Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Funky Fungus

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students discuss decomposition, bacteria, fungi and other microscopic organisms. They participate in an experiment to grow fungus on bread. As the fungus colonies grow, students observe them under a microscope to identify and locate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Grow an Alum Crystal

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What an exciting lab experiment to conduct with your high school chemistry class! Crystals are formed naturally in the environment. However, allow your blossoming chemists to create their own unique crystals using alum and...
Lesson Plan
Nuffield Foundation

Observing Osmosis, Plasmolysis, and Turgor in Plant Cells

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Create the perfect conditions for osmosis. Young scholars use a microscope to observe plant cells exposed to distilled water or sodium chloride. They observe how osmosis creates turgid or plasmolyzed cells.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Effects on Inshore Plankton

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners investigate the effects of urban pollution on plankton. For this plankton and pollution lesson plan, students use samples of plankton collected in urban areas to observe the effects of pollution on plankton samples. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applied Science - Science and Math Post Lab

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Students construct paper. In this applied Science lesson, students create paper using lint. Students investigate the different fibers in their homes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cell Size and Shape; Diffusion and Osmosis Processes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Use salmon eggs as a cell model for demonstrating the movement of water over concentration gradients. Junior scientists examine the same process microscopically with an onion cell. They use a thistle tube and a semipermeable membrane to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Invisible Life

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
By setting up an aquarium in the classroom, learners are able to describe some macroscopic and microscopic organisms that are found inside. This well-designed, and educationally rich lesson requires pupils to use microscopes to view...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eutrophication

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students observe the effects of eutrophication and determine why it is harmful to aquatic ecosystems. They create mason jar ecosystems to observe the growth of algae in pond water. In addition, they observe the effect of introducing...
Lesson Plan
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

How Dry am I? Exploring Biomimicry and Nanotechnology

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Help your classes feel like they can walk on water! An engaging inquiry-based lesson has young scholars experiment with different surface coatings. They make observations about their properties and how they relate to the surface tension...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dilution and Concentration of Solutions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Future chemists practice laboratory techniques by creating a monochloramine solution. The objectives are to use of dilution, 9concentration, and measurement skills and to prepare a solution that will be used in a water treatment...
PPT
Curated OER

Tissues

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Complete with teachers' notes for most of the slides, this is a tremendous presentation of the four types of tissues: epithelial, connective, nerve, and muscle. Each is displayed with pertinent vocabulary and photos of microscope slides...
Lesson Plan
Chymist

Determination of the Volume of CO2 in Pop Rocks

For Students 9th - 12th
Where does the pop in pop rocks come from? An engaging activity asks scholars to measure the amount of carbon dioxide in a package of Pop Rocks candy. Learners dissolve the candy in water and use the solubility of CO2 to determine its mass.
Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Drawing Diatoms like Ernst Haeckel

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Why do scientists rely on drawings rather than just photographs of their research studies? The lesson introduces drawings of microscopic organisms and the importance of accuracy. Young artists draw organisms and learn why focus and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bacteria and Antibodies Lesson Plans - Biology Teaching Thesis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars are introduced to 6 different lesson that deal with biology they include: The Good and Bad of Bacteria, An Introduction to Microbes, Microbes That Are Your Buddies, Bacteria and Water Purification, Microbes are Everywhere,...
Lesson Plan
Science Friday

Termite Symbiosis

For Students 6th - 8th
What happens to the wood a termite eats? Pupils learn about the three types of symbiosis with pictures of symbiotic pairs. Afterward, they determine whether there is a symbiotic relationship with a termite by dissecting termites and...
Activity
Teach Engineering

Glowing Flowers

For Teachers 6th - 8th
What a bright idea! Young scientists conduct an experiment on flowers to finish the last of a six-lesson unit on Cells. Putting the stems into dye-injected water and leaving it overnight results in flowers that glow. This is to simulate...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Organisms in Symbiosis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Searching for an activity that allows emerging biologists to explore symbiosis up close and personal? Pupils collect samples and view lichens through a microscope and conclude with a discussion about the relationship they have...
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Cell Diffusion and Permeability: The See-Thru Egg Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Create a model to study a microscopic phenomenon. The seventh of 12 lessons uses an egg (without its shell) to represent a cell membrane. Using different solutions, learners explore the concept of cell diffusion. They monitor...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Observation and Discovery

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Learners explore the basic skills guiding sound scientific invvestigation and methodology. They are introduced to a powerful scientific tool-the microscope. Students review the parts of the microscope. They discuss the inventor of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Find the Speed of a Protist

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students identify protists under a microscope, and using a stopwatch calculate the speed of a protist from a pond water sample. They use distance and time to identify the speed of a protist, and create a distance versus time graph to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

DNA Extraction

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students explore biology by participating in a fun science experiment. In this DNA lesson, students discuss what DNA is and where it comes from. Students utilize two bananas, a blender and a microscope to view the DNA of a banana in class.
Interactive
Curated OER

Curious? Is Mars All Wet?

For Students 3rd - 4th
In this "Curious? Is Mars all Wet?" worksheet, students answer 5 questions interactively about the presence of water and life on Mars, then check their answers online.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leaf Pack Study

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars conduct an experiment using leaf packs.  For this leaf lesson students complete an activity in groups and complete a handout. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Clean Is Our Water?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine samples of water to determine its cleanliness. They visit a waste treatment plant and/or reservoir. Students explore what protects the water supply from contamination by chemical or organize pollution. They trace the...