Next Generation Science Storylines
Why Don't Antibiotics Work Like They Used To?
Bacteria get more resistant to antibiotics every year. Learn the reason for this pattern and how scientists are addressing the problem in a six-week unit. Learners analyze different types of bacteria and their adaptations.
Curated OER
The Debate Over Teaching Intelligent Design
High schoolers explain the current nationwide debate regarding the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution in public schools. They examine the content of the debate and then analyze and critique the merits and flaws of both...
Curated OER
The Meaning of Genetic Variation
Students investigate variation in the beta globin gene by identifying base changes that do and do not alter function, and by using several Internet-based resources to consider the significance in different environments of the base...
Curated OER
The Ultimate Predator
Students listen to a lecture by the teacher about the "Ultimate Predator." They design a new "Ultimate Predator." Students present their creations to the class and attempt to convince their classmates that their predator is indeed the...
Curated OER
Comparing Microscopic Organisms in Fresh and Polluted Water: An Invitation To Inquiry
Learners have the opportunity to develop and formulate ideas and explanations through the scientific standard of inquiry. They identify organisms by using an identification key for specific aquatic geographical area.
Curated OER
Superbugs and Antibiotic Resistance
Students complete experiments on antibiotics and antimicrobials. In groups, they explain how antibiotics affect the evolution of microorganisms. They test various types of bacteria to discover how much resistance they have to antibiotics.
Curated OER
Why do we need Vitamin C in our diet? Or Why do we carry old inactive genes in our genome?
Students explore and explain how mutations in the DNA sequence of a gene may be silent or result in phenotypic change in an organism and in its offspring. They analyze how evolution and biodiversity are the result of genetic changes that...
Curated OER
Darwin’s Bees
What do you call a bee born in May? A maybe! This first instructional activity in a series of four begins with a starter activity to get scholars thinking about the topic. Then a circus, or circuit of seven activities,...
Curated OER
Contrivances: Orchids and the Panda's Thumb
Middle schoolers read and discuss selected and edited excerpts from the essays of Stephen Jay Gould on the subject of contrivances.
Curated OER
What's In A Name?
Students create a binomial system of nomenclature for classifying organisms they encounter in a field trip to a natural history museum or from pictures in library books. They work in small groups to create accurate drawings and place...
Michigan Sea Grant
Fish Identification
Using a dichotomous key, pupils identify characteristics of fish who live in the Great Lakes and explain how these features help them survive. In small groups, class members discover what features scientists consider important and...
Curated OER
Creative Ways To Teach Evolutionary Concepts
Research how DNA, the genetic blueprint of living organisms, plays an essential role in the continuity of life. High schoolers will summarize how their influence may very well effect the destiny of the population from one generation to...
Western Kentucky University
Understanding Genetics: Punnett Squares
Can scientists really predict genetic outcomes or are they simply making a lucky guess? Scholars first learn about Gregor Mendel and how to make Punnett squares. Then they extract DNA from a strawberry in a lab with included conclusion...
Serendip
Using Molecular and Evolutionary Biology to Understand HIV/AIDS and Treatment
HIV mutates rapidly, making treatments challenging to find. Scholars learn about why it mutates so quickly and how scientists race to find treatments. The resource approaches the issue from both a molecular and evolutionary perspective...
Curated OER
Sizing Up the Supersize Croc
Young scholars examine and compare traits of humans and crocodiles. In this crocodile lesson plan students use a ratio to estimate the height of a person and compare that to a crocodile.
Curated OER
Case of the Threespine Stickleback
Students examine why some freshwater populations of stickleback fish. In this macroevolution lesson students read a study packet then answer questions.
Curated OER
Superbugs: An Evolving Concern
Young scholars investigate the growth of bacteria in the presence of antibiotics. They write a hypothesis, conduct an experiment to test their hypothesis, analyze the results of their bacterial growth experiment, and describe the...
Curated OER
Mammals: Mammals and Their Ways
Students study the difference between innate and learned behaviors. They observe the adaptations and behaviors of mammals in this series of lessons.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Botany Scavenger Hunt Where's the Ginkgo?
Learners use a science journal to log plants that are native to Alabama. In this plant lesson plan, learners identify characteristics, describe environments, and classify the plants that they find.
Curated OER
Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Students create a dinosaur egg with balloons and newspaper. In this earth science lesson plan, students explore the extinction of dinosaurs. Students view a web clip and relate it to the extinction of animals they have never...
Curated OER
Species Diversity and Phylogeny
Students explore the classification system of organisms: taxonomy. They examine prepared slides of Protozoans and record information on a Taxonomy Recording Sheet. Two additional classifying activities are also included in this...
Curated OER
Darwin Day
In this Darwin Day worksheet, students read or listen to a tape passage about Charles Darwin, then match phrases, fill in the blanks, choose words, unscramble words and sentences, put sentences in order, write discussion questions and...
Curated OER
Birds Learning Cycle Lesson Plan
Ninth graders explore the various adaptations of birds and compare differences and similarities of different birds.
Curated OER
Biology Chapter 15 Word Search Puzzle
In this biology worksheet, learners look for the words that are related to the theme of the worksheet. They also work on the skills of spelling and word recognition.