Extinction Teacher Resources
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Lesson Planet Curated
Life Science
Photosynthesis, extinction, biomimicry, and bioremediation. Young environmental engineers study these processes. Using photosynthesis as a model and biomimicry as an example, groups research how nature provides hints for engineering...
Lesson Planet Curated
Activity Book: Discover Your Changing World With NOAA
Introduce middle schoolers to the essential principles of climate science with a collection of 10 activities. Class members learn about the Earth’s climate systems, factors that change these systems, and the impacts of those changes....
Lesson Planet Curated
Biodiversity
Biodiversity, from genes to ecosystems, is the focus of a four-video collection hosted by Britt Garner. The narrator discusses biodiversity, evolution, defining intelligence, and other complex topics. As a bonus, she models how to break...
Lesson Planet Curated
Tales from California’s Channel Islands: Restoration
The tale of the restoration of California's Channel Islands begins with a video that details the devastation of Santa Cruz Island by introducing species that are not native to the region. Additionally, the video discusses the controversy...
Lesson Planet Curated
Crash Course: Ecology
Viewers take a Crash Course in Ecology with a 12-video collection that takes a look at where organisms come from, how they interact, and how they influence their environments. The videos, appropriate for in class or remote learning, use...
Lesson Planet Curated
Climate Change in My Backyard: Grades 7-9, Unit 3
Living things and ecosystems respond to and are affected by climate change. In this collection of four lessons, students learn about how researchers—now and in the past—have used plant lifecycle events to understand climate. Pupils...
SciShow
Mass Extinctions
99 percent of the species that have ever lived on this planet are extinct. The best way to understand when another extinction could happen is to study the previous five mass extinctions. The video discusses each one, the cause, the...
Be Smart
A Mammoth Undertaking: The Science of De-Extinction!
If scientists could use biotechnology to bring back extinct species, should it? A thought-provoking video explores the technical and ethical considerations of this question as part of a larger biology playlist. It explains what would be...
FuseSchool
Extinction of Species
Extinction: i's not just for dinosaurs! Young ecologists examine the alarming facts about the causes of mass extinctions by watching this engaging Fuse School Evolution video. Topics include previous extinction events, living fossils,...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Mass Extinctions Interactive
Extinctions constantly occur, but what sets off a mass extinction event? Young scientists study the data from the previous five mass extinctions to better understand their causes. Then, they learn the impact each extinction had on our...
TED-Ed
When Will the Next Mass Extinction Occur?
Normal background extinctions and mass extinction events are examined in this short video that suggests that environmental change, naturally occurring and change caused by humans, is the key factor in such events.
Bozeman Science
Speciation and Extinction
Are we, as some scientists theorize, in the midst of the sixth mass extinction? Scholars explore speciation through adaptive radiation and extinction with a video that uses the three-spines stickleback in Alaska, and its current...
Be Smart
The Sixth Extinction
Did you know that 98 percent of organisms that ever lived are now extinct? PBS Digital Studios presents viewers with information about previous extinctions, their causes, and related statistics such as what percent of organisms went...
TED-Ed
Mammoths vs. Mastodons: What's the Criteria for De-Extinction?
If you could, would you bring back mammoths or mastodons? What about resurrecting other species? Viewers consider some of the ethical and practical considerations involved in de-extinction.
PBS
The Extinction That Never Happened
How do scientists define a mass extinction event in the fossil record, and what happens when they are wrong? Scientists find living plants and animals previously believed to be extinct on almost every continent. An engaging video...
The Brain Scoop
Mammoths vs. Mastodons: Can We "De-Extinct" Them Both?
According to a popular movie series, de-extincting ancient species may not be the best idea! But, is it possible? Explore the prospect through a video that is part of a larger playlist covering mammals. The narrator compares the physical...
Curated OER
The Extinction and Rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
An incredibly thorough, and well-designed lesson teaches youngsters about the presumed extinction and rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas. Learners discuss the environmental factors that led to the birds disappearance....
MinuteEarth
How Many Mass Extinctions Have There Been?
Everyone knows about the extinction of the dinosaurs, but what other mass extinctions have happened? The video explains how scientists define mass extinctions. It offers insight into the debate about the number of mass extinctions as well.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Weighing the Evidence for a Mass Extinction: Part 1 – In the Ocean
Extinction events have happen throughout geologic history, but only five mass extinctions occurred over the last 4.5 billion years. Scholars view fossils from a layer of sediment during an extinction event and observe patterns to draw...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Weighing the Evidence for a Mass Extinction Part 2: On Land
What can fossils tell us about periods of extinction? Young scholars interpret fossil layers to make conclusions about changes in life during different geological time periods. They analyze the fossils for abundance and diversity as well...
Curated OER
How Do Species Become Extinct?
Students examine reasons that animals become extinct. They participate in a simulation to discover that animals loss of home is the main factor that puts species near extinction in North America. Students examine over-hunting and...
It's About Time
Mass Extinction and Fossil Records
The focus of a fossil-based lesson uses graphs and charts that allow young paleontologists to make inferences about events of mass extinction. They must apply their previous knowledge about fossil records in this final lesson of the...
Teach Engineering
Extinction Prevention via Engineering
It's time to save endangered species through engineering. The third lesson in a nine-part Life Science unit has young environmentalists study species extinction. An engaging discussion leads to some ideas on how to use engineering design...
NOAA
Climate Is Our Friend…Isn’t It?: Make an Extinction Polyhedron
Climate affects populations in different ways. Scholars research extinct organisms and mass extinctions in part three of the 10-installment Discover Your Changing World series. They create graphic organizers, then fill in the...
