Why does the United States have a bicameral voting system? Through role playing as either advocates for or against a cell phone policy in school, your learners will organize, vote, compromise, and experience first-hand the benefits of a...

Before a cell replicates, its DNA must replicate. Take advantage of a hands-on guided lesson to teach budding scientists how this happens. Using a set of nucleotide cards, learners become the DNA and work to create matching strands...

With paper DNA patterns, budding biologists model translation and base-pair substitution within sequences. Through these activities, they examine how mutations can result in genetic disorders. The modeling that occurs is an enlightening...

The Hardy-Weinberg principle is the focus of this concise slideshow.  Some vocabulary definitions are given on the first 2 slides, and the rest are given over to examples of the Hardy-Weinberg theorem. Calculations of the H-W...

Get up close and personal with DNA! A two-part hands-on activity has learners extract DNA from a small organism and then their own cheek cells. Scholars then explore DNA replication using questions to guide their analyses.

Uncover the basics of DNA structure through exploration activities. Collaborative groups build DNA models and recreate the process of replication. Then, using plant cells such as peas or strawberries, they extract a DNA sample.

More extensive than just a general overview of digestion and reactions, this slide show gives information about all areas of enzyme function.  Topics like the chemistry behind efficiency of enzymes, factors that affect speed of...

How do changes in DNA affect an organism? Scholars explore chromosomes, genes, DNA, and mutations by modeling the DNA of a strawberry. They build a DNA model, then manipulate it to show how changing the genes transforms the strawberry...

Put your heart into it. Scholars design and build replacements for mitral heart valves. Obviously, they can't test their creations on a real heart, so a box with marbles (to represent blood cells) will suffice.

Reward biology learners for working hard in their mitosis lesson with a sweet snack at the end! They begin by twisting apart creme-filled cookies and using the icing as a cytoplasm. Colored candy sprinkles make up chromosome pairs,...

Students are able to discuss the difference between a proton, a neutron and an electron. They also can explain the difference between an ionic and a covalent bond. Students know the main structure of atoms and molecules. Student are able...

Class pairs select a prompt from a provided list and tell (and record) their story to their partner. They then examine linguist William Labov's model for natural narratives, and apply his model to their tale. Next, class members watch...

What is in that double helix? Explain intricate concepts with a variety of creative activities in a lesson that incorporates multiple steps to cover DNA structure, nucleic acids, and proteins. Pupils explore the history of DNA structure,...

Students build plankton models and compete to see which sinks most slowly. They write, or orally present ,the adaptations they incorporated to slow the sinking rate of their organisms. Race results can be grounds for some prizes!

Here is a cross-curricular ecology and technology instructional activity; your learners create spreadsheets depicting the location and number of groundhog dens in a local park. They research groundhogs and analyze data about where the...

Watson and Crick built the first model of DNA in the 1950s, and our understanding of DNA since then continues to grow exponentially. Scholars learn about protein synthesis by observing a presentation and completing a worksheet. Both walk...

High schoolers explore the different fields of bioengineering. They will create and interpret graphs from cancel cells data. They then calculate the amount of drugs found in blood and eliminated by the body over time.

A chart with eight rows makes up this handout. The columns are labeled with two graphs ("x vs. t" and "v vs. t"), a written description, and a motion map. One cell in each row is filled in, leaving the rest for your class to complete....

Much more than a simple reading assessment, this resource can form the basis of a review of comprehension strategies, as a worksheet that models for readers how to employ strategies to answer questions based on passages, or as a practice...

Lisa Peters presents macroevolution as a large-scale family tree in her book Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story. She suggests the process from single-celled organisms to modern-day humans, and learners explore new vocabulary...

Walk your way to health with this great resource! Walking is a valuable physical activity that can be done frequently and with ease by learners of all ages. "Warm up" by reviewing the benefits of physical activity with your class...

Could you go without your cell phone for 48 hours? Pose this question to your class and then read the article provided here. Pupils mark the text and and complete a graphic organizer that requires the use of textual evidence.

Inquiry-based learning and investigations form the basis of a deep understanding of quadratic functions in a very thorough unit plan.  Learners develop recursive and closed methods for representing real-life situations,...

Students model and differentiate between the processes of mitosis and meiosis. In partners, they use yarn and construction paper to create models for each of the phases of mitosis and meiosis then compare the chromosome numbers in each...