Curated OER
The Behavior of Ants
Students use the steps of the Scientific Method to develop and test their own ideas through experimentation with ants.
Curated OER
Investigate Science Using Crayfish
Young scientists discover the importance of scientific investigation by observing live crayfish. They carefully observe the patterns of crayfish in different environments. Then they discuss their conclusions and define what all living...
Curated OER
Life in Extreme Environments - Who is on Top in the Food Chain?
Students discuss the design of experiments to determine how much and how fast rotifers feed and design experiments with a lab partner and in small collaborative groups. They then collect data from experiments and present results of...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Bad Fish, Bad Bird
In an advanced biology lesson, learners see a PowerPoint about biologist Dr. Westwood, a two-time victim of poisoning. Designed to be used with clickers in the classroom, you could modify the lesson by creating a worksheet from the...
Curated OER
Are You Gellin
Students conduct an investigation of differentiating between different types of DNA. This is done with a simulation activity of being a scientist in charge of selling different sets of DNA for research which requires different...
Curated OER
Catalase: A Bioinformatics Case Study
Pupils investigate the physical structure of a protein by using a computer simulation tool. They record its primary amino acid structure while viewing it in three dimensions for a better visual recognition. There is also a comparison to...
Serendip
Is Yeast Alive?
Through two investigations, life science learners determine whether or not yeast is alive. They perform tests for metabolism by providing sugar and observing if gas is produced as a byproduct. They incubate some of the sample for at...
Curated OER
Surveying and Assessing the Environmental Compatibility of a Building Construction Site
Students examine an area of land and assess its suitability for construction purposes. This project requires a vast amount of hands-on experimentation, data analysis, community involvement, and job shadowing/career awareness.
Curated OER
Inquiry in Science Using an Animal Behavior Model
Students observe a planaria without a microscope and with a stereoscopic microscope. They draw the planaria and describe its motion and eating habits. Students research planarias various body systems and behavior. They design an...
Curated OER
Chain Reaction
Students study animal behavior and how it changes to its environment. For this animal lesson students design and conduct experiments.
Curated OER
Creating an Enzyme-Substrate Model
High schoolers explore the reaction rates of an enzyme-mediated reaction through experimentation. In small groups, they use everyday objects to demonstrate the effects of environmental variables on enzyme function.
Students graph and...
Curated OER
Dirty Decomposers
Seventh graders design and conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrot for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic...
Curated OER
Phototaxis
Students conduct lab experiment to answer the question: How will starving Dictyostelium Discoideum Slugs respond to white light? They determine whether the slugs are attracted to or repelled by the light.
Serendip
A Scientific Investigation – What Types of Food Contain Starch and Protein?
You are what you eat, as they say! Are you more starch or more protein? Young scholars use their knowledge of each component to test different foods for their content. Using multiple indicators, individuals describe the protein and...
Teach Engineering
Microbes Know How to Work!
Scholars harness the power of microbes with an engaging activity that uses yeast to break down sugar in water. Multiple setups of the same experiment lets learners determine which temperature results in the fastest rate of sugar...
Curated OER
Amazing Bean Races
Students experiment with bean growth in varied conditions. In this plant biology instructional activity, students plant beans in soil and in spun cellulose (absorbent material in diapers) and measure the growth of their seedlings. They...
Curated OER
The Importance of Making Labs a Priority
The benefits of inquiry-based exploration can be attained in any classroom.
Curated OER
Yeast Cells and their Environment
Students study the scientific method and explore how to design an experiment. In this investigative lesson students explore and hypothesis an experiment then carry it out to find the results.
Curated OER
Careers in Science
Learners learn the trends in the current job market for scientists,
find where the jobs are, the range of salaries, and the job requirements.
They discover that scientists do some very interesting things, then
write a letter of...
Curated OER
Drifting Downward
High schoolers study the effects of different salients and temperatures on vertical movement of an organism. In this experimental instructional activity students design different shapes of foil to simulate drifting planktonic organisms.
Curated OER
Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapy
Students conduct Internet research on Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapy. They design a puzzle to represent these processes, read and summarize an article, conduct research, and design a theoretical experimental procedure.
Curated OER
Transformation With A Firefly Gene
Learners understand the process of bacterial transformation through experimentation. They describe the function of two important genes of the pBestLuc plasmid. They explain how to induce competence in E. coli cells.
Curated OER
A Model for Natural Selection- Spaghetti Worms
Does the early bird really get the worm? If so, which color of worm does it prefer? In an exciting and easy week-long field investigation, young field biologists set up a one square meter feeding area for birds. If you have a webcam,...
Curated OER
Earthworm Movement and Landscape Structure
Students describe differences in animal usage of habitats depending upon successional status of site. They also design other experiments to test movement patterns of animals through habitats of differing structure.