Curated OER
Introduction to Natural Selection
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...
Curated OER
The Great Fossil Find - Reconstructing the Pieces
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.
Curated OER
Big Cats
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.
Curated OER
Peter Rabbit Meets Charles Darwin
Ninth graders explore evolution. They study a cartoon scenario of a rabbit population in which there is selection and a change of gene frequency. Students discuss frequencies, evolution, and speciation.
Curated OER
Music Theories
Explore the inception and evolution of hip-hop music as a springboard for writing music reviews and researching other genres of music. Learners will read and discuss the Times' article, From Underground Music to Fashion Statement to then...
Curated OER
Meadow Madness
Students explore the evolution from a pond habitat to a meadow. In this habitat lesson, students become familiar with a beaver meadow habitat. Students are aasigned an animal to research and find why the animal best survives...
Curated OER
Jurassic Park: The Science and Ethics of Genetic Engineering
Explore genetic engineering through an engaging "Jurassic Park" unit, which is an extensive use of a cross-curricular teaching event. Planned for AP Biology, English, and Calculus students, learners and teachers are involved for 4-6...
University of Southern California
What Lives In The Ocean?
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...
Curated OER
The Growth of America's Production System
Middle schoolers, assessing a variety of sources, explore the growth of inventions that were brought about by the Industrial Revolution. They analyze labor practices and philosophies within the history of the United States. A timeline is...
NASA
Gravitational Waves
Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created....
NASA
Analyzing Tiny Samples Using a Search for the Beginning Mass Spectrometry
Teach the basics of mass spectrometry with a hands-on lesson. The fourth in a series of six lessons explores how mass spectrometry measures the ionic composition of an element. Learners then compare and contrast relative abundance and...
LABScI
Taxonomy: Who is in My family?
Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...
NASA
Mystery Planet
What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them.
Curated OER
Validating Votes
Explore the discrepancies in Florida's vote counting process in 2000 and 2002 with this New York Times reading lesson plan. Middle schoolers study the viewpoints presented in informational text, paying attention to how word choice...
Curated OER
Spring
Students examine lichens in an outside field trip. Students explore the diversity of this organism and ask questions about them.
Curated OER
Japanese Poetry: Tanka? You're Welcome!
Students explore tanka, a form of Japanese poetry. They read and analyze tankas to determine the structure and intent, and compose a traditional and a non-traditional tanka.
Curated OER
Survival in Antarctica
Explore the harsh climate of Antarctica and its wildlife. Participate in experiments to determine how humans survive in the continent's climate, and address the difficulties faced by scientists.
Middle Tennessee State University
The Invention of the Telephone
All of the people in your class would agree that life would be different without the invention of the telephone! Study Alexander Graham Bell's most famous and influential invention through the primary source document of his...
Towson University
Mystery Tubes
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...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Staying Safe
Amaze the class with the creative adaptations species employ to trick predators. An online interactive lesson introduces learners to six different species with unique adaptations. Each species highlights a different adaptation and its...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Sensing
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...
Curated OER
Conservation in Small Spaces: Plant-Insect Interactions
Students explore ways that plants and insects impact each other, identify how different types of mouthparts allow insects to use plants in different ways, and design an insect and a plant to demonstrate mutualism.
Curated OER
Earth Science Lesson Plans on Geologic Time
Springboard your fourth and fifth graders into the study geologic time. They will complete 7 activities to learn about geologic time and the topics most often associated with it: astronomy, creation, planet formation, volcanology,...
Curated OER
Interpreting Foundation Documents of the American Republic
Explore early American documents that qualify as primary sources. Tenth and eleventh graders use the provided worksheets to analyze the texts of the Articles of Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation,...