National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Life on Mars
Through reading and discussion, aspiring astronomers consider the question of whether or not there was ever life on the planet Mars. Throughout the process, they review how scientific investigations are carried out, examine the...
Curated OER
Biology: New Trials & Findings
Students use background knowledge to summarize articles about skin cancer research and present them to the class and place their studies along a clinical study timeline. They are introduced to clincal trails and to various aspects of...
Curated OER
Pond Water Survey
Students identify and describe various organisms living in a pond water environment. They describe the characteristics of living things. Students compare and contrast organisms created by asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction....
New South Wales Department of Education
Is it Alive?
Interestingly enough, movement is not a characteristic of living things. The first activity in a series of 20 introduces learners to the concepts of living versus non-living things and then focuses on biologists and what they study....
Curated OER
Invertebrate Phyla
Students explore the invertebrate phyla. They discuss the characteristics of the invertebrate Phyla in the Kingdom Animal. Students classify organisms into Phyla based on their characteristics. They distinguish radial symmetry, bilateral...
Curated OER
Classifying Plants and Insects
Art and science come together in a instructional activity based on Flower Still Life by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. Learners classify plants and insects in the painting by color, leaf shape, size, reproduction,...
Cornell University
Let’s Raise Lacewings
Young entomologists explored beneficial insects and how they help control pests in the first lesson of the series. Now class members take a close look at the lacewing, which is a beneficial insect.
Curated OER
The Marvels of Mud
Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine...
Peace Corps
Family
Family traditions are the focus of a instructional activity that explores the lives of children in India and those in your classroom. Scholars examine their own family roles and traditions, then respond to an informative text...
Curated OER
Your Father
Your learners will explore the idea that not all functions have real numbers as domain and range values as seen in this real-life context. Secondly, the characteristics required for a function to have an inverse are explored including...
Curated OER
Unplanned Pregnancy: Parenting
High schoolers consider and discuss characteristics of an ideal parent. In small groups, they work together to examine the stereotypical roles of the father and the mother. The issues dealt with in this resource are thought-provoking and...
University of Hawaiʻi
Taxonomy and Me!
Taxonomy is the study of organisms and how you phylum. Three biology activities are included, helping scholars understand four of the six kingdoms, specifically Protista, Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia. Scholars observe and classify...
Curated OER
Inside the Egg, Hatching Chickens
Learners conduct an egg candling activity to show the life inside a fertile egg. Students discuss the needs the egg has of the hen, as well as similarities and differences between plants and animals. Learners complete a life cycle wheel...
Curated OER
Inherited Traits
Young scholars work with a partner to complete an inventory of their traits and compare and discuss their unique qualities. In this biology lesson, students determine percentages for the frequency of observed traits of classmates,...
Michigan State University
All About Insects
Insects are the focus of an activity that looks deep into the anatomy and metamorphosis of everyday bugs. Two worksheets reinforce knowledge obtained through a teacher-guided grand conversation and insect observation.
Columbus City Schools
Get Your Organisms Organized
From large to small, show your class how to organize them all! Included within the guide is everything you need to take their knowledge of classification from the cellular to the species level. The worksheets focus on...
Lerner Publishing
Meet the Dinosaurs
Take your class of youngsters on a prehistoric adventure with this four-lesson series on dinosaurs. Accompanying the Meet the Dinosaurs books by Don Lessem, these lessons engage children in writing their own dinosaur books,...
Curated OER
Lamarck And Darwin
Young scholars compare Lamarck's mechanism for evolution with Darwin's theory of natural selection.
Curated OER
Floristic Relay
Fifth graders identify the role succession plays in the adaptation of our environment. Students identify pioneer and climax species and order habitats in succession. They recognize that different characteristics of species make them...
Curated OER
Comparing Theories: Lamarck and Darwin
Students compare the evolution theories of Lamarck and Darwin. They use self-assessment and a video to increase their knowledge of evolution theories. They research questions and present them to the class.
Michigan State University
All About Rodents
Get to the know the common house mouse and the Norway rat with an activity that reinforces reading comprehension skills. Scholars read a three-page document detailing key information about mammals, specifically rodents, and use their...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Contemplating Nature vs. Nurture
Does having an addict in your family make it more likely to become one yourself? Explore the genetic risk factors, as well as the prominent environmental influences, for substance addiction in a instructional activity that encourages...
Rainforest Alliance
Colombia Biodiversity
How diverse is the rainforest? How much more diverse is a rain forest than a temperate forest? Explore these focus questions in a lesson that explores the plants, animals, and insects in forests. After listening to a reading...
Southwestern Medical Center
Field Epidemiology: Investigation of an Unknown Disease
More than 90 percent of the people in a building have come down with an illness, and it is your job to investigate. Teachers give scientists the data needed to decide what is important and how they can solve the mystery....