Curated OER
Grant Proposal
High schoolers experience the creativity, anticipation and peer review of obtaining a grant for scientific research at the poles. They work in cooperative groups to assess the dynamics of polar regions. Each student proposes an original...
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In Strawberry Fields
Students discuss the origin of strawberries and employees involved with picking strawberries. In this algebra lesson, students discuss how much a worker who picks strawberry makes based on their flats. They create a table with the...
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Animal Adaptations
Fifth graders discover the adaptation of species through analyzing pictures. In this scientific discovery lesson, 5th graders discuss the concept of adaptation in order for survival. Students view many images of extinct animals and...
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Rain Forest Animals
Students create a book about animal species found only in the Amazon rain forest. They find one species to represent each letter of the alphabet, and write each name on a different piece of paper. They illustrate each page with an...
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Salmon Homing Instincts
Students role-play salmon returning to original streams using their sense of smell like the salmon do. They smell cinnamon, vanilla and peppermint on cards and follow that scent to locations in the classroom that represent their original...
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Alien Invasion
Students research how alien species can change an ecosystem. In this coral reef lesson, students describe invasive species and site evidence how these species came to be invasive and what control measures are possible.
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For The Birds
Seventh graders list the features of an ecosystem and identify local bird species. In this bird lesson students work in groups to formulate a hypothesis and test their theory by collecting and analyzing data.
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The Crusty Fossils
Learners identify some of the different species of crabs and tell how they adapt themselves to their environment. They discuss the evolution and stages of development of the crabs. They identify the Phylum Arthropoda and the Class...
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Birds of a Feather Flock to the Web
Students define the term "evolution" and relate it to species adaptation, supporting their ideas with examples. They locate, correctly cite, and briefly review two Web sites with information on finches commonly found in their state or count
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Sea Scape
Learners learn about and make models of coral reefs. In this reef ecosystem lesson plan, the class locates a number of coral reefs on a map. They learn how a coral reef is a balanced ecosystem that depends upon all of it's plant and...
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Protect Yourself
Students read about the marketing of permethrin-treated clothing to help prevent insect borne illnesses. They design a poster to create awareness of an insect, animal or plant species which is harmful to humans.
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Intelligent Design Fumbles; Evolution Still Going Strong
Students examine how all life is related and how species are classified. They also discover how traits are passed down from one person to the next. They examine the evolution the arthropod has going through.
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Create a Community Tree Tour
Students study tree identification. In this tree identification lesson, students design and assemble a tree tour booklet describing 5 trees found in their community. The booklet should feature common and Latin names of the species, a...
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Get to Know: Plants
Students complete a research activity in a schoolyard or park to learn about plants. In this plant lesson, students learn the name of the one of more plants. Students describe or draw the plant, pointing our features that distinguish the...
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Natural History of Costa Rica
Students use outline maps to become acquainted with Costa Rica. They see how it was formed and how its origin has created very diverse environments. Students then use atlases and compare their physical maps with maps of climate and the...
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Lone Wolves
Students examine the reasons why some people do not support the protection of the wolf on the Endangered Species list. After reading an article, they discuss the controversy of delisting the wolves. As a class, they debate this issue...
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The Edge of Home
Students explain why some species of plants and animals occur in more than one area. They watch as the teacher puts an overlapping circles on the chalkboard, students are asked to predict what kinds of things they would expect to find in...
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Introducing Biodiversity
Students investigate biodiversity by creating reports with their classmates. In this ecosystem lesson, students utilize the Internet to research the different types of life in our environment and different locations around the world....
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Taming the Wild Aurochs
Fourth graders assess the development of animal husbandry, outline it in detail as well as arrange the steps in sequential order. In addition, they discuss how certain animals came to be domesticated, concentrate to research on one of...
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It's All in the Spice
Students explore different spices that come from all over the world. Students discover names of certain spices they might not have been aware of. Students learn where certain spices originated and they discuss what the world would be...
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Jewel of the Earth
Students investigate several organisms, set sticky traps to collect them, and attempt to identify and classify them using a variety of sources. The origins of the organisms are traced and their adaptive features examined.
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Lesson #5: Symbiosis and Coral Anatomy
Fifth graders examine the basic structure of corals and the concept of symbiosis. They watch a Powerpoint Presentation, develop an original pair of organisms living symbiotically, and create an edible model of a coral polyp.
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Evolution Simulation
Learners simulate the process of evolution. Using index cards, they copy a drawing. Each subsequent drawing is sent around the room. The results are compared to the original drawing.
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Methods of Teaching Evolution To Middle School Children
Young scholars study evolutionary thought. They examine how characteristics are inherited and that they are a source of variation. They illustrate the perpetuation, elimination, and variation made among members of a species. They...