Curated OER
Biotechnology: Drug Delivery and Diffusion
Students discover advances in biomedical technology such as transdermal delivery and other non-invasive procedures. In lab activities, they examine how medication is given and how molecules travel, observe electrophoresis, and conduct...
Curated OER
The Death Penalty
Middle schoolers examine the controversy surrounding the death penalty in the United States. In this current events lesson, students research the history of the death penalty as well perspectives on the topic. Middle schoolers interview...
Cornell University
Plant Cell Crime Scene
Use science to solve the mystery of the Poplar murder. Pupils use forensic botany to determine if a suspect could be the killer. By analyzing images from a Transmission Electron Microscope, learners determine if the material found on the...
Curated OER
Human Cloning: Is it Biological Plagiarism?
Is cloning good or harmful? Help your class understand the risks and benefits as they read, research, and discuss human cloning. Individuals form teams, research information, and present to the class before concluding with an in-depth...
Curated OER
The Race for the Double Helix
Students participate in an ethics-based simulation. In this ethics lesson, students role play research scientists working to decipher a code. Students work in small collaborative groups and must interact with other small groups to...
Curated OER
Last Flight of Bomber 31
Students act as forensic scientists to help solve a long-standing missing persons case. They study nuclear DNA and mtDNA.
Curated OER
Cheese Please
Students make cheese in their classroom! In this cheese lesson plan, students use bacteria and active culture to clot and age cheese that could be edible in the future.
Curated OER
A Feast for the Future
Students participate in an activity that uses a simulated meal of transgenic foods in order to initiate a discussion of the controversy concerning the use of transgenic food products.
Curated OER
USING YEAST AS AN ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT MEASUREMENT TOOL
Students realize the importance of organisms as standards of measurement and experimentation.The first lab is a simple survival curve that demonstrates the effects of UV light on cells. The second lab looks at repair mechanisms of the...
Curated OER
Mystery of the Matching Marks
Students view a Power Point and complete activities related to genetic evidence of human evolution. In this molecular evolution instructional activity, students view and discuss a provide presentation. They search for the "tell-tale...
Curated OER
Why Do We Need Vitamin C in Our Diet?
Students compare/contrast the DNA sequence data of the rat GULO gene to the inactive human GULO gene. They translate and align the sequences, and propose a scenario to explain the occurrence of an inactive DNA sequence to that of an...
Zebrafish in the Classroom
Worksheet on Genetics for Kindergarteners
Introduce the concept of genetics to your kindergartners with a science experiment about chromosomes in fish. After a quick overview of what chromosomes are, learners color different chromosomes to show that they come from the mom or the...
Curated OER
Gene to Protein
Mutation and auxotrophs are discussed. Next, the details of RNA transcription and how enzymes can control splicing and introns are given.
Curated OER
Genetically-Modified Food
Students investigate the pros and cons of genetic engineering. They watch a short Bill Moyers video, conduct Internet research, create a poster, participate in a pro/con debate, and write an essay expressing their personal feelings on...
Carolina Biological Supply
Aquarium Equilibrium Demonstration
Sometimes equilibrium is a difficult concept for a beginning chemist to grasp. Here is a demonstration that helps them to visualize what is happening at a molecular level. Using two aquariums and different sizes of beakers to transfer...
Curated OER
Tree of Life
Students study genetics and evolution. They evaluate a group of organisms and estimate their genetic relatedness. Then they use an online program to check the accuracy of their estimations and make a branching phylogenetic tree which...
Curated OER
Who is the Sea Otter Related to?
Students examine the genetic relationships of different organisms. In groups, they discover the importance of genes and how different amino acids show various evolutionary relationships. They use an online database to continue their...
Curated OER
Mitosis & Cell Processes
Students research the process of mitosis and how it progresses to the finished result of cell division. They reflect upon how this causes organisms to grow larger and helps tissues to be renewed.
Curated OER
Human Genome Project
Students examine the goals of the Human Genome Project. They research issues of the project such as scientific, potential and ethical implications of the project. In addition, they create a presentation to present their findings.
Curated OER
Survivors on the Ocean Ridge
Students discover the uniqueness of deep sea hydrothermal vent organisms through an exploration of the NOAA Galapagos Rift Expedition. They study the genetics and evolution of a shrimp species that lives near the vents then they...
Curated OER
An Introduction to Four Groups of Biologically Important Compounds
Students learn about the four biochemicals that are important biologically. In this biochemicals lesson plan, students identify the four major groups of biochemicals including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. They are...
Curated OER
Birds of a Feather Flock to the Web
Learners define the term "evolution" and relate it to species adaptation, supporting their ideas with examples. They locate, correctly cite, and briefly review two Web sites with information on finches commonly found in their state or count
Curated OER
The Human Geonome Project Structured Controversy
High schoolers debate government funding of the Human Genome Project. In this ethics instructional activity, students use the stuctured controversy framework to research the opposing viewpoints regarding project funding.
Curated OER
Born of Blood
Students define attributes of human chromosomes and match them to make a human karyotype. In this investigative lesson students demonstrate how traits are encoded in genes found on chromosomes.