Curated OER
Bird Brained?
Students identify general abilities that indicate animal cognitive intelligence. In this biology lesson, students create an intelligence testing challenge for ravens. They compare its ability to that of a crow.
Curated OER
Flightless Birds and Scientific Research
Students study the work done by various scientists on Antarctica. In this biology instructional activity, students play the role of researchers who must justify the importance of their study. They create a multimedia presentation about a...
Curated OER
Raising Rhino Awareness
Young scholars create a poster that promotes awareness about endangered animals. In this biology lesson, students explain the impact of rhinoceros poaching. They create a poem about them and present it in class.
Curated OER
Cheetah Challenges
High schoolers research the problems that cheetahs are facing in the wild. In this biology instructional activity, students discuss how animal rehabilitation works. They write blogs about it and comment on everyone's post.
Curated OER
Dare to Care for a Grizzly Bear
Students examine the relationship between humans and grizzly bears. In this biology lesson plan, students research about the bear's habits and living environment. They write a letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service petitioning them...
Curated OER
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
In this emissions activity, students will study a graph comparing biological and industrial carbon dioxide emissions over the years and another graph showing the geographic regions of carbon dioxide emissions. Using this information,...
Curated OER
Water filtration with Plants
Sixth graders explain how soil and plants effect contaminated water in nature. In this filtration lesson, 6th graders work in groups to test biofiltration units. Students determine which biofiltration units work best and how they...
Curated OER
U-G-L-Y? I've Got a Great Alibi
Students create a survey to explore people's perception of beauty. In this biology lesson, students explain how an animal's appearance helps it survive. They analyze survey results and present findings in class.
Curated OER
Ecology and Evolution
Learners identify the different taxonomic classifications of organisms. In this biology instructional activity, students create their own organisms and make some changes according to environmental conditions. They present their work in...
Curated OER
What's That Tree?
Fifth graders identify trees along a nature trail. Using a dichotomous key, 5th graders answer questions to aid in their identification of trees along a specified nature trail. Observations are recorded in their science journals. Sample...
Curated OER
Cloud in the Classroom
Middle schoolers describe the relationship between animals and humans. In this biology lesson, students research about the history of horses in America. They present a mock news broadcast about their research.
Curated OER
How HIV Infects Cells
In this biology learning exercise, learners answer 2 short answer questions related to HIV based on information provided. They color and label the different parts of a virus.
Curated OER
Applied Evolution: How Will We Get There from Here?
Students explore the basic process of natural selection and how people can manipulate that process today. The consequences of natural selection on daily life and the implications of evolutionary biology in basic and applied science is...
Curated OER
Sexual Selection in the Animal Kingdom
Students research how sexual selection plays a role in driving evolution. They experiment how variation exists within not just obvious physical traits, but metabolically and behaviorally. They write a letter describing a problem, and a...
Curated OER
Discovering Forest Products
Learners identify attributes of natural and manufactured wood products. In this forest products instructional activity, students perform independent research to find an article about forest use or forest products. They spread out samples...
Curated OER
The Tragedy of the Commons
Ninth graders participate in a demonstration of the concept of "The Tragedy of the Commons." They conduct a "fishing" simulation demonstrating overfishing, complete two data tables, and answer discussion questions.
Curated OER
Kingdom Animalia ~ A Look at the Five Major Classes
Biological taxonomy masters examine the five main classes under phylum chordata. Pupils compare and contrast the identifying characteristics of the various organisms. They explain why taxonomy is important in classifying organisms. You...
Curated OER
Roots: The Ancestry of Modern People
High schoolers investigate the models for the origin of modern humans and the conditions that facilitate speciation and evolution. The classification and nomenclature of hominid species is also examined.
Montana Natural History Center
Studying Grassland Ecosystems
At first glance, grassland ecosystems might seem dull and uninteresting, but once you start to explore it's amazing the things you'll find! Through this series of engaging lessons, activities, and experiments, elementary students examine...
National Park Service
It Was a Very Good Year
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park includes whitebark pines that are over 1,200 years old, meaning they have been there since before medieval times. The second lesson of five details how to read tree rings for climate change and...
Michigan State University
Bug Lyphe!
Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...
Curated OER
Anthropogenic Biomes
If you teach a man to fish, he will never go hungry—or he will overfish and permanently damage the ecosystem? Address the traditional biomes as well as the human-included ecosystems and contrasts the biotic and abiotic factors in each....
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Understanding Variation
Does where we live influence how our bodies express genetic traits? Explore variation in human skin color with an activity that incorporate video and hands-on learning. Individuals model the relationship between phenotypes and genotypes,...
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Three: What's the Status of Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is essential for every habitat, but many species are at risk due to pollution and other factors. Explore several different species native to Illinois in a gallery walk with posters that learners have created after research...