Octopodes existed for hundreds of thousands of years before humans, yet our eyes share many similarities. Scholars analyze the evidence to determine if the evolution of eyes best fits a homology or analogy model. They discuss the issue...

One of the most diverse environments on Earth is the ocean. Young scientists explore the living things found in the ocean during an exciting seven-lesson unit. Their study includes organisms from plankton to invertebrates...

Bacteria get more resistant to antibiotics every year. Learn the reason for this pattern and how scientists are addressing the problem in a six-week unit. Learners analyze different types of bacteria and their adaptations.

Grab your feathers and your hat! And perhaps some macaroni! It's time to investigate the evolution of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Groups do a close reading of sheet music covers, lyrics, and even YouTube videos to see how this political song...

Fifty eye-catching pages contain six lessons about Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda. Each lesson has a theme and covers a different subject—literacy, social-emotional learning, science, and geography. Scholars analyze characters, examine...

In this evolution worksheet, students will answer questions about population genetics and the theory of evolution of species. This worksheet has 15 true or false, 6 fill in the blank, and 4 short answer questions.

Students analyze art of changing identities of cities and populations. For this art analysis lesson, students analyze the works of art that address constructions of identity in a consumer society. Students explore the role memory plays...

Students, in teams, use different colored paper chips to represent prey and a piece of fabric as the environment.

For this evolution worksheet, students read about the changes the peppered moth went through over 100 year time period. Students complete 3 short answer questions based on what they read.

Learners examine and observe how many human-made objects get their basic design from things in nature. They listen to the book "Nature Got There First," compare/contrast hollow bones with drinking straws, bird beaks and tool pliers, and...

Students construct cladograms (evolutionary trees), showing how shared derived characters can be used to reveal degrees of relationship. They interpret and analyze cladograms, and determine where unclassified vertebrates would fit on a...

These lessons use a variety of methods and approaches to teach flowering plant biology which includes seed germination; plant growth and food production through photosynthesis; plant transpiration and respiration; sexual reproduction...

Students compare and their performance of a series of tasks using their thumb and fingers to their performance of the same tasks without the use of their thumb. The class discussion that follows the activity defines and discusses the...

Students become birds and are given "beak-types". After completing the simulation, students relate results to adaptations and natural selection. Extensions of the simulation allow for comparative results and include population genetics.

Students study what a niche is and its role in a community.  In this cats lesson students research the Internet for information on big cat species. 

Seventh graders research about the effect of climate on different ecosystems. In this life science lesson, 7th graders present their research by creating a poster, infomercial, skit or song. They discuss how organisms adapt to climate...

Students get an overview of the climate and organisms of the North American Prairie. After a lecture, and watching some videos imbedded in this plan, students compile research data on the North American Prairie.

Tenth graders practice new skills and apply them. The skills of research should motivate them to want more knowledge. The concept of adaptation is used as a context for the lesson plan of practicing research skills.

Students consider dog breeds that are helpful to humans and their hereditary link to wolves. In this biology lesson, student research a dog breed for traits that make it useful to humans.  Students write a report of how these traits...

Human bodies prove evolution thanks to our genes, bones, and more. Learning about specific body parts and how they evolved from other species helps individuals better understand the transition species that helped us become who we are today.

Biologists know of more than 2,300 living species of amphibians. Learn more about the four orders of amphibians with an interesting presentation. It explains the similarities and differences between the thousands of species of...

There is a scallop that relies on sight so much that it actually has more than 100 eyes! There are many species that rely heavily on one sense or another. An online interactive resource has youth read about several of these animals. The...

How do scientists know they're right? Truth be told, they don't always know. Explore the scientific process using mystery tubes in an insightful activity. Young scientists discover how to approach and solve problems in science, how ideas...

Students role-playing the concept of evolution through naturally occurring mutations. Working in pairs, they model how birds have adapted to the food sources in their environment through changes in their beak size and shapes. Students...