I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you can add art to any lesson! While little learners are discovering why fish have specific body parts such as, scales, fins, and gills, they start making three-dimensional fish forms. Children...

Pupils classify Archaeopteryx using pictures of actual fossils and scientist representations of how the animal might have looked. They compare Archaeopteryx's characteristics to those of the five extant vertebrate groups to...

Students explore biology by completing science worksheets in class. In this animal anatomy lesson, students read the book The Adventures of Marco and Polo and identify the animals mentioned in it. Students examine a real life animal and...

Read Animals Called Fish with your young Spanish language learners and talk about the different parts of a fish. After teaching terms like huesos, columna vertebral, aletas, escamas, etc, Learners...

Written as an accompaniment to a field trip to the Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Arizona, this is an interdisciplinary, themed activity on lions. Even if you cannot take your upper-elementary kids to this attraction, there are a few...

First graders investigate two different types of whales; toothed and baleen. They describe what the different types of whale eat. They listen to a cassette of Dyan Sheldon's, The Whale Song before making stick puppets to dramatize the...

First graders explore the job done by ornithologists. They role play identifying the characteristics that make a bird a bird. They discuss what makes each bird species unique. Students are introduced to Wisconsin's most common and rare...

Students classify animals. In this animal classification activity, students identify characteristics from each of the 5 categories of vertebrates. Students group animals by categories.

Students use a dichotomous key to classify various vertebrate jar speciments into classes. They examine the speciments for general characteristics of each class and fill in a corresponding chart and then complete a few final assessment...

In this classification worksheet, learners describe the characteristics of the 5 groups of vertebrates and then complete 2 short answer questions.

Students complete a hands on activity using hard boiled eggs, food coloring, tape, cups, water, and a knife to show how permeability affects animals. In this permeability lesson plan, students complete this activity and learn how...

Students explore the habitats of hermit crabs. In this crustacean lesson, students discover what animals need to survive. Working with live hermit crabs, students explore how hermit crabs have adapted to their habitats.

The classic in-class demonstration using celery dipped into water with food coloring is the highlight of this biology lesson plan. Young scientists discover that organisms are made up cells and have distinguishing characteristics. After...

High schoolers compare the anatomy of a fish to an amphibian and that of an amphibian (frog) to a human. They complete a virtual frog dissection to gain some experience prior to the real dissection.

Fourth graders work in pairs to research an animal. They fill in an animal data form in order to become experts about the animal they choose. They use the listed criteria to design a six sided brochure that includes graphics of the...

Students identify the characteristics common to all animals. In groups, they compare the characteristics between the animals and how they are divided. To end the lesson, they compare the eight phyla of invertebrates and review the...

Seventh graders examine fossils.  In this vertebrate fossils instructional activity students view a demonstration.

Students use the internet to answer their questions about mammals. They complete a scavenger hunt worksheet to identify their characteristics. They ask any questions they have at the end of the lesson.

Seventh graders identify the names and features of macroinvertebrates found in Turtle River.  In this ecology lesson students use digital microscopes and take pictures of invertebrates. 

Young scholars develop their own system for classifying a group of objects or organisms using observed similarities and differences. They investigate the process of scientific classification, and explain how marine organisms are...

Students list characteristics and features of animals found in their community. They then group the animals according to how they are similar and different and create names for each group. They then create a chart of their...

Ninth graders explore the characteristics and diversity of mammals, including key adaptations.

Students identify insect (and plant) specimens using the online resource Biokeys. They record the data that they collect in their notebooks. Students use identification characteristics and features that are shared and unique among groups.

Young scholars investigate the concept of the coqui frog of Puerto Rico. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students explain in oral or written form some of the characteristics to that identify the frog. The lesson...