Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students use discussion questions, handout information and research topics to explore several issues related to natural selection and evolution. They examine Darwin's research on the finch and antibiotic resistance.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Evolution of Technology

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore the evolution of technology. They discuss how technology has affected their daily lives and how it has changed throughout the course of history. They discuss what invention has most affected the world.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Invertebrates and Vertebrate Evolution

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students explore the major characteristics of the major animal phyla. They describe adaptive features that have contributed to the success of animals on land. Students explain how primate evolution provides a context for understanding...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Kakawa to Chocolate: The Evolution of Chocolate Throughout History

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the history of chocolate and its consumption. In this chocolate history lesson, students discover how industrialization changed the way humans consume chocolate. Students use the provided worksheet to note details they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Mendel Seminar

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze Gregor Mendel's discovery of a process of biological evolution. They also explore how recessive and dominant traits are passed from one generation of living organisms to the next. This lesson involves environment...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lamarck And Darwin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars compare Lamarck's mechanism for evolution with Darwin's theory of natural selection.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evolution of Biotechnology Timeline

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students explore how present biotechnology has evolved. They create a timeline is included referencing major scientists and major events in history which have led to our current understanding and use. A teacher time line is included.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elephant Seals - Evolution

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students create posters or skits based on specific adaptive characteristics of elephant seals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Figure of Speech

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Examine the changing nature of language in the U.S. View and discuss excerpts from a PBS documentary with your class and then conduct Internet research, and complete a team project on the evolution of teen expressions. 
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Sonar & Echolocation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Molecular Approaches to Evolution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to working with molecular data. The first activity does both simulated and original data are used to compare amino acid, protein or DNA differences to construct phylogenetic trees or cladograms. These activities...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Comparison of Cloud Coverage Over Africa

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students use a NASA satellite data to contrast amounts of cloud coverage over different climate regions in Africa. They explore how Earth's major air circulations affect global weather patterns, and relate to local weather patterns.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Are the Dinosaurs?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students recognize that they haven't seen a dinosaur because they no longer exist. In this dinosaur instructional activity, students view videos and understand what the dinosaur habitat was like. Students role play dinosaurs. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Learned and Innate Behavior

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Compare and contrast learned and innate behaviors between humans and primates. Your biology class members read articles and participate in discussions about the use of tools and communication methods. That's about it, you'll probably...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Tree Full of Ancestors

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students study human evolution and the scientific process. They complete the Origins of Humankind Web activity to become familiar with the hominid species as well as the associated evidence found, in the form of fossils and artifacts.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students develop an understanding of natural selection, specifically, how it unfolds from generation to generation. They work in small groups to perform an experiment using beans. They use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to guide their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Fossil Find - Reconstructing the Pieces

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students go on an imaginary fossil hunt. They follow a script read by the teacher, students "find" (remove from envelope) paper "fossils" of some unknown creature. They attempt to reconstruct fossil pieces into an animal.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Big Cats

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study what a niche is and its role in a community.  In this cats lesson students research the Internet for information on big cat species. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Peter Rabbit Meets Charles Darwin

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore evolution. They study a cartoon scenario of a rabbit population in which there is selection and a change of gene frequency. Students discuss frequencies, evolution, and speciation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music Theories

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Explore the inception and evolution of hip-hop music as a springboard for writing music reviews and researching other genres of music. Learners will read and discuss the Times' article, From Underground Music to Fashion Statement to then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meadow Madness

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the evolution from a pond habitat to a meadow.  In this habitat lesson, students become familiar with a beaver meadow habitat.  Students are aasigned an animal to research and find why the animal best survives...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jurassic Park: The Science and Ethics of Genetic Engineering

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Explore genetic engineering through an engaging "Jurassic Park" unit, which is an extensive use of a cross-curricular teaching event. Planned for AP Biology, English, and Calculus students, learners and teachers are involved for 4-6...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Growth of America's Production System

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers, assessing a variety of sources, explore the growth of inventions that were brought about by the Industrial Revolution. They analyze labor practices and philosophies within the history of the United States. A timeline is...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Gravitational Waves

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Young scientists participate in a hands-on experiment to explore Einstein's theory of relativity in a creative manner. They investigate various waves and compare their characteristics as they discuss how each wave is created....