline. An...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sheffield Island Adaptation Activity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
You don't have to visit The Maritime Aquarium to use this plan, but you would need to find a location where a variety of bird species live, re-write the activity worksheet to incorporate the local species, and purchase field guides for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biomes: Adapting To Deserts & Other Ecosystems

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine how animals must be adapted to the conditions of its environment to survive.  For this biomes lesson students research desert adaptations then discuss how these animals have survived. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animal Adaptations

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners will participate in classroom discussions and visit a website to learn more about animals and how well (or poorly) they've adapted to satisfying their needs in their natural habitats. This will help move them toward the goal, in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science: Observing Fish Behavior

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars identify and explain various fish behaviors through observation. Over several months, they watch one fish in the classroom aquarium and record its behaviors in notebooks. They visit a virtual aquarium Website to find...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whale Adaptations

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore whales and how they have adapted to survive in the ocean.  For this whale adaptations lesson students complete several activities that allow them to investigate animal adaptations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seabird Survival Adaptation Card Game

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students study seabirds and how they have adapted to their environments.  In this activity based lesson plan students will play a card game that will allow them to have a better understanding of seabirds and their adaptations. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adaptations

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are able to describe protective adaptations of animals. They are able to categorize the animals based on their protective adaptations. Students discuss adaptations of animals. They are explained that an adaptation helps an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science: Observing Fish Behavior

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders, working in pairs, select and observe fish in the Aquademics aguarium. They record their observations on worksheets and make graphs displaying the frequency of various fish behaviors. Students then discuss their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You talkin' to me?: Investigations in animal behavior

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine how to develop and conduct scientific investigations of animal behavior. In this animal behavior lesson plan students view a video, play an interactive game and complete a lab exercise. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discussion of Adaptation

For Teachers K - 8th
Learners discuss ways in which dinosaurs adapted to their environments. They apply the same logic to an analysis of human habitat, survival needs, and survival need fulfillment to explain how people have adapted to their environment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adaptation and Mimicry - Biology

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars compare and contrast adaptations involving camouflage, warning coloration, and mimicry. They explain the relationship between adaptation and ability for survival and reproduction. Students define Batesian and Mullerian...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating the Behavior of Lumbriculus

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students perform a classroom experiment on the organisms of worms. They view the behaviors of the worms and analyze their results. This lesson introduces students to the techniques involved in behavioral studies.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analysis of Grooming Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

For Teachers 10th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mountain Lions in Arizona Lesson 5: Humans and Lions - Encounters in Nature

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Fledgling felinologists are taught how to recognize when a mountain lion is preparing to attack. They identify proper actions to provide the greatest chance of survival if they are attacked. Learners play a matching card game in which...
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Lesson Plan
Pennsylvania Department of Education

Plant and Animal Adaptations

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify behavioral and structural adaptations to plant and animal life. In this unit overview, 4th graders discuss the importance of variation and adaptation in a species survival. This is a unit overview and does not...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blue Planet: Frozen Seas

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the animals from the Arctic and how they have adapted.  In this ocean lesson students create a poster about their given animal and present it to the class. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animal Adaptations

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students expand their knowledge of animal features and behaviors that can help or hinder their survival in a particular habitat. They participate in classroom discussions and visit a website to research animals
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Evolution Works

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars examine the term natural selection and what behavioral adaptations are.  In this evolution lesson plan students view videos about evolution and perform experiments that simulate populations that interplay between the...
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Lesson Plan
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

Fish Morphology

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Life comes in all different shapes and sizes, and fish are no exception. Here, young scientists create fish prints as they learn how specific characteristics allow different species to survive in their particular habitats.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Games on Echolocation

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Get a little batty with life science! This fun simulation game replicates how bats use echolocation to hunt moths in their native Hawaiian habitat. After creating blind folds and discussing some basic principles of echolocation, students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine Animal and Plant Adaptations

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Young scholars examine nature by creating their own animals. In this animal adaptation lesson, students define scientific vocabulary terms dealing with adaptation such as sea stars, sea cucumbers and exoskeleton. Young scholars utilize...