Virginia Department of Education
The Cell Cycle and Mitosis
What a packed lesson plan! Provide your class with the opportunity to learn about the cell cycle in several exciting ways. Biologists first learn about the theory behind mitosis, then proceed to view onion tips under the microscope and...
Columbus City Schools
Let’s Get Theoretical About Cells
Get up close and personal with cells in a hands-on journey to discover what makes up living things. Scholars learn valuable microscope skills, delve into the Modern Cell Theory, and gain insight into how cells reproduce. The included lab...
Nuffield Foundation
Observing Osmosis, Plasmolysis, and Turgor in Plant Cells
Create the perfect conditions for osmosis. Young scholars use a microscope to observe plant cells exposed to distilled water or sodium chloride. They observe how osmosis creates turgid or plasmolyzed cells.
Columbus City Schools
You Can’t Sneeze On This Tissue
Take your class' understanding of cells to the next level... or levels! Demonstrate the levels of organization using a variety of engaging methods. The teacher's guide includes the materials you'll need to execute a flower dissection,...
Pace University
Grade 6-8 Living Things
What characterizes a living thing? Scholars explore the concept during a differentiated instruction unit on living things. They perform lab experiments to determine how animals adapt to stimuli, watch videos and learn about...
Curated OER
Viewing Bacteria
Have you ever wanted to know the true structure of E.coli? Does the thought of peering into its "small world" sound exciting? Here is a instructional activity that allows pupils the ability to do just that. Blossoming microbiologists use...
Cornell University
Thinking with the Eyes
Objects are larger (or smaller) than they appear! Scholars use a laboratory investigation to explore the difference between resolution and magnification. The activity allows them to calculate the size of the field of view of their light...
Teach Engineering
Glowing Flowers
What a bright idea! Young scientists conduct an experiment on flowers to finish the last of a six-lesson unit on Cells. Putting the stems into dye-injected water and leaving it overnight results in flowers that glow. This is to simulate...
Nuffield Foundation
Observing Water Moving Through Plants
We know plants assist in the water cycle, but how do plants get water from the ground into the air? Through a series of demonstrations or labs, scholars observe the movement of water through plants. They microscopically view the cells...
Virginia Department of Education
Prokaryotes
Lead your biology class on a cell-sized adventure! Emerging scientists construct models of prokaryotes, then design an experiment to properly grow a bacterial culture. They conclude the activity by viewing the culture under a microscope....
Nuffield Foundation
A Closer Look at Blood
Here is a lab that has teenage scientists examining samples of their own blood under a microscope. Learners carefully prepare slides, then make detailed observations and identifying different types of cells using a key.
Baylor College
They're Everywhere: Bacteria
Totally gross out your class with the eighth lesson plan in this series on food science. Explore the microscopic world of bacteria by taking swabs of different classroom objects and growing colonies in petri dishes. An engaging activity...
Curated OER
Elastic Recoil in Arteries and Veins
A lab in which high schoolers examine the difference between arteries and veins. Budding biologists will find out which blood vessel can stretch furthest, recording their data in a table then answering several questions evaluating their...
Nuffield Foundation
Dissection of the Ventilation System of a Locust
Jiminy cricket! If you find yourself plagued by fear of dissection, these locust respiratory system dissection directions will walk you through everything you need to know. Teens inspect a living locust to begin with, then jump over to...
Curated OER
Investigating Mitosis in Allium Root Tip Squash
Preparing the root tip samples is the most challenging part of the mitosis-viewing lab found here, but the directions help ensure you have everything you need. There is no worksheet included; however, there is a sample data table....
Nuffield Foundation
Dissecting Lungs
Here is a lab activity where teens experience the respiratory system first-hand as they dissect lungs and identify key structures within the system. Although the website is written in British English with some slightly different verbiage...
University of Minnesota
C. elegans and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Introduce the topic of astrobiology in a unit that's out of this world. Biology scholars examine the search for extraterrestrial life by culturing roundworms, a species that has been key in helping researchers understand the challenges...
Columbus City Schools
Photosynthesis and Respiration
Thirty percent of the world's oxygen is produced by rainforests found throughout the world. Seventh grade learners explore the processes of photosynthesis and respiration through 10 days of labs, manipulatives, and discussions. They...