Lesson Plan
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What Kind of Insect is That?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders characterize insects and classify insects according to the Linnaean system. They use hand lenses or microscopes to examine insect body parts.
Lesson Plan
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Barnacles: Harder than Cement

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders watch the movements of the complex animal hidden inside the tiny barnacle shells. This instructional activity allows students to study the behavior, adaptation, and larval stage of the barnacle.
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DNA Blueprint for Life

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students isolate DNA from different food sources. For this biology lesson, students research DNA extraction. They analyze DNA stands collected from the lab, and compare the differences between each.
Lesson Plan
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Are There Other Neighborhoods Like Our Own?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the possibility of life existing on other planets. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The lesson includes an overview that is used for classroom discussion practices. They tell the teacher how to...
Lesson Plan
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Microorganism Multiplication

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders complete two experiments to learn about harmful and helpful microorganisms. In this microorganisms lesson, 7th graders read background information about fungi, yeast, and club fungi. Students then complete two experiments...
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Creatures That Glow In The Night

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate the different bioluminescent organisms. They use microscopes in order to make observations and draw what is seen. Students demonstrate they have studies the differences between the process of photosynthesis and...
Lesson Plan
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The City From the Ooze

For Teachers K - 9th
Learners investigate the life in the mud found around ponds. They create Ooze City using pond mud. Students investigate the various layers that form and what type of organisms are in the mud.
Lesson Plan
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The Teaching of Biology and Difference

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders pretend they were Anton looking through the microscope for the first time. They describe the way he felt when he observed tiny moving objects in the sample of pond water. They look at their own samples of pond water,...
Lesson Plan
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Cell Theory, Plant And Animal Cell Comparison

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders study plant and animal cells.  In this investigative activity students draw their own animal cells and label them. 
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Magnificent Magnification!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students magnify their digital artwork to develop their motor skills with a mouse. Using the artwork, they discover how to look at it from different perspectives. They answer discussion questions as they complete the activity.
Lesson Plan
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Animals Between the Sand Grains -- Meiofauna

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students begin the lesson by collecting sand at low tide from a local beach. They place each specimen on trays with a tiny amount of seawater. After a week, they can observe the meiofauna present in the sand through a microscope. They...
Lesson Plan
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It's Fun to Learn!

For Teachers K - 6th
Students use the macro mode of the OLYMPUS FE-140 CAMERAS as virtual microscopes to explore different habitats, observe plants, soil, and insects and other creatures. They download those images on electronic files and build web pages....
Lesson Plan
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Primary Producers

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the role of carbon in the oceans and how phytoplankton determine the levels present. In groups, they practice measuring primary productivity using two methods. They use the internet to research the role of phytoplankton...
Lesson Plan
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Cell Works

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Pupils identify the different parts of the cells and their functions. In this biology lesson, students create an analogy of a cell and its organelles. They make a poster and present it to class.
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Insects Preserved in Amber

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students examine and discuss amber and fossils in amber. They simulate the preservation of an insect in amber using glue, a dead insect, and food coloring, listen to a poem about amber, and view real amber under a magnifying glass or...
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Polarized Light

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners examine polarized light and that it can be done through reflection.  In this reflection lesson plan students develop a model that accounts for differences in light behavior. 
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CSI Clamshell Investigation

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students explore predator/prey relationships. They research information on moon snails and claims. Students draw conclusions from the data collected. They use math and graphing to determine if there is a relationship to the clam's size...
Lesson Plan
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Convection Currents

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explain and understand the circulation of air in the atmosphere. They identify that energy can be carried from one place to another by heat flow or by waves, including water, light and sound waves, or by moving objects. ...
Lesson Plan
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Characteristics of Living Things

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders identify the characteristics of living and non-living things. For this biology lesson, 7th graders define vocabulary words as they go through the lesson. They answer a crossword puzzle after class discussion.
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How Did That Get in My Lunch?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students view "The Danger Zone" to learn about food poisoning and the bacterial causes and prevention. Students look at slides, use a worksheet, "Microbial Bugs"and the internet to identify and learn about each bacterium.
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Mussel Movements

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students consider the impact of invasive species on local environments. In this ecology lesson plan, watch the video, Arizona Wildlife Views, which focuses on invasive species. Students develop vocabulary, relate to meaningful...
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Cell Community

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders use technology to review cell structure and function. In this cells less, 7th graders review the parts and functions of a cell, and use photography/video and PowerPoint to enhance their explorations.
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Meet the Arctic Benthos

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners recognize and identify major groups found in the Arctic benthos. They describe common feeding strategies used by benthic animals in the Arctic Ocean. They discuss relationships between
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My Favorite Meal

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students investigate ecological systems and the multiple uses of the environment by studying the osprey population.