Students examine the differences between biotic and abiotic factors, explain the difference between habitat and niche and compare how organisms get their nutritional needs.  In this local environment lesson students trace the path...

Learners examine how germs spread from one person or object to another. They discuss antibiotic resistant bacteris and examine the benefits of microorganisms. They explore methods of curbing antibiotic resistance.

Seventh graders model radioactive decay using pennies, collect data from their model, apply scientific visualization techniques to their data and create animated models explaining the concept of radioactive half-life.

Third graders investigate how and why scientists use classification. They discuss classification strategies using animals, and as a class fill in a flowchart with their responses. Next, in small groups they cut out a variety of shapes...

In this biosphere worksheet, students identify the different levels of organization that ecologists study. Students complete charts, sentences, and answer short answer questions.

Learners observe termite trail-following behavior.  In this termite trails lesson, students draw a circle or other shape approximately eight inches across with a ball point pen.  Teacher taps out termites into the circle and...

Show your class how engineers use graphs to understand large and complex systems. The resource provides the beginnings of graph theory by introducing the class to set theory, graphs, and degree distributions of a graph. 

Fourth graders design a classification system to categorize animate and inanimate objects. They discuss the advantages of grouping things as they classify buttons, leaves, shells.

Students examine how plants are able to adapt to their ecosystem and the role that fire plays in changes through the years.  In this ecosystem lesson plan students complete several exercises focussing on plants and their adaptations...

High schoolers design and conduct an experiment to test their ideas about how to speed up or slow down the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. They have access to an array of physical and chemical factors that might influence enzyme...

Learners record and analyze what types of food monarch caterpillars will eat.

Students observe the growth of a seed, predict what will happen when seeds are planted without soil, and conduct an experiment using a hydroponics system.

Students read an online article to examine what biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology are. They answer questions and complete worksheets based on the article's information.

Students discuss different ways to spread infectious diseases. In this bioterrorism activity, students model the rate of smoke emission using CalRoad software. They analyze the effects of airborne release of...

Students are introduced to the realm of social insects, their role in the environment and the biological features that make them unique.

Students examine types of mycology methods. They practice using new vocabulary and answer key questions. They complete a field survey and analyze their results.

Middle schoolers discuss ten important Pennsylvania hardwood trees, examine characteristics of each tree species, evaluate economic and ecological importance of hardwood trees, and recognize at least two characteristics of each species.

Young scholars model the biosphere and manipulate variables affecting change and plan their experiments with the help of others. They describe their question, hypothesis, and methods of investigation.

Students research a NASA Website and record information about an assigned city's tropospheric ozone residual monthly climate. In groups, they graph the information for the past year. They form new groups and compare their city's...

Students answer the question "How are the concepts and processes I examine in Biology relevant to my other classes, to my life, and to my community?" This assignment has students actively involved in the intellectual work of location,...

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.

Students explore how to classify new species.

Learners view a video about how human actions impact the environment. They design a set of experiments to address some of the problems and issues raised by the video.