Interaction with environment Teacher Resources

This document is a mini unit on the basic structure of animal cells and cell theory. It contains individual lesson plans for the use of a microscope, lecture notes, and handouts for your class. The PowerPoint, "Amazing Animal Cells," is...

The 2005 version of the Regents High School Examination in the area of ecology is as comprehensive as previous years' exams. It consists of 40 multiple choice questions on everything from the structure of DNA to the interactions within...

Third graders investigate Darwin's theory of adaptation by investigating animal characteristics.  In this animal life lesson plan, 3rd graders analyze different predators, the animals they prey on, and the different attributes they each...

Students observe animal behaviors and record their observations. For this animal behavior lesson students record animal behaviors at specific intervals of time using an ethogram. Students may first practice an ethogram using a classmate....

Dinnertime on the African savanna is a highly choreographed event! Introduce young ecologists to the concept of niche partitioning through a hands-on activity. Pupils research animal behaviors and use data to develop an understanding of...

What happens to a species when members become separated by changes in their environment? Present young biologists with the ultimate example species—the anole lizard. A brief video describes the origins of the multitude of anole species...

Amazing! Any 5th grader would be more than willing to participate in this project. Students are broken into groups, each group reads one book from a list of five. They use their book as the basis for choosing an animal and environment to...

Examine how organisms interact through a hands-on experience. Learners study population dynamics and distribution during an informative five-lesson unit. The focus is on the ocean environment and the organisms within it.

Turn your students into flocks of migratory birds for this fun lesson on animal migration. Prior to the activity, the teacher creates four different migration routes in the classroom or any available open space, labeling nesting...

After reading about how polar bears and camels are specifically adapted to their environments, young zoologists choose an animal and do the same. They work in groups to discuss how humans interact with their surroundings and then design...

Learners produce a research project on an animal. Using the Internet, they find pictures and information about animals. They are also given a list of items that should be covered in their report, including the appearance of the animals,...

Help young biologists develop an understanding of eukaryotic cells with this simple exercise. Provided with a list of organelles found in plant an animal cells, students must correctly identify the function of each and record any...

A discussion of bioluminescence launches an investigation of animal adaptations. After re-watching the opening minutes of Dark Water, class members listen to a reading of What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and then create a new animal...

Students pretend to be animals. For this animal identification lesson, students have an animal card pinned to their shirt where only they can see what their animal is. Students act like their animal and search for others that have their...

Termites in your house? Bad. Termites in your garden ... good? Discover the good side of an insect that often gets a bad rap with an interesting animation. The narrator discusses how termites break down plant material, what the soil...

Tenth graders participate in an arthropod scavenger hunt. In groups of two, they identify and collect two specimens of arthropods in the school area, and create a table of all the specimens and what class they belong to.

Kids challenge their understanding of the world around them and consider the impact man has on the environment and animal life. They examine a Tlingit piece, read two Tlingit stories about man and animals, then participate in a research...

Youngsters become familiar with zoo animals. They sort them into categories, and choose an animal to act out. Two zoo centers are created in the classroom that have examples of the animals for the pupils to play with. Then, they choose...

Students are introduced to animal enrichment through discussion, research, experimentation. After researching animal enrichment on the Minnesota Zoo Website, they conduct research on an animal they encounter on a regular basis. Based...

Do you have young scientists wanting to make new discoveries rather than just completing the same experiments? Young scientists use their observational skills to identify animals and patterns in animal behavior. Through tracking...

Children can dance to the beat using this video. In this animated feature, children and characters dance. This could be used as a filler activity or as an introduction to a math lesson on patterns.

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...

Not only do mealworms taste great, they are also great for classroom science lessons. In pairs, young scientists observe and record what they see as they check out what their mealworms are doing from minute to minute. Each minute...

Ever wondered what motivates a roundworm? Introduce your biology class to C. elegans, a non-parasitic model organism that can help them understand behavioral stimuli. Paired pupils design an experiment to test the worm's reaction to...