Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Day the Mesozoic Died
While this is not the traditional, step-by-step lesson plan, it is chock-full of material that you can easily incorporate into your earth history unit. Its main purpose is to serve as a guide to using a three-part film, The Day the...
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Invertebrate Research Project
Students keep a scientific research notebook on an invertebrate detailing its behavior and responses.
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Design a Reef!
Here is an ambitious, but highly valuable undertaking: set up a miniature coral reef in your classroom. Young marine scientists research coral reef ecosystems and ensure all vital factors are included in their functioning model. The...
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U.S. History: Antebellum Heroes and Villains
Eighth graders research and write reports on key figures of the Antebellum Period. The projects also include pictures, bibliographies, and timelines about their assigned figure. In addition, 8th graders present oral reports to classmates.
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A STEP IN SPECIATION
Students place different subspecies of a CA salamander are placed on grid map of CA according to where samples were collected. Then discuss patterns of their distribution, their likely evolutionary relationships, and probable sequence of...
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Something Fishy - Bioaccumulation of Mercury
Students explore the dangers of eating high levels of mercury and how small amounts of mercury in water accumulate in greater quantities in organisms higher in the food chain. They list the health of effects of high levels of mercury on...
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Critters of the Water
Students examine different organisms in various marine habitats. They identify any adaptations that have allowed the organisms to survive. They develop an imaginary organism and describe its life cycle.
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Studying Fossils
Students study the Evolution in the Light of Fossils. Activities in this lesson range from quantitative measurements of hominoid skulls to the comparison of hominoid bone structures. They hypothesize dinosaur size and speed by looking at...
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Ape Cave Exploration
Students simulate online the formation of Ape Cave, in order to better explain its construction. They observe, illustrate and discuss geological features of this lava tube.
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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow....?
Understanding the effects of an introduced species on the population of native species
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Have You Seen Me? An Introductory Lesson on the Loss of Biodiversity
Young scholars investigate environmental law and policies involving endangered species as well as discuss human impact on biodiversity through an Internet research project. Students create a milk carton of their "missing" endangered...
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Mouthpart Madness
Students explore the basic biology of a pest. They identify the four major kinds of insect mouthparts and explain how they work. Students examine the specific mouthparts and how they can limit food resources and in what environment an...
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Island Biogeography and Evolution
Students develop likely phylogenies for seven related populations of lizards living on the Canary Islands using real data. They organize charts, and record the data for geography, geology, morphology, and molecular genetics.
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An Interdisciplinary Deer and Human Population Study
Students answer the question, "What environmental problems arise due to animal and human overpopulation and what might need to be done to combat these problems?" They play games, graph data and write proposals about the question.
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The Tree of Life
Students discover the amount of diversity that exists in a local area using simple techniques that make observing biodiversity easy and enjoyable. They select a tree to study, collect vials of specimens, then identify the arthropod.
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Species Diversity and Phylogeny
Students explore the classification system of organisms: taxonomy. They examine prepared slides of Protozoans and record information on a Taxonomy Recording Sheet. Two additional classifying activities are also included in this lesson.
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The Environment and Interactions of Living Organisms
Students study the environment and interactions of living organisms. They identify abiotic and biotic factors and create a foldable and vocabulary cards. They create a poster illustrating soil and watch a video to study symbiosis.
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Ecosystem Organization
Eighth graders engage in a lesson about ecosystems with the intention of looking at how it is organized. They cover the biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem while looking at the seven types of terrestrial biomes. Students write...
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Bioregion: Shark Valley Bicycle Ride
Students discuss the importance of the Everglades to the bioregion. In groups, they use the Internet to research the native types of flora and fauna and describe what happens when foreign flora and fauna enters the region. To end the...
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Birds of Different Feathers: Species Specialization
Learners identify differences in bird species and explain the concept of species specialization. They attain the knowledge that different birds occupy different habitats.
Students identify characteristics and features of birds that make...
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Aquatic Insects: Water Quality Index & Diversity Index
Students search stream beds to study the life cycle and adaptations of stream insects. They explore creeks and streams to see the diversity index of creeks or streams and to find the water qualit index.
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Invertebrates
Students identify insect body parts and look for local insect life. They create an insect using recycled material and design a classroom mural with bug facts. They study Monarch butterflies and dragonflies.
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Life in Extreme Environments - Lakes Under Ice
High schoolers collect chemical, physical, and biological data from a local lake throughout the year. In addition, students discuss the design of an experimental structure for water collection at several specific depths as well as assess...