Curated OER
Dinosaurs 1: Where Are the Dinosaurs?
Students study dinosaurs. In this dinosaur lesson, students watch a web based video about dinosaurs before discussing what they liked about the dinosaurs, telling about the sounds they heard, and explaining what the Earth looked like....
Curated OER
Where Has It Been? Tracking the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
By studying the assumed extinction, and subsequent rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, learners use maps and come up with a scenario for the rediscovery of the bird. This incredibly thorough lesson plan is chock-full of...
Curated OER
Fossil Kit I - Lesson Plan
Here is a 14-page lesson plan that deftly outlines a wonderful educational experience for your youngsters. In it, students learn about a variety of animals that have left behind clues of their existence in fossil form. Many excellent...
Curated OER
Endangered Species in the Sonoran Desert
Middle schoolers identify and explain some caused of endangerment and extinction for species as well as explain the effects of extinction on an ecosystem. Teachers use this lesson plan before teaching students about collecting insects or...
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Scientific Inquiry 3
In this lesson, 6th graders research and examine current theories behind the mass extinction of dinosaurs. After a discusion about the extinction of the dinosaurs, students discuss the two major extinction theories talked about in the...
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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 lesson.
Curated OER
Species and Specimens: Exploring Local Biodiversity
Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...
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Desert Plant Detectives
Students examine and categorize plants in their own schoolyard desert garden and then observe other plant areas of their schoolyard.
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The Consequences of Extinction
Students participate in a class discussion on site of an older style bridge to help connect the significance of each organism in an ecosystem by using an analogy of bolts slowly being removed from a working bridge.
Curated OER
Martha Who?
Students explore how the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, a range of temperatures, soil composition. They are...
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Natural Resources: Getting a Fair Share?
Learners explore the impact of human behavior on key components of the environment, examine how theirn own personal decisions have added to the problem, and explore possible solutions to the current ecological crisis.
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Which Animals Should Be Saved?
Fifth graders investigate the concepts related to the endangerment of different animal species. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The skills of prediction are used to show the possible outcome of the extinction of a...
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Primate Classification 2006
Young scholars examine groups of hierarchy and see how primates are categorized. In this primate classification lesson students view video and slides then examine the taxonomy of primates.
California Academy of Science
Conservation Island
Why not walk in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt and become a conservationist? After discussing issues and reasons for animal extinction, the class creates their own conservation plans. Each small group is given mock data regarding a...
California Academy of Science
Banishing Bycatch
Bycatch is a sad reality for many sea turtles, dolphins, and sharks; it occurs when they get unintentionally caught in commercial fishing nets. The class plays a game using popcorn and crackers, each child will attempt to catch the...
Curated OER
Natural Selection
Kids act as scientists and preditors in this short natural selection activity; they collect and analyze data, then apply their new knowledge to real-world examples of natural selection. The layout of the worksheet is easy enough to use...
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Fossil Kit II
Youngsters examine four fossil replicas and chart their time periods, vertebrate or invertebrate, and the names of other organisms living at the same time. A specific fossil kit is available for sale if you do not have the same samples....
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Find the Main Idea: O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
An excerpt from Willa Cather's O Pioneer's! provides learners with practice in finding the main idea and supporting details in a narrative. As readers record the bleak details on the included graphic organizer, they can conclude that...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Dinosaur Bones (Barner)
Dig into some prehistoric vocabulary in Bob Barner's informative book Dinosaur Bones. This works best if you introduce the primitive words before reading the story. These are the focus terms in the text: ancient, climate, extinct,...
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Fossils-Where Should We Place Archaeopteryx?
Students explore an interactive computer activity that provides the opportunity to look at features of various groups of animals and determine where an extinct organism might be classified.
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"Making a Good Impression"
Students are shown how fossils are formed and to learn how extinct organisms lived based on their remains and surroundings. They are shown TAKS review problems on the overhead related to evolution and fossil evidence. Students discuss...
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Ecology: Effects of Land Use on Natural Streams
Eighth graders examine how humans affect various ecosystems. In this ecology lesson, 8th graders discuss different ways that contaminants enter the stream. They explain the consequences of eutrophication in lakes.
Curated OER
Where Have All the Endangered Gone?
Students explore animals that are endangered. They choose an endangered animal that they would like to keep from becoming extinct. Students create a persuasive presentation to persuade someone to understand why they feel keeping their...
Curated OER
Steppin' Out: Using Inquiry to Challente Alexander's Stride Analysis
Students distinguish between walking, jogging and running trackways in humans. They analyze the phylogenetic progression of the leg position as described by pace width and angulation, comparing amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Research...