Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Studying Fossils: Hominoid Skull Comparison

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers collect data on the differences in Hominid skulls using acrylic casts of fossil skulls. They measure a series of structures on skulls from six different species then use the data to determine evolutionary relationships...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection.... a Cumulative Process... it's in the cards!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners working in pairs attempt to produce a full sequence of 13 cards of one suit (ace - to king). This must be done by shuffling the suit of cards for each round, then checking the cards.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clipbirds

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students attempt to pick up various objects with a wide variety of beaks, including scissors, spoons, etc.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Survival of the Fittest – Battling Beetles

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore natural selection. For this genetic adaptation lesson, students discover why certain traits continue and some traits disappear. Students discover how species evolve and change. Resources are provided.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gene Switches- A Model

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore genetic variation within a population. In this genetic adaptation instructional activity, students investigate the reasons contributing to genetic adaptation. Students collaborate and analyze DNA models. Multiple...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students develop an understanding of natural selection, specifically, how it unfolds from generation to generation. They work in small groups to perform an experiment using beans. They use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to guide their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Cladograms

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Fossil Find - Reconstructing the Pieces

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students go on an imaginary fossil hunt. They follow a script read by the teacher, students "find" (remove from envelope) paper "fossils" of some unknown creature. They attempt to reconstruct fossil pieces into an animal.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Natural Selection of Bean Hunters

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Young scholars, in groups, hunt for beans placed in the lawn. Each group uses a different tool (hand, spoon, fork, etc.) and there are three different colors of beens.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Chips Are Down: A Natural Selection Simulation

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students, in teams, use different colored paper chips to represent prey and a piece of fabric as the environment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating Evolutionary Questions: Bats, Whales, Reptiles, Birds, Animal Classification

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
Students are guided through a process in which three questions are addressed by retrieving beta hemoglobin sequences from online databases, and using online tools to compare those sequences in student-selected animals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Examining the Fossil Record

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students create an evolutionary tree based on fossil morphology and their ages. For this fossil record lesson plan, students are given 23 pictures of fossil. They study their morphology and arrange the fossils by age and structures on a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scavenger Hunt: A Group Collection

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students be complete a collection of living organisms and systems from the school campus.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VARVES: Dating Sedimentary Strata: Geology, Paleontological Patterns

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars count the number of varves (annual layers of sediment) in shale billets, taken from the Green River Formation in Wyoming. The count is then extended to reflect the entire 260 meters of sediments where the billets originated.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Cytochrome-C Lab

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine a method biologists use to try to determine relationships. They examine how amino acid sequences have been determined for a number of proteins, and how scientists can make inferences about DNA based on the amino acid...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Do People Fall in Love?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students discuss human behavior, sexual selection and the underlying genetic and evolutionary reasons for mate selection. The, in groups, they rate the attractiveness of certain individuals and measure facial features for symmetry.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

INSECT TAXONOMY VIA THE INTERNET

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders explore how to classify insects and organize information.In this insect classification lesson plan students use the Internet to retrieve information on insects then organize the pictures to make a book project.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Survival of the Fittest -- Battling Beetles

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students experiment with traits. In this Science lesson, students test the strength of beetles using M&M candies in lieu of the insects. Students use the Hardy-Weinberg Equation to calculate possible offspring traits of further...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Discovering the Milky Way

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What do you call a tiny collection of galaxies? A puny-verse! Young scholars graph data gathered by scientists studying Cepheids. They attempt to identify a relationship between the variables through standard and logarithmical...
Lesson Plan
Towson University

Mystery Tubes

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Biology

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
Students examine the principles of natural selection and explain how it is the basis of the theory of evolution.  For this natural selection lesson students research the web on the theory of evolution. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Making a Good Impression"

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students are shown how fossils are formed and to learn how extinct organisms lived based on their remains and surroundings. They are shown TAKS review problems on the overhead related to evolution and fossil evidence. Students discuss...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Scientific Approach to Teaching about Evolution

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine fossils and analyzing their significance in relation to theories of evolution. Hand-outs are provided. This instructional activity could be supplementary to a broader unit on evolution or geology.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lamarck Is Dead!

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students read Lamarck's obituary and respond to questions. They discuss the four laws from Lamarack's studies. Students apply this information to scientific theories in general.

Other popular searches