Serendip
Changing Biological Communities – Disturbance and Succession
After cutting down a forest to make a farm, how long would it take the environment to turn an abandoned farm back into a forest? Scholars study this exact scenario while they interpret many charts and graphs of the changing ecosystems as...
Curated OER
Life is Weird
Students study the organisms that are found in cold seeps and see how they interact with each-other. In this biological organism lesson students describe the major features of cold seeps and the process of chemosynthesis.
Curated OER
Insect Travel Brochure
Seventh graders study producers and consumers in habitats. They examine the trophic levels and how different organisms interact with a focus on insects. They create a travel brochure for an insect to visit a habitat which they create.
Curated OER
Ecology and the St. Lawrence River
Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on ecosystems, organism interactions, and energy flow. They create a key for known species of fish, diagram the movement of energy through an ecosystem, and create and present food chains and food...
Curated OER
Food Chains and Food Webs
Young scholars discuss the characteristics of producers, consumers and decomposers. Using a flow chart, they construct a food chain to visually show how organisms with different energy sources depend upon one another. Students explore...
Curated OER
Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt
Going on a scavenger hunt sounds like a great way to spice up any lesson plan. To better understand how beneficial insects are, the class goes outdoors to search for and observe a bug that has big benefits. Included in the lesson are...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Understanding Wave Motion - Slinky vs. Snaky: Which Spring is Dominant?
Ride the wave to an understanding of refraction! The first in a series of two inquiry-based lessons challenges learners to create transverse waves with two different types of springs. As their wave hits an object, they observe the change...
CK-12 Foundation
Distance Between Two Points: Taxicab Distance
Apply geometry to find the distance as the crow flies. An engaging lesson compares the distance a car must drive to the straight line distance between two locations. Scholars must manipulate a simulation, note the change in distances,...
Curated OER
Home in the Desert: Lesson for Use with This House is Made of Mud
Third graders examine how a family modifies their environment to create a home out of mud. They read the book "This House is Made of Mud" by Ken Buchanan, and write a description of their own home that compares the home of mud to their...
PBS
Breaking it Down
After challenging themselves to correctly choose the form of erosion and length of time required for a given landform to develop, earth science class members model mechanical and chemical weathering with various lab demonstrations over...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Around Town: Neighborhood and Community: Challenge Activities (Theme 3)
Here is a unit consisting of activities designed to challenge your scholars. The extended learning opportunities include planning a celebration, making a presentation to the class, poster making, writing poetry, a problem-solving...
Peel-Public Health
What Is Respiratory Infection?
Give your youngsters a comprehensive introduction to the importance of washing hands and preventing the spread of germs in three activities, which include identifying what germs are, discovering where germs live, and practicing a variety...
Cornell University
Investigating and Modeling Hardness
Model hardness testing with a self-designed hardness test. Young scholars rate the hardness of different types of aspirin using the Vicker's Hardness scale. They then relate hardness to the solubility of each aspirin tablet.
Curated OER
Flowering Phenology: How Do Plants Know When To Flower?
Students explore the biotic and abiotic factors that affect plant reproduction and the potential consequences of human activities on plant populations. The effects of urbanization are discussed as an influence in the consequences.
Michigan Sea Grant
Survival Game
Musical chairs may be a classic game, but Ruffe Musical Chairs is a unique lesson on invasive species! Using the time-honored game, pupils role play the behaviors of the invasive fish called Eurasian ruffe. Learning about this aggressive...
Curated OER
The Birds and the Beaks
Young scholars explore the adaptations that birds have. In this adaptations lesson students view a video and create a concept map of birds and their adaptive traits.
Curated OER
SKIN CARE: ACNE
Students study the underlying causes, prevention, and treatment of acne.
Curated OER
Visiting a Marine Sanctuary
Learners gather information on a kelp forest and identify species in that ecosystem. In this underwater ecosystem instructional activity students gather data, give an oral presentation and create a poster.
Curated OER
Population Dynamics
Students discover how organisms are dependent on one another for survivial. They also discuss how to conserve natural resources. They compare and contrast the different types of symbiotic relationships as well.
Curated OER
Nature's Recyclers
Learners create environments to demonstrate how earthworms interact with their surroundings.
Curated OER
Animals Galore
A well-designed lesson which covers the characteristics of the animals found in the six animal groups is here for your young biologists. In it, learners divide up into six groups; the amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, fish, and...
Curated OER
Computer Lessons for Kids and Small Adults
Here is a series of easy-to-understand and well-designed computer lessons for pupils. In them, learners learn about the parts of a computer and what they do, the DOS operating system, the variety of files that are used, and how to keep...
Science 4 Inquiry
Body in Balance
The human body maintains homeostasis through the interconnection of multiple systems. Young scientists match these connections and discuss how they relate to each other. They apply their knowledge to solve the mystery of a treasure hunter.
University of Minnesota
Dendritic Spines Lab
This is your brain on drugs ... literally! Your neuroscientists-in-training examine the evidence of drug use on the human brain and how neurons change their connectivity when altered by drugs. They then work together to create testing...