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Lesson Plan
Science 4 Inquiry

Frenemies, Bros and Killers: A Lesson in Symbiosis

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Animals and plants develop relationships and rely on each other to survive. Pupils learn more about symbiosis through a video, a hands-on matching activity, and a game. They differentiate and describe each type on a written evaluation.
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Interactive3:44
Scholastic

Study Jams: Symbiosis

For Students 5th - 9th Standards
Three types of symbiosis are explained: parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. This is done with colorful animation and lively dialogue in a straightforward and easy-to-follow manner. Have your ecology class watch this at home and then...
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Lesson Plan
Science Friday

Termite Symbiosis

For Students 6th - 8th
What happens to the wood a termite eats? Pupils learn about the three types of symbiosis with pictures of symbiotic pairs. Afterward, they determine whether there is a symbiotic relationship with a termite by dissecting termites and...
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Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Symbiosis: Mutualism, Commensalism, and Parasitism

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Hyenas normally hunt alone, however scientists discovered that in Israel, hyenas hunt with wolf packs. When relationships develop between different species, we call it symbiosis. The videos teach about the three types of symbiosis and an...
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Microfriends

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Is there medicine found in the organisms that live deep below the surface of the ocean? The fifth activity in a six-part series has learners team up to research bacteria and the relationship it has with nearly every living thing on...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Ecosystem Dynamics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Searching for an eccentric way to enhance lessons on ecosystems while ensuring pupils remain creative and motivated? Upon viewing The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, designated groups design and construct a pop-up book that depicts the specific ways...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Organisms in Symbiosis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Searching for an activity that allows emerging biologists to explore symbiosis up close and personal? Pupils collect samples and view lichens through a microscope and conclude with a discussion about the relationship they have with other...
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Activity
Busch Gardens

Create an Invertebrate

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
What better way for young biologists to learn about invertebrates than by creating their very own? Here, students are assigned a set of invertebrate characteristics and are asked to invent an imaginary ocean animal and a separate...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Raven Chapter 54 Guided Notes: Community Ecology

For Students 9th - 12th
Providing a sweeping overview of population and community interactions, this ecology activity gets learners thinking. They differentiate between habitat and niche, describe and give exemplars of various animal and plant defenses, explain...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Interactions of Living Things

For Students 6th - 8th
Is it a producer, carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, or decomposer? Different relationships among organisms are explored here. It is a simple, multiple choice assignment. Use it as a quick warm-up or quiz.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Friend, Foe, or . . .

For Teachers 5th - 6th
As a result of this lesson, upper elementary ocean explorers will be able to describe several interrelationships: symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. They learn that the biological richness is increased near seamounts and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Symbiosis: Help, Hinder or Destroy

For Teachers 6th Standards
Use background information and vocabulary to familiarize your students with the concept of symbiosis and the role agriculture plays in the shared relationship. They then write the vocabulary in their lab books or journals, and read the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Symbiosis

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In this symbiosis worksheet, students complete a graphic organizer about the three types of symbiosis. They define commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism and list the important things to remember about each.
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Organizer
Curated OER

Symbiosis: Helped, Harmed, or Neither?

For Students 5th - 12th
In this symbiosis worksheet, students will brainstorm 2 examples of each different type of symbiotic relationship which includes mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nitrogen Fixation, OR What a Gas!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers gain skill in the design, implementation, and reporting of a scientific research project using the scientific method. They set up an experiment to determine the effect of adding the Rhizobium bacteria to one group of...
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Organizer
Curated OER

Trials of Life: Living Together

For Students 7th - 9th
For this trials for life worksheet, students fill in the charts as they watch a video. Students identify the types of symbiosis as mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, or predator-prey relationship.
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Organizer
Curated OER

What Relationship Do Species Have?

For Students 5th - 10th
In this species relationships worksheet, students will brainstorm animals or plants that are examples of mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Ms. Good Ch15-1 Word Search

For Students 9th - 12th
In this economics worksheet, high schoolers locate and identify various vocabulary terms related to economics and statistics. There are 14 words/phrases located in the puzzle.
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Lesson Plan
University of South Florida

Project Oceanography: Single Celled Organisms [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this lesson, students explore three kinds of symbiotic relationships involving unicellular organisms. They will also look more closely at the relationship between zooxanthellae and coral, and the importance of nitrogen-fixing...
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Handout
Encyclopedia of Earth

Encyclopedia of Earth: Evolutionary Biology: Symbiosis

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describes the different types of symbiosis, some of which are of mutual benefit, and others not. It also explains the differences between endosymbiosis and exosymbiosis, where one organism lives either inside or else upon the...
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Activity
National Geographic

National Geographic: Ecological Relationships

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson, students learn about different types of ecological relationships, including symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Includes handouts and a vocabulary list with definitions.
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Lesson Plan
Other

Pde Sas: Relationships Among Organisms

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson, young scholars compare various types of relationships among organisms (i.e., biotic interactions). Students will: explain the roles of producers and consumers, and predators and prey in an ecosystem. Explain the levels of...
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Website
NC State University

North Carolina State University: Symbiotic Relationships

For Students 9th - 10th
Includes a description of symbiosis in general, then lists and defines types of symbiosis including mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, competition, and neutralism. Includes a chart which summarizes the different types of relationships....
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Website
Other

The Sea Slug Forum: Symbiosis and Commensalism

For Students 9th - 10th
Question and answer site that contains a discussion of commensalism as it pertains to sea slugs. Nice photographs of aquatic commensalistic relationships.