Science 4 Inquiry
Frenemies, Bros and Killers: A Lesson in Symbiosis
Animals and plants develop relationships and rely on each other to survive. Pupils learn more about symbiosis through a video, a hands-on matching activity, and a game. They differentiate and describe each type on a written evaluation.
Virginia Department of Education
Viruses
Germs, parasites, and viruses, oh my! Facilitate a lesson on viruses as individuals explore functions of Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. They learn how viruses compare with other organisms in nature and how they contribute to health...
Scholastic
Study Jams: Symbiosis
Three types of symbiosis are explained: parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. This is done with colorful animation and lively dialogue in a straightforward and easy-to-follow manner. Have your ecology class watch this at home and then...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Leeches
Who actually likes leeches? Meet a scientist that makes his living letting leeches feed on him. Pupils learn about the characteristics of leeches and different variations of the species. The lesson works as a remote learning resource or...
Science Friday
Termite Symbiosis
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...
Biology Junction
Ecology
Psychologists study human relationships while ecologist study relationships between organisms in the environment. An introduction to ecology and the related vocabulary benefits scholars as they progress through the presentation and...
CK-12 Foundation
Symbiosis: Mutualism, Commensalism, and Parasitism
Hyenas normally hunt alone, however scientists discovered that in Israel, hyenas hunt with wolf packs. When relationships develop between different species, we call it symbiosis. The videos teach about the three types of symbiosis and an...
NOAA
Microfriends
Is there medicine found in the organisms that live deep below the surface of the ocean? The fifth activity in a six-part series has learners team up to research bacteria and the relationship it has with nearly every living thing on...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Learning about Giardia and Giardiasis - Research and Role Play
Young biologists begin researching giardia and completing an epidemiologic triangle. They then portray either a parent of a sick child or a physician in a fun role play activity.
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Ecosystems
Explore the Earth's different ecosystems through four lessons, an assessment, and extension activities. Lessons include informative text and step-by-step instructions to apply knowledge in interactive, and thought provoking ways; such as...
Virginia Department of Education
Organisms in Symbiosis
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 with other...
Busch Gardens
Create an Invertebrate
What better way for young biologists to learn about invertebrates than by creating their very own? Here, students are assigned a set of invertebrate characteristics and are asked to invent an imaginary ocean animal and a separate...
Smarter Balanced
Communicable Diseases
Pathogens, what they are, how they spread, and how to prevent them from spreading are the focus of this resource that can be used to prepare learners for a performance task assessment or to begin the study of communicable diseases.
Curated OER
Interactions of Living Things
Is it a producer, carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, or decomposer? Different relationships among organisms are explored here. It is a simple, multiple choice assignment. Use it as a quick warm-up or quiz.
Curated OER
The Trial of the Bloody Sucker
A blood sucking what? Grade schoolers identify the characteristics of blood sucking parasites. They organize their information, identify their arguments, and present them to the class in persuasive arguments. They participate in a debate...
Curated OER
Working With Environmental Issues
Students consider the source of disease and parasites in West Africa. In this environmental issues lesson plan, students read "Working with Environmental Issues," by Fred Koehler. Students participate in an activity that requires...
Curated OER
Friend, Foe, or . . .
As a result of this lesson, upper elementary ocean explorers will be able to describe several interrelationships: symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. They learn that the biological richness is increased near seamounts and...
Curated OER
Symbiosis: Help, Hinder or Destroy
Use background information and vocabulary to familiarize your students with the concept of symbiosis and the role agriculture plays in the shared relationship. They then write the vocabulary in their lab books or journals, and read the...
Curated OER
Fish Hazards
Students study the Pacific salmon and see the different challenges they face. In this environment lesson students complete several activities that show how humans have affected the salmon environment. These activities have varying...
Curated OER
Swell Homes
Students investigate galls. In this gall lesson, students inspect plants and locate galls present on leaves. Students collect galls from various plants and analyze the contents.
Curated OER
Symbiosis
In this symbiosis worksheet, students complete a graphic organizer about the three types of symbiosis. They define commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism and list the important things to remember about each.
Curated OER
Sponges, Cnidarians, Flatworms, and Roundworms
In this simple animals worksheet, students read information about sponges, cnidarians, flatworms, and roundworms and then complete a chart comparing and contrasting these groups of animals. This worksheet has 11 fill in the blank questions.
Curated OER
Symbiosis: Helped, Harmed, or Neither?
In this symbiosis worksheet, students will brainstorm 2 examples of each different type of symbiotic relationship which includes mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism.
Curated OER
The Disappearing Honeybees: Tracking Honeybee Decline
Students practice graphing and other math skills to track number of honeybee colonies present in United States since 1978, discuss major crops that are dependent on insect pollinators, and examine reasons for decline of United States...