Learning From Leaves: Adaptations To Differing Light Levels

Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a lesson that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that they find...

Take a good look at tree leaves and notice the adaptations for collecting solar energy. Pupils trace the margins of five different leaves onto graph paper and count the number of squares covered. They then relate this infomation to the...

Explore the behavior of light with different materials. Collaborative groups determine whether certain materials absorb, reflect, diffract, or transmit light waves. They then measure the angle of incidence and angle of reflection.

Students are able to identify adaptations that plants have developed to deal with harsh desert conditions, as well as explain how these adaptations help to protect these plants.

Three thousand plant species light up Africa's Karoo Desert for merely two weeks of the year. Compare and contrast the Karoo geography with that of the Sahara to highlight the difference just a few extra centimeters of rain can have on a...

Light, distance, and mathematics come together to help scientists plan for space missions. Groups examine the relationship between distance from the sun and light availability in a hands-on exploration activity. They model the inverse...

Third graders learn how light bulbs are different and which are more cost efficient.  In this energy and efficiency lesson, 3rd graders compare the cost of a light bulb and understand that its lifetime is important to their...

Jump into the classification of animal and plants cells, through this inviting lesson comparing Elodea leaves and Epithelial cells. Middle school learners will create wet mounts, write journal entries that compare specimens, and finally...

Students use leaves to make model of a carbonized plant and classify leaves by shape and margin type.

Does light affect molecules or does it go right through them? The simulation explores four different types of light: microwave, infrared, visible, and ultraviolet. Scholars alter the energy level of each as it is aimed at seven different...