Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hickory Dickory Dock: The Biological Clock

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students investigate the effect of day length on animal migrations. They view a Powerpoint presentation, identify their own personal migrations and cues, answer discussion questions, and test a hypothesis about seasons.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Content Of Foods And Fuels

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars engage in a study of food and how it used as fuel for the human body. They research how biological systems require energy and compare them to the physical science systems like machines. They compare and contrast what they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Salmon Smolt: Stella PC and Mac

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the Stella Smolts Migration Model and its use in previous simulation models to help managers deal with the many factors contributing smolts decline. They participate in an interactive exercise in the role of fishery...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wind Dynamics and Forests

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students perform experiments to explore differences in wind speed and forest density. Through experimentation and observation, students realize that changes in vegetation affect the atmosphere and wind conditions. They create a model...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Habitats and Functions

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students analyze and discuss insect diversity and all of the functions that insects perform in nature. They examine habitat and function cards, and distribute themselves by function and habitat.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Permeability of Earth Materials

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students observe and classify the permeability of a variety of materials.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in Streams and Ponds

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students collect microorganisms, demonstrate correct laboratory/Gram stain procedure, and design and construct tables to organize data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Telling Our Own Stories

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Explore online profiles and social media with your middle and high school classes. Use blogs to inspire your class to craft a well-written, thoughtful response to a prompt you give.  A few example prompts are given. 
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Channel Islands Film

Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 4

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Foster's Rule? Allopatric speciation? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation, class members use Venn diagrams to compare endemic species on the Channel Islands with mainland related species. They then create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Creation of an Imaginary Species

For Teachers 3rd - 9th
Students explore the characteristics that distinguish different forms of animal life on Earth which are the results of natural selection and adaptations to their environment. The creatures are created using a game and then drawn by the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Digging up the Dirt on Soil Microbes

For Teachers K - 8th
Students are introduced to the idea of soil as a habitat for many different organisms. They are introduced to the links between the biological adaptations of an organism and the physical demands of its habitat. Pupils are introduced to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life Underground

For Teachers 1st
First graders build a terrarium in order to observe animal and plant life dynamics. In this biology lesson, 1st graders compare how organisms survive in different environments. They write their observations and analysis in their journal.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating New Forms of Life

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers are asked to use their imaginations to take the idea of biotechnology one step further. Before beginning this activity students read and complete a report on the book "Jurassic Park," which deals with the use of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It's Just Right

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars conduct an experiment to determine the temperature tolerance of yeasts. In this biology lesson, students collect data and compare them by plotting graphs. They explain how extreme temperatures affect organisms.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biosphere II

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students continue their examination of the existence of life on Earth. In groups, they determine the role of the water cycle and other biogeochemical cycles play in keeping balance on Earth. They participate in experiments to discover...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Photosynthesis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct a variety of experiments on photosynthesis. In this biology lesson, students identify the factors required for the process to occur. They perform computerized experiments to test the amount of oxygen produced when plants...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Wonders of Bacteria

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students explore the evolution and features of bacteria through a series of activities. In this biology lesson, students collect data and graph bacterial growth. They design a brochure about bacteria's role in society.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Life Has A History

For Students 6th - 9th
In this biology worksheet, students identify and match various classes of species found today. Then they explain why biodiversity exists today on earth and define evolution. Students also describe who a paleontologist is and what they do.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Theory, Theory, Who's got the theory?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students analyze 5 separate theories of evolution in order to help them explain the different meanings of theory, how human values influence science, and that the scientific view of the origin of life does not involve supernatural forces.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design a Reef!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore coral reef ecosystems.  In this ecosystems science lesson, students research coral reef ecosystems to determine the major functions the participating organisms must perform.  Students construct a miniature...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plant Transpiration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct various experiments to investigate plant transpiration. In this biology lesson, students explain how this process helps maintain the hydrologic cycle. They measure the rate of water loss in plants using a potometer.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Cladograms

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers construct cladograms (evolutionary trees), showing how shared derived characters can be used to reveal degrees of relationship. They interpret and analyze cladograms, and determine where unclassified vertebrates would fit...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biodiversity in an Estuary

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the biodiversity in estuaries. In this estuary lesson plan, students use Google Earth to explore the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. They produce a biodiversity concept map and portray the life of a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Old Tubeworm

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students plot data to construct and interpret a graph about vestimentiferans at cold-seep sites in the Gulf of Mexico. In this deep sea lesson, students plot data provided for the growth of tubeworms. They use the graphs to determine...