Curated OER
The Role of Fire in Healthy Prairie, Brush and Forest Lands
Sixth graders read and discuss background information and brainstorm reasons for wildfires. They use a Venn Diagram to list the similarities and differences between wildfires and prescribed fires and then track the weather forecast for...
Curated OER
Down in the Dumps
After an introduction to municipal sludge, middle school ecologists consider the pros and cons of dumping in the Hudson River Canyon. The class is split into two groups: one to debate in favor or dumping and one to debate against the...
Curated OER
How Does Evolution Work?
Middle schoolers are introduced to how the process of evolution works. As a class, they review the characteristics of natural selection and how those with advantageous traits reproduce and survive. To test this theory of natural...
Curated OER
The Beaks of the Finches
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.
Curated OER
Hatching Brine Shrimp
Students experiment with temperature and salinity to detect favorable environments for hatching brine shrimp eggs. They make some predictions about which environments will yield the most hatched brine shrimp and record the number of...
Curated OER
Unfold the Mystery of Mold
Learners research the conditions in which molds thrive. They apply the scientific method to develop a hypothesis, conduct research and test results.
Curated OER
The Role of Fire in Healthy Prairie, Brush and Forest Lands
Middle schoolers create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast wildfires and prescribed fires. In this earth science lesson, students conduct a series of experiment to explore fire characteristics. They describe favorable conditions to...
Curated OER
What Are the Risks?
Students use dice to determine the risk of being exposed to radon. They practice using new vocabulary related to probability and ratios. They make predictions about the results and record their observations.
Curated OER
Evolution
Students illustrate the results of natural selection by identifying the specific adaptation of an organism that allows the species to survive in that environment. They illustrate the results of natural selection by recognizing examples...
Curated OER
Why Don't Whales Have Legs?
Students are given a variety of materials and are asked to design a heat loss experiment that results in a reasonable explanation of "Why don't whales have legs?" students work with the theory of natural selection.
Curated OER
Hatching Brine Shrimp
Third graders investigate the environment that is considered favorable for brine shrimp hatching. The salinity level is of particular interest in the observations because the optimum level is needed for survival. They make daily...
Curated OER
The Flower and the Fly
It's like a biological "Beauty and the Beast!" The fascinating mutualism between a South African meganosed fly and a deep-throated geranium builds a case study in coevolution for your biology buffs to analyze. After reading about this...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes
Adaptations must be made as environments change. This fabulous presentation features Icelandic icefish, a transparent, scaleless specimen that even has colorless blood. Genetics and adaptations concepts are explored as scientists study...
Virginia Department of Education
Owl Family Natural Selection
How do genetic mutations within a population lead to future variations? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question and more upon completing an activity on natural selection. The entire class participates in a fun role...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color
Whether or not you think mice are nice, you'll love the colorful activity! Scholars examine evidence for evolution in the rock pocket mouse through video, discussion, and collaborative work. Learners watch a video regarding variation in...
Serendip
Genetic Engineering Challenge – How Can Scientists Develop a Type of Rice That Could Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency?
Brown rice contains vitamins B and E, while white rice lasts longer in storage. The availability of rice around the world makes it a great candidate for genetic engineering. Scholars apply their knowledge of genetic engineering to solve...
Curated OER
Chemical Compounds
Your young chemists will find these slides very informative. Groups and periods of the periodic table are labeled and described according to the charge. Comprehensive explanations of physical and chemical properties and how they relate...
Curated OER
Clipbirds
Students attempt to pick up various objects with a wide variety of beaks, including scissors, spoons, etc.
Curated OER
A Fine Mess
In this enthalpy and entropy worksheet, high schoolers read about the differences between enthalpy and entropy and answer three critical thinking questions about the reading.
Curated OER
Being Spontaneous
In this spontaneous reactions worksheet, students read about entropy, enthalpy and Gibbs free energy. They complete a table with reaction conditions and determine if the reaction is spontaneous or not. They solve three problems about...
Curated OER
Sports Helmets and Impact Testing of Polymers
Students examine the importance of good quality safety gear. In this investigative lesson, students will tests various polymers, collect data, and analyze the data to determine which polymer is best for safety helmets. They will design a...
Curated OER
Green Genes: Genetically Modified Organisms in Our Food
Students investigate how and why genetically modified organisms are used as food crops. They identify the advantages and disadvantages of these crops through internet research then present their views and discuss them as a large group.
Curated OER
Asexual versus Sexual Reproduction
Students explore reproduction. They research organisms and groups of organisms to determine whether they reproduce sexually or asexually. In addition, they determine the organism's habitat.
Curated OER
WHAT DARWIN NEVER SAW: Evolution, Science, Biology, Natural Selection
Students view video showing recent field work on a twenty two-year study of finch beaks on a small island in the Galapagos, showing natural selection clearly operating in the wild.