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Species and Specimens: Exploring Local Biodiversity
Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...
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Backyard Bugs
Explore the concept of scientific classification and the similarities and differences between plant and animal species. Your class will participate in hands-on activities by investigating dichotomous keys and classifying their shoes. To...
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Science: Fossil of a Carbonized Plant
Students classify leaves by shape and margins and use them to create models of plant fossils. By using paper over a leaf, they simulate fossilization of organisms onto sedimentary rocks. Following instructions on worksheets, students...
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Costa Rican Food Chain
Discuss the animals and plants in the rainforest food chain using this lesson. Learners talk about and do research on the top predators from the Costa Rican region and create a model of one of them in class. They also make a visual model...
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Soil Stories
Tenth graders collect and analyze soil samples and extrapolate the characteristics needed to support different types of plant life. They research different types of prairie soil and how it supports plant and animal life.
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Prairie Predator and Prey
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of animals that live on the prairie, and classify them as predators and prey. They conduct interviews where they ask the animals what they need to look out for to sustain life on the prairie.
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Classification of Life
In this classification of life worksheet, students use an on line source to answer questions about how species are classified, named and grouped. They give the classification of a bear, an orchid and a sea cucumber.
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Classifying Living Things
For this classification worksheet, students read a description of how all living things are related and describe a diagram showing how this taxonomy works. Students answer five questions related to their reading.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section One: What is Biodiversity?
Four intriguing and scientific activities invite learners to explore the natural resources of their town. The activities cover concepts such as genetic traits, organizing species in a taxonomy, the differences between different species...
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Living, Non-Living Mobile
Learners are introduced to the concept of living and nonliving organisms in general and participate in a starter activity where they build their own definitions of living and nonliving organisms.They sort organisms into living and...
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Variation
Students participate in an online lesson to reinforce the similarities and differences in plants and animals. They classify living things according to observable characteristics.
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The Key To Classifying Animals
Explorers of the environment construct a dichotomous key for a variety of organisms and design a key to classify Galapagos animals based on descriptions and images. The lesson includes a link to an animal gallery and the worksheet for...
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Animals, Soil, Trees
Fourth graders describe the various kinds of soils and how plants and animals are affected by them. They describe the baic needs of plants, scoring at least a 3 or 4 on a 4-point rubic. Students are able to predict and/or infer what...
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Mini-Ponds
In this mini pond worksheet, students create a mini-pond ecosystem with soil, water, and plant life. Students let their ecosystem sit for a day and they observe a sample the next day. Students identify all the pond water microorganisms...
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Classification and Identification
Students, after exploring and analyzing diagrammatic and taxonomic keys and their association to marine sciences, identify and classify objects and organisms based on visual attributes/characteristics. They research and create their own...
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Create a Critter Collage
Students create a collage. In this animal classification lesson, students discuss why and how scientists classify animals. Students view pictures of different animals and decide which class each animal belongs to. Students compare...
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The Wetlands
Fourth graders learn what a wetland is, where they can be found, and what types of plants, animals and characteristic are associated with the wetlands. They also participate in an activity to explore and enhance their knowledge of...
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Introduction to Wetlands
Students describe the characteristics of a wetland, identify plants and animals found there, and how those plants and animals have adapted to their environment. They visit stations, view a video, and complete a KWL about the wetlands.
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Understanding Science Vocabulary and Categorization
Students analyze scientific vocabulary words. In this life science vocabulary lesson plan, students complete a worksheet using VisualThesaurus as they evaluate words related to plants and animals and how the words are used.
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Classification of Cerealites
Students create a dichotomous key. In this categorizing lesson plan, students create a dichotomous key for different types of cereal. Students classify the cereal into groups such as flakes and cereal with holes. Students discuss their...
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Seeds of Wetland Life
Students participate in several activities on seed exploration. In this biology lesson plan, students classify seeds according to their dispersal method. They explain the different adaptations plant have to disperse their seeds.
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Chicago: The City in Art, 1995-2000
Students examine a mural of animals and talk about animal classification. They act as scientists and keep a record, called a Jungle Journal, of plants and animals they observe while studying the rainforest.
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What's Your Genus? Scientific Classification and the VT
Students learn about binomial nomenclature, the scientific system of classification. In this scientific classification lesson, students work cooperatively to complete a binomial scavenger hunt using the internet and a Visual Thesaurus....
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Focus on Food Chains
Third graders collect and analyze data about food chains. They conduct Internet research about the habitat of a selected organism, write a narrative, and create a computer slideshow using Kid Pix computer software that illustrates the...