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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Amazing Bean Races

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students experiment with bean growth in varied conditions.  In this plant biology lesson, students plant beans in soil and in spun cellulose (absorbent material in diapers) and measure the growth of their seedlings. They collect the data...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine Protected Areas

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design a research project about a Marine Protected Area they chose. In this marine biology instructional activity, students gather fish count and catch data then graph them. They create an information poster about their findings.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Video to Quantify a Reflex Response to a Stimulus

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine the effects of a stimulus on a reflex by changing the strength or force at which the stimulus is applied. Students chart and record data of the lab using video tape.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tracy Aviary Wetland Restoration Module - WEST

For Teachers K - 12th
Students become engaged in wetland conservation as they take part throughout the school year in restoring a small wetland at the Tracy Aviary. They visit the Tracy Aviary wetland at various times during the year and become involved in...
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Lesson Plan
Nuffield Foundation

Investigating Factors Affecting the Breathing Rate of a Locust

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Do animals breathe faster when given more oxygen or more carbon dioxide? Young scientists observe the respiration rates of locusts under a variety of gas concentrations to answer that very question. They collect data, analyze the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Active Ingredient Screening Test for Plants

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students explore the growth of bacteria. They determine if various plant materials contain active ingredients that inhibit the growth of bacteria. In addition, they complete a student data sheet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Collect Data Using a Transect Line

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers learn about transect lines through a study of marine debris.  In this marine debris lesson, students calculate the items on a transect line and graph them.  Middle schoolers complete a category worksheet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scavenger Hunt: Simulating Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers simulate natural selection using pinto beans. In this biology lesson, students identify the factors affecting organism evolution. They record data from the experiment and formulate a conclusion.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coho Salmon Enhancement

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students build a fish trap across a small stream. The purpose of the trap is to collect baseline data of Oncorhynchus kisutch, Coho salmon, smolt numbers coming out of a spring-fed pond. Other biological data also be measured.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Geology and Physical Stream-bed Characteristics Affect Water Quality?

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students examine geological bedrock in landscape regions and collect data.  In this investigative lesson students retrieve data on the Internet then interpret, and graph it. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Microscopes: Is what you see, what you got?

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify the parts and functions of the microscope. For this biology lesson, 8th graders observe different samples under different types of microscopes. They compare and contrast the details they see.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do They Know That

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars explore methods for reconstructing the past. In this forest succession instructional activity, students examine forest succession and how to read the land in order to predict patterns of change. Young scholars will visit a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nutrients In Chesapeake Bay

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students perform pH and turbidity test to determine water quality. In this environmental science lesson, students analyze NASA database on chlorophyll-a in the bay. They explain how a small river area affects Chesapeake Bay.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Succession and Microclimate

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students compare the population of insects in different microclimates. In this biology lesson, students collect data using probes to tabulate temperature and soil data. They predict how certain parameters change as an area goes through...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Allele Frequencies and Sickle Cell Anemia Lab

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students investigate how selective forces like food, predation and diseases affect evolution. In this genetics lesson, students use red and white beans to simulate the effect of malaria on allele frequencies. They analyze data collected...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigate Science Using Crayfish

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Young scientists discover the importance of scientific investigation by observing live crayfish. They carefully observe the patterns of crayfish in different environments. Then they discuss their conclusions and define what all living...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design Your Own Biological Experiment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students work together to research a topic of interest to them. They form hypothesis and complete experiments testing them. They present their findings to the class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lab Experiences: The cookbook Translator

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students preview a copy of the lab experience and "cookbook translator" prior to the actual lab experience. They participate in the lab experience and complete the "cookbook translator" for evaluation at the completion of the laboratory...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Lynx Eats The Hare

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students investigate the predator and prey relationship. This is done using a simple simulation. The simulation is done as an arts and craft activity. Students record data and track it using a graphic organizer and then they discuss the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Kidney Disease

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students experiment to determine information about kidney function. In this kidney function lesson, students use the scientific method to experiment with eggs, water, salt, sugar, and vegetable oil to simulate kidney function. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in Extreme Environments - Who is on Top in the Food Chain?

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Learners discuss the design of experiments to determine how much and how fast rotifers feed and design experiments with a lab partner and in small collaborative groups. They then collect data from experiments and present results of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating an Enzyme-controlled Reaction: Catalase and Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Are you looking for a way to measure cellular respiration? Try it with pureed potatoes. With some standard high school science equipment, biologists can perform an investigation and collect data surrounding byproducts of respiration. You...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Heart Stopper

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Use the pump from a spray bottle to drive a model of the heart in action! In addition to modeling the function of the heart and blood vessels, aspiring anatomists also simulate arterial blockage. They compare the effects of increased...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drosophila Melanogaster

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students collect their own flies and construct crosses, then compare them to the data from lesson two.