Curated OER
Animal Behavior
Can you train a worm? Biology buffs will have a blast trying! Using planaria or earthworms, they introduce a certain stimulus repeatedly until the desired response happens more quickly. They also explore the response of their own eyes to...
Curated OER
Isopod Behavior, of the Rolly Polly Lab
Students investigate the behavior of isopods. In this isopod lesson plan, students make observations of an isopod and sketch the pillbug. They study the orientation of the isopods in relation to moisture in a chamber they construct from...
Curated OER
You talkin' to me?: Investigations in animal behavior
Students examine how to develop and conduct scientific investigations of animal behavior. In this animal behavior lesson students view a video, play an interactive game and complete a lab exercise.
Agriculture in the Classroom
"Steer" Toward STEM: Careers in Animal Agriculture
Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists, and...
Curated OER
Fishy Behavior
Here's a lab that may make you rethink that morning cup of coffee. Biology scholars test the effects of caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine on the behavior of zebrafish through an intriguing experiment. Learners observe fish behavior before...
Curated OER
Termite Trail Marking Behavior
Learners examine termites and their trail-marking behaviors. They draw lines on paper with various ink pens and experiment to see which types of ink the termites follow--or which inks do and do not elicit trail marking behavior.
Curated OER
AP Biology Lab Review
A seventy-two slide PowerPoint that reviews several lab explorations done in an AP Biology course. For each lab there is a description, concepts, and conclusions. Many pictures and graphics make this visually appealing, but it would not...
Curated OER
Analysis of Grooming Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster
Students engage in a lab that focuses on animal behavior in an open ended inquiry based laboratory experience. They build an ethogram, display a transition matrix and analyze a Markov Chain. They remove wings from the drosophila and...
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Amazing Birds
What's so amazing about birds? Find out just how amazing birds are with a physics of animal behavior unit created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Have learners explore and tap into their observational skills and notice how birds fly, what...
Curated OER
Go Fish!
So much science in one tiny fish! Introduce young biologists to the zebrafish, a common aquarium inhabitant. The small, unassuming organism presents an opportunity for learners to study habituation using an easy-to-care-for species. Lab...
Curated OER
Investigating the Behavior of Lumbriculus
Students perform a classroom experiment on the organisms of worms. They view the behaviors of the worms and analyze their results. This lesson introduces students to the techniques involved in behavioral studies.
Curated OER
The "How's and Whys" of Animal Behavior
Students read examples of behaviors in various animals. They design an experimental question about the behavior. They explain if the question involves the proximate or ultimate level of causation.
Curated OER
Inquiry in Science Using an Animal Behavior Model
Students observe a planaria without a microscope and with a stereoscopic microscope. They draw the planaria and describe its motion and eating habits. Students research planarias various body systems and behavior. They design an...
American Physiological Society
Drug the Water Flea
This is a flea. This is a flea on drugs. Any questions? Your class will have questions aplenty during an impactful experiment. Lab groups get to know Daphnia magna, the humble water flea, and study the effects of stimulants and...
Sea World
Marine Animal Husbandry and Training
Step into the role of a zoo director with several activities about animal training and running a zoo. Kids calculate the amount of food each animal needs, design a habitat for penguins, decide how to breed bottlenose dolphins, and train...
Curated OER
Ants In Motion
Students brainstorm ants and their characteristics in a class discussion. They observe the ants and answer question pertaining to their behavior; then they apply the scientific method in creating and investigating a problem.
Curated OER
Structural and Behavioral Adaptations
Learners participate in a role playing lab that allows students to experience how different beak adaptations play a role in the type of food the animal can eat, therefore playing a role in the survival of the species.
Curated OER
Follow Those Tracks
Students observe a picture containing patterns of animal tracks, infer what might have happened based upon the pattern of tracks, and write a story describing what might have happened.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Life In A Nest: Exploring Life Cycles With Bird Cams
Why read about it when you can watch it happen? Bird cams make it possible for learners to experience the life cycle of a bird in real time! An engaging set of lessons provides activities to connect their learning to bird cam...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Scientific Inquiry Using WildCam Gorongosa
How do scientists determine what questions to ask to meet their research goals? Help your class develop an inquiry mindset with a lesson based on studies in the Gorongosa National Park. Partners create their own research questions by...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Building Ecological Pyramids
Looking for a fresh take on traditional food/energy pyramids? Conduct an innovative activity where pupils build their own! The lesson uses research data from Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique for a real-life safari touch. Scholars...
Curated OER
Termite Lab
Students examine insect behavior in a lab activity. Students explore the idea of chemical specificity and the reactions of termites to a chemical found in their trail pheromone. Students watch a demonstration with termites before...
Curated OER
What Do We Learn From Fossils?
Students investigate what a fossil is and how it came to be. In this fossil lesson, students examine pictures of skeletons and identify characteristics that can and cannot be determined by a fossil. Students complete diagrams of a...
Curated OER
Introduction to Lumbriculus variegatus
High schoolers conduct two set experiments on Lumbriculus worms and create a third experiment of their own. The first of the two set experiments allows students to observe regeneration of the worms while the second allows high schoolers...