How diverse are the benthic organisms found in local streams? Using the information learned in previous lessons on identification of macroinvertebrates and on calculating stream index values, groups determine the health of local streams....

What kind of experiment can your class do to how observe the environment effects on organisms? Groups design and conduct lab experiments to learn about the effects of the environment on aquatic organisms. Based upon knowledge gained from...

Reinforce the concept of balance and imbalance within nature with the help of five activities and center rotations. Activities require scholars to read, complete graphic organizers, take part in hands-on learning opportunities, and...

What kind of organisms are living in the stream? After an explanation on how to use a dichotomous key, groups of three to four use the keys to identify macroinvertebrates from a local freshwater stream. Using the the concept of Stream...

Does your class get confused when discussing osmosis and tonicity? Explore the relationship between osmosis and tonicity to further differentiate between the two processes. The lesson concludes with a class-led discussion about the topic.

Provide your class with a simple explanation of channel protein movement. Pupils view a short video segment and explore how channel proteins move ions across a plasma membrane. They conclude the lesson with a short discussion of cell...

What is the difference between plant and animal cells? Explore their details as your class views the short video segment. They compare the features of plant and animal cells including the nucleus, nucleolus, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi...

Who knew plants could be so competitive? Join your class as they observe plants competing for space and nutrients. Middle and high schoolers describe possible effects of introducing a new species into an already established ecosystem,...

How diverse is the world we live in compared to the way things used to be? Young biologists explore diverse organisms and relate the structure of each organism to its ability to survive in our current environmental conditions....

The focus of this biology unit includes four lessons covering taxonomy, cladograms, the six kingdoms, and virus types. Each lesson includes activators/summarizers, notes, worksheets, and an assessment. One hands-on activity, a research...

Most of the water on Earth is found in our oceans; however, humans cannot survive on salt water. Instead, we need freshwater. So, what is freshwater and where does it come from? This is the focus of a video that discusses the differences...

What happens to all the waste created in nature? This is the focus of a video that explains how decomposers break down waste to be used as nutrients and turned into energy for other living organisms.

What is a food chain? Energy flows between living things in a food chain. This is the focus of a video that explains how food chains work.

How do different types of living things get the energy they need? This is the focus of a video that describes how carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores get the energy they need to live.

Our oceans are composed of many complex relationships. Young oceanographers explore relationships between organisms, understand the world ocean's currents, and discover the effects of water pollution and how it behaves. There are three...

Four intriguing and scientific activities invite learners to explore the natural resources of their town. The activities cover concepts such as genetic traits, organizing species in a taxonomy, the differences between different species...

Introduce your class to another type of ecosystem, the taiga ecosystem, through a reading passage. Class members read the text and then respond to five reading questions about the content of the passage.

Examine how living and non-living things work together in a reading passage about ecosystems. Class members read the text and then respond to five response questions that relate specifically to the content of the passage.

When is a person no longer living? This question has been puzzled over for millennia, but is there a clear answer? Watch as this video examines the biological line separating life and death.

Young biologists travel back billions of years through history in a collaborative life science project. Given a long sheet of paper and a list of key biological events, learners work in small groups creating and illustrating timelines...

Observe a pond's tiniest life forms. Zoom in on Daphnia, also called water fleas, a type of crustacean that often dwells on the pond floor.

Learners take a look at the relationship between organisms in food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids. After an opening demonstration by the teacher, pupils are split up into groups. Each one is assigned an environment such as:...

Two problems make this lesson less likely to work for you. First, a PowerPoint is to be shown to introduce your class to tropism in plants, but it is not included. Second, you will need to purchase insectivore and touch sensitvie plants....

It is not unusual to use bird beaks as an example of adaptations for preteen biologists. For this particular version, there is a competitive aspect. Learners first all gather the same food with the same style of beak as a baseline...