Curated OER
Bacteria Pool Party
Students investigate the organisms of bacteria. They are given a culture of bacteria that can be observed under a microscope. The students make observations that are recorded. The lesson includes the mention of specific safety...
Curated OER
Fertilizer Frenzy
Ninth graders design and conduct an experiment. They evaluate other's experiments. Students describe relationships between biological systems and the environmental contaminants. They work as a team to solve a problem.
National Wildlife Federation
Citizen Science to the Rescue!
You don't have to be a scientist or even out of high school to contribute to scientific research. In the 12th lesson in the series of 21, scholars use this opportunity to add to the growing body of scientific knowledge and consider the...
NASA
Decomposers Get Energy From Dead Things
When life gives you mold, make penicillin. Scholars design an inquiry experiment to determine what causes rotting and mold growth. It also covers decomposers and the important role they play for other living things.
Curated OER
Windows on Life
Students explore and observe living development using live fertilized chicken eggs. They open the eggs approximately 72 hrs after fertilization and make observations for several days.
Curated OER
Evolution worksheet
Looking at evolution in detail, this thorough worksheet has complex questions requiring details and explanations of natural selection and diversity. Various examples of biological characteristics are available, and students choose the...
Curated OER
Hawaii's Sandy Shores
Investigate Hawaii's sandy shore ecosystem! Start by creating a vocabulary list and having your class complete a KWL chart. Next, pass out the "I think of" sheet. Each learner will then choose a word from a beach bucket and add it to...
Curated OER
The Effect of Natural Selection on Genes, Traits and Individuals
Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...
Curated OER
Peanut Butter and Jelly: The Importance of Detailed Procedures
Students write a list of steps to be taken in making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They observe as the instructor literally follows each step. After realizing the importance of clear communication, students write a scientific...
Curated OER
Pharaoh Mountain Hike: Investigating Adirondack Life Zones
Students hike a local mountain and examine its life zones. They measure various components at each zone and collect leaf litter at the sites. At the mountain top, students make descriptive observations and complete a handout about the...
NOAA
Deep-Sea Ecosystems – Chemosynthesis for the Classroom
Photosynthesis was discovered in the 1770s, but chemosynthesis wasn't discovered until 1977. While many have performed an experiment to show how photosynthesis works, the activity allows pupils to observe chemosynthesis. Scholars set up...
Cornell University
Plant Cell Crime Scene
Use science to solve the mystery of the Poplar murder. Pupils use forensic botany to determine if a suspect could be the killer. By analyzing images from a Transmission Electron Microscope, learners determine if the material found on the...
Curated OER
Introduction to Adaptation
Tenth graders observe collections of specimens and discuss their answers to provided questions. They explore common ancestry, homology, analogy, adaptive radiation, and evolution, while formulating creative answers based on their...
Curated OER
Living Organisms
First graders investigate living things that are part of a class aquarium. They make observations and answer guided questions about each organism. Students read a Science textbook and engage in a class discussion about the content. Then...
Curated OER
Spring Migration, Milkweed Monitoring
Pupils watch for milkweed plants from the previous fall and choose several new plants to monitor. Then make observations and measurements about the plants. The connection with the weather is also made with the monitoring of temperature,...
Curated OER
What's Happening to Our Caterpillars?
Seventh graders participate in a instructional activity making observations of caterpillars. They identify different changes in the life cycle of a caterpillar and also understand the final result of the life cycle ending.
Curated OER
The Wonderful World of Slugs
Examine a slug? Of course, what else would a 2nd grader do with it? Pupils use clues and go on a slug hunt, read a slug story, or make a cooperative group mural of a slug's habitat. While older learners catalog slugs, go on a slug hunt,...
Curated OER
Basic Needs of Living Things - Lesson One
An interesting way of teaching about basic needs of different organisms awaits your fourth graders. Pupils take part in class discussions and demonstrations which should lead to a greater understanding of how to determine basic needs. As...
Curated OER
How Mutations Lead to Changes in Cell Structure and Function
Students investigate how mutations lead to changes in cell structure and function. They construct an oligonucleotide, identify a protein sequence, design a step-by-step mechanism of how they think cells repair damaged DNA, and prepare...
Curated OER
Typical Animal Characteristics
How is an animal formed? Scientists use a diagram to examine early post-fertilization stages, and the creation of the blastula. They look at a second diagram to observe the transition from the blastula to a gastrula. Three comprehension...
Curated OER
Embryo Development
Students observe the development of a chicken embryo. In this biology lesson, students compare and contrast the development of human and chick embryo. They make a chart and explain their findings to the class.
Curated OER
Little Red Hen
First graders explore biology by identifying plant anatomy in class. In this botany lesson, 1st graders read the book The Little Red Hen and identify the methods used in order to grow successful plants. Students discuss other ways people...
Curated OER
Flowers to Dye For
Students observe biology by completing a plant experiment in class. In this botany lesson, students discuss the anatomy related to a plant and how roots and stems are necessary to its survival. Students utilize food coloring and examine...
Curated OER
What Do Monarch Caterpillars Eat?
Students use the scientific method to discover what monarch caterpillars eat. They observe the caterpillars for 2 minutes at a time and make observations.