In this origin of life worksheet, students write answers to five questions. They describe characteristics of the first life forms and how scientists believe oxygen accumulated in the Earth's atmosphere.

Students study the Miller-Urey Experiment including its history and criticism.  In this origins of life lesson students repeat this experiment to see how it works.

Students create and observe coacervates. In this origin of life lesson, students create coacervates by mixing carbohydrate and protein solutions. They observe the life-like qualities of the structures and discuss the origin of life.

Your pupils may believe that you and their parents are the oldest things in the universe, but surprise! There are elements of the universe that are even older. Elementary scientists create a class timeline to demonstrate the...

Students create a large (classroom-sized) timeline showing the history of life on Earth for the last 5 billion years. They are able to identify the events that are relevant to their taxonomic projects (the Origins and important...

High schoolers simulate the role of reporters and research two major theories on how the Earth was formed. They create and write a series of newspaper articles on the theories of beginning life on Earth for the newspaper's front page.

Rock out with the second installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes. Your budding geologists make observations of given rock samples and posit classification systems for rocks. They then learn about the...

Students take a virtual field trip around California using Google Earth. In this geology field trip instructional activity, students explore landforms and a variety of rocks located in California.  Students compare environments...

The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven...

The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The activity goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...

Students identify the different biogeochemical cycles on Earth. In this biology lesson, students observe microbes under a microscope. They compare and contrast respiration and photosynthesis.

High schoolers examine the origin of life on Earth and its evolution through geologic time by participating in a whole class discussion. They respond to prompts that lead them to conclusions about the interactions among the biosphere and...

Students identify producers and consumers and construct a food chain from four marine ecosystems. They describe the delicate balance among organisms in each environment. In groups, students discuss the human activities that upset the...

Students compare and contrast the environments of the moon and the earth. They discover how the differences might change one's daily activities.

Although not particularly educational, here is a creative group activity in which high school biologists will use their imaginations to create a new life form combining characteristics from existing life forms. Each group must come up...

Assist your high school class with researching and applying the principles of gravity so they may further understand why Einstein is so widely recognized, even today. Individuals compare and contrast two different models that demonstrate...

Using a Maori legend, How Maui Tamed the Sun, youngsters are introduced to the importance of sunlight to civilization. Teach them about nuclear fusion that occurs to produce the solar energy we later receive on Earth as...

Though the website does not seem to have the mentioned video, a reding and lottery style games simulate the chances of finding intelligent life somewhere other than Earth. Without the video, this lesson is short, but it can be a useful...

Students analyze 5 separate theories of evolution in order to help them explain the different meanings of theory, how human values influence science, and that the scientific view of the origin of life does not involve supernatural forces.

How much is your toaster costing you every day? Young environmentalists calculate the monetary costs of household appliances based on their average consumption of wattage.

The teacher reads and retells Californian tribal origin or creation stories that come from the traditions of a variety of California Indian tribes. Then, pupils get together in groups and retell the stories they just heard; just as...

Feet are neat! So, if you've already walked the path of examining animal footprints with your class, put them in the shoes of early humans! A well-designed lesson incorporates video, discussion, and hands-on learning to demonstrate how...

There has been an earthquake! Can you listen to the description of damage given by callers in order to determine the epicenter? The 11th of 20 lessons has pupils read a script of one emergency caller. The class records the information on...

Tenth graders study the timeline of life on Earth. They learn about the progression of prokaryotes to single celled eukaryotes and the development of increasingly complex multicellular organisms.