Curated OER
Eelgrass Bed Exploration
Students study the function and biological value of eelgrass beds. They discover the habitat requirements of the beds by reading a hand-out and completing a worksheet.
Curated OER
The Fish Trade
High schoolers read and discuss a document regarding how the global fish trade is important to humans all over the world. Students conduct Internet research and write a scenario about what would happen if other countries did not help...
Curated OER
The Opposable Thumb
Students explore the physical importance of the opposable thumb among primates. They discover which of their simplest daily activities are possible only because of their opposable thumbs.
Curated OER
Migration and the Spirits of Life
Students study the Mexican traditions for the Day of the Dead. For this Mexican traditions lesson, students study monarch butterflies and learn about the role that the mariposa plays in the Day of the Dead. Students learn about...
Curated OER
Lesson Plans for the Novel "Jurassic Park"
Young scholars read the book, Jurassic Park, then answer questions.
Curated OER
2005 Hidden Ocean Expedition What's Eating You?
Analyze data and make inferences about the trophic position of organisms in the Canada marine food web. After a review of the geography and formula, discuss results and write an essay to improve the understanding of Artic food webs.
Curated OER
C.S.I. on the Deep Reef
Students study chemotropic sybioses and chemotropic nutrition. In groups, they complete a Chemotrophic Species Investigations (CSI) Worksheet.
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
The Effects of Colloidal Silver on Microbial Growth: Investigating Snake Oil Science
Can your classes solve the problem of the smelly sweat sock? Young scientists complete a lab investigation that begins by using electrochemistry to generate colloidal silver. They use their solutions to test the rate of microbial growth...
Curated OER
Genetic Analysis
Students formulate a hypothesis regarding the validity of the current status of the Arizona Hedgehog cactus as a distinct variety of cactus. They design a procedure to isolate DNA from the tissue of plants, given a list of chemicals and...
Curated OER
Quick Concept Demonstrations
Students research the nervous system. Demonstrations on how to pick up keyed information in text is shown daily and weekly. Reviewed for content is Nerve Impulse, Polarization and Depolarization and perception. A spreadsheet will graph...
Curated OER
Smelly Balloons
High schoolers investigate the concept of diffusion through a membrane. They do this through the conduction of a simple experiment. Students make observations while determining if the smell of different chemicals seeps through the...
Curated OER
Who's the Father?
Learners analyze gels to determine parentage in this lesson about scientific evidence, investigation, and DNA concepts. The lesson includes a pre-activity worksheet, a final individual assessment, and student handouts for in-class...
Curated OER
Biodiversity: El Imposible National Park, El Salvador
Fifth graders explore the concept of how the more diverse an ecosystem is, the more interdependence of species exists within that system. The complex relationships among diverse species are difficult to identify. As species disappear or...
Curated OER
Endangered Species Problem
Students list the morphological characters used to identify the cacti in the field, and describe the associated problems in using these characters for identification. They draw the geographical ranges of the varieties of species...
Curated OER
Learning the Structure and Function of DNA
Students read about Humane Genome Project, examine structure and function of DNA, and participate in gel-electrophoresis lab. They complete Internet activity to test their knowledge of DNA.
Curated OER
Biodiversity Debate - Stream Side Science
Role play community members who are both for and against the construction of a dam. Research the pros and cons and then hold a classroom debate. This activity ideally follows a series of stream studies, links to which are included. Use...
Field Museum
The Case of Darwin's Finches
One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...
Discovery Education
Sonar & Echolocation
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis
Students recognize the importance of plants as they perform an experiment involving photosynthesis. Students determine the optimum wavelength of light for photosynthesis by exposing plants to different colors of light, collecting data,...
NOAA
Importance of Deep-Sea Ecosystems – What Killed the Seeds?
Most drugs used today come from nature, so the discovery of new ecosystems in the deep sea is exciting from a medical perspective. Scholars develop their own bioassay to test germination rates in seeds.
Serendip
Photosynthesis Investigation
Can scientists increase the rate of photosynthesis to help clean the air? Scholars complete an experiment determining net photosynthesis. Then, they apply knowledge from the activity to design their own investigations of the factors that...
Curated OER
Blend-A-Plant Levels of Organization
Students' identify and analyze the levels of organization and the emergent properties through experimentation. Students' apply the differences in the properties of a plant before and after it has been subjected to a kitchen blender.
Curated OER
Predator/Prey Activity: Fish Feeding, Environments, and General Behavior
Students explore concepts of environment and survival among different marine life, focusing on the ocean environment.
Curated OER
A Tail to Tell
Young scholars observe populations of Lumbriculus to discover some of the adaptations that allow them to live successfully along the shores of ponds and marshes. They also design and perform experiments to test proposed hypotheses for...