Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Invertebrate Classification

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss the recent disovery of the "furry lobster" to peak interest in the animal kingdom. They classify various speciments using invertebrate dichotomous keys, identifying major animal phyla and classes. Thy the complete the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Insect Biology and Ecology: A Primer

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students explore insects and closely related organisms. They examine the growth and development of a lady beetle. Students classify insects and organize them. They investigate pest management.
Worksheet
Curated OER

All About Seeds!

For Students K - 2nd
How do fruits relate to flowers and seeds? Identify the seeds and their purpose with a coloring activity for kindergartners. Once they color the seeds of apples, bananas, and peas (among others), kids get hands-on experience with bean...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Fungi - Review and Reinforce

For Students 9th - 12th
Diagrams of possible fungi life cycles are printed on the worksheet for biology pupils to evaluate. Short-answer questions ask them to explain what a fungus is, how it obtains food, and what would happen if they ceased to exist. The...
Lesson Plan
Tech Museum of Innovation

Seed Dispersal

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Engineering challenges are not just man-made ... nature has its own set of them. A hands-on STEM activity has groups designing a seed dispersal system. Each group can only use one sheet of paper — a tough task!
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Origin of Life

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this origin of life worksheet, students write answers to five questions. They describe characteristics of the first life forms and how scientists believe oxygen accumulated in the Earth's atmosphere.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is Life?

For Teachers 8th - 9th
In this life characteristics worksheet, students answer 16 questions about living things, Redi's experiment, basic needs, growth and development.
Lesson Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Living Things/ Nonliving Things

For Teachers K
How can you tell if something is living or nonliving? Introduce a set of criteria which can be used to determine which things are alive and which are not. The class discusses the basic needs of all living organisms, checks out an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Formation of Coal

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this coal formation worksheet, students read and informational sheet about coal formation. Students are given 5 short-answer questions regarding what they've read.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Curiosity Cabinet to Museum Collection

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students study binomial nomenclature and museum-based research. They create a curiosity box, label the objects in their curiosity box , develop a classification scheme for the objects, and create a database of all objects collected by...
Handout
National Institute of Open Schooling

Biomolecules

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
An informative lesson has learners read about, discuss, and study the classification, structure and importance of the following biomolecules: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and enzymes. 
Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Living & Non-Living Interactions

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identification of Positive Streptococci

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
After being introduced to the genus Straptococcus, biology buffs set up agar plates, esculin slants, and salt broth tubes with different species to test. The level of laboratory skills required to perform this activity makes it most...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coloring the Life Cycle of Fruits and Vegetables

For Teachers Pre-K
Students investigate how fruits and vegetables change and grow.  In this life cycle of fruits and vegetables lesson plan, students observe the changes in fruits and vegetables as they grow and record the colors on a worksheet.
Learning
American Museum of Natural History

What do You Know About Life on Earth?

For Students 6th - 12th
Humans have only inhabited the earth for a fraction of the time that life has existed. Young scientists explore the facts about the emergence of life on Earth with an interactive resource. While highlighting different types of life, the...
Worksheet
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Curated OER

Drugs and Safety Precautions

For Students 5th
Drugs can both help and harm depending on how they are used. Fifth graders complete a worksheet that provides background information on prescription drugs. They read the text and then describe why medication manufacturers label pill...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Mystery Planet

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Creature Classification

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Young scholars develop a Taxonomic Key for marine invertebrates from pictures they are given after practicing together with common objects, such as shoes. They then compare their key to a provided Ocean Invertebrates Taxonomic Key.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils, in groups, create a slide show about the ecosystem and answer critical thinking questions based on their research.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Algae Experiments

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners describe the characteristics of algae. For this biology lesson, students perform a series of experiment to explore algae. They investigate the basic things algae need to survive.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classification 1: Classification Scheme

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Pupils examine how many kinds of living things can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features to decide which things belong to which group and that classification schemes vary with purpose.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaurs

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students study the lives of dinosaurs. In this dinosaur lesson plan, students create dinosaur dioramas that depict how and where the creatures lived. Students also discuss extinction with their teacher.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Collecting Compost

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students observe a composting box. For this soil lesson, students create a composting bin by using a bin, newspaper, worms, and food scraps. Students create a composting food web.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Six Kingdoms

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this classification worksheet, students complete a chart listing the characteristics of each of six kingdoms. They write definitions for three terms.