Space Awareness
Star in a Box
What happens to stars as they get older? A simulation takes pupils through the life cycle of stars based on their masses. The resource introduces the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and the common relationships and life cycle patterns observed.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
You know global warming is real when your squirrel feeder is full of popped corn instead of kernels! Activity two in a series of five allows learners to explore climate change through the eyes of another. After briefly analyzing their...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
Sometimes, the best solution to a problem can be found by walking in someone else's shoes. Here, scholars use character cards to take on the roles of people around the world. They determine how their character's...
Curated OER
Spaceship Earth
Students develop an understanding of our planet as a system by designing a very-long-duration space mission in which the life-support system is patterned after that of earth.
Curated OER
Wildlife
First, biology pupils research land and marine habitats along the route of skipper Rich Wilson's Great American II. Then, using colored paper clips scattered across a colored paper background, they play the predator-prey game to...
Curated OER
Exploring Microclimates
Students compare the land cover and temperatures in different microclimates to begin to explain why organisms live where they do. While exploring microclimates, students record temperature readings and detailed observations.
Curated OER
Creative Ways To Teach Evolutionary Concepts
Research how DNA, the genetic blueprint of living organisms, plays an essential role in the continuity of life. High schoolers will summarize how their influence may very well effect the destiny of the population from one generation to...
Curated OER
Plankton in the Air
Here is a lab activity adequate for use with any full lesson plan on environmental factors that shape animal adaptations or marine animal characteristics. Pupils will discuss the role plankton plays in the environment and filter-feeding...
Curated OER
Disguise for the Eyes
Young scientists discover how many, many animals use color as a way of helping them to survive in the wild. They understand how animals use color in their everyday lives. Pupils engage in hands-on activities, watch videos, access...
Curated OER
School Forest
Sixth graders explore the concept of biodiversity. In this biodiversity lesson, 6th graders discover a variety of planets and animals that live in forests, and how a rotting log benefits that environment. Students also locate...
Curated OER
Gandhi's Ashrams and School Sustainability
Explore philosophy and religion by researching Gandhi. Lead your young students to investigate the life and accomplishments of Mahatma Gandhi by reading the assigned text. Your class will define sustainability and create a sustainable...
Curated OER
Cells and Chemical Changes
The billions of cells that make up all living things are the focus of this resource. Understanding the differences between the cells that make up plants and animals is an important distinction; it is covered here quite-well. Some...
Curated OER
2nd Grade - Act. 23: Sprout Houses
Read the story "Sunflower House," by Eve Bunting with your 2nd graders to investigate the relationships between plants and animals. They will discover how living things change during their lives by creating their own sprout houses....
Curated OER
Anchialine Cave Species
Ever heard of a stygofauna or a stygobite? How about an anchialine cave? Set your young biologists on a quest to find information about organisms that live in and have adapted to life in caves located near the water. Class members then...
Polar Trec
Animal Monitoring Introduction
Not only do mealworms taste great, they are also great for classroom science lessons. In pairs, young scientists observe and record what they see as they check out what their mealworms are doing from minute to minute. Each minute...
NOAA
Currents
Learn how ocean currents are vital to humans and marine life. The eighth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program, focuses on ocean currents and how they affect global climate. The...
Energy for Keeps
The Energy Times
Extra! Extra! Read all about past and present energy use in a classroom-made historical newspaper. Useful as a cross-curricular assignment between science, history, and language arts, the project is sure to get young journalists...
Curated OER
Poetry Through Digital Storytelling
Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...
Science Matters
Oh Heron
Two teams—the environmentalists and herons—play four rounds of the game, Oh Heron. Using hand symbols to represent food, shelter, and water, players locate their match to produce more herons while those unmatched decompose.
Curated OER
An Introduction to Microbes - Biology Teaching Thesis
Students are able to define microbes and identify the five main groups of microbes. They are able to give examples of ways in which microbes have impacted or currently impact human life. Students are able to explain that not all microbes...
Florida International University
Design Your Own
Apply scientific principles to designing an experiment to study organisms living on the coral reef in our oceans. Through reading, individuals learn about the coral reef ecosystem and important factors that affect its function....
Curated OER
Fish and zooplankton habitat through remote sensing
High schoolers are exposed to the variety of ways in which scientist use remote sensing and it used in everyday life. They investigate about zooplankton and fish. Students list the two important groups of organisms in both aquatic and...
Curated OER
Chilean Sea Bass
Introduce your mini-marine biologists to using databases. Tables of how many Chilean Sea Bass were caught and number of hours spent fishing are examined. Using the data, individuals calculate the "Catch per Unit of Effort" for each year....
Curated OER
Wherever We Go, There They Are!
The central video for this lesson is not available through the included resource link. However, the activity that simulates the passing of a virus through a population is impacting and the other resource links are invaluable. Use this...