Curated OER
Ecology and the St. Lawrence River
Ninth graders complete a unit of lessons on ecosystems, organism interactions, and energy flow. They create a key for known species of fish, diagram the movement of energy through an ecosystem, and create and present food chains and food...
Curated OER
What Do Living Things Have In Common?
Students explore the concept of classification. In this classification instructional activity, students collaborate to create lists of living thing similarities in order to differentiate between living and non-living things. Students...
Curated OER
Living On Earth
Students discover the many different animals within various habitats and discover how each individual species interacts with its particular environment. Through charting different animals and their distinct habitat and matching animals...
Curated OER
Classification of an Echinoderm
Students study starfish through dissection. In this biology lesson plan, students explore the lives of starfish as they view a slide show, observe parts of echinoderms, and compare the classification of the starfish with other...
Curated OER
Exploring the Food and Dining Patterns of Cameroon: Classification Activity
Students practice using new vocabulary on the dining practices of Cameroon. Using classification techniques, they put words into different categories. As a class, they review and discuss the answers.
Curated OER
Classifying Deep-Sea Organisms
Young scientists access the EARTH Web site in order to engage in this lesson life forms found in the ocean. Student groups of 3 - 4 choose one set of deep-sea organism images. The groups decide how they would classify their organisms and...
Alliance Theater
The Jungle Book Post-Show STEAM Lesson
An ecosystem is really just the flow of energy through many different living organisms. A study of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book leads to an environmental science activity in which learners study how various factors can affect...
Curated OER
Mollusk Matching
Young scholars look carefully at shells and observe the differences between
species and the names of common shells. Then they identify and complete a Mollusk Matching handout included in the instructional activity and write the letter of...
Curated OER
Create a Creature
Students design, build, draw, or bake a creature of their choice and present to the class. They write a paper including the creature's habitat, method of getting energy, their creature as a producer or consumer, predator or prey species...
Curated OER
Meet One Picky Bird
Students complete a research project In this endangered species lesson, students use the "Think, Puzzle, Explore" method to learn about endangered species. Students research and write a report on the red-cockaded woodpecker.
Curated OER
Biochemical Placemats
Students group various foods according to whether they are proteins, carbohydrates, or lipids. This activity is a multisensory way of introducing students to biochemistry. Students also learn how icons represent the molecular composition...
Curated OER
Survival
Students identify characteristics of Australia, Africa and Antarctica and compare and contrast them to each other. They work together to identify adaptations that animals have used to survive. They also practice classifying animals.
Curated OER
Animal clues
Fifth graders use general knowledge to make educated guesses about the habitat and survival strategies of animals from Australia, Antarctica and Africa. They research to confirm and check ideas and group animals in a variety of ways.
Curated OER
Insects A-Z!
Alphabet insects! Who has ever heard of such a thing? Get ready because your class is going to research insects that start with a specific letter of the alphabet. In small groups, they'll use the Internet and reference texts to locate...
ARKive
Temperate Rainforest in the Pacific Northwest
Explore the amazing temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. Your class starts by investigating the animals and plants of the Northwest, specifically Washington, and then research an animal population common to the area. In small...
Curated OER
Adaptations
Students identify features of animals that enable survival in particular environments and group animals on the basis of their similarities. They compare and contrast features of groups of animals.
Curated OER
Populations
Students calculate the area of grasslands needed to support a small pride of lions. They also identify food web links in an ecosystem and trace the energy pathways in an ecosystem.
Curated OER
Pheed the World: Edible Phyla
High schoolers discuss the contributions of different organisms to our world. In this biology lesson, students research countries with limited food supply. They create an improvement plan for a fictitious country assigned to them.
Curated OER
Going On A Picnic
Students classify items you would bring on a picnic into different categories. In this sorting lesson plan, students have categories of food, table things, and toys. A simple lesson plan that teaches an important skill.
Curated OER
Five Kingdoms of Living Things
Fifth graders are introduced to the classification system used in Science. In groups, they explain the characteristics of each of the five kingdoms. After watching a video, they review the life processes of each kingdom and complete a...
Curated OER
Impact of Exotic Species on Lake Ecology
Students examine the effect of foreign species on various habitats. In groups, they identify the population dynamics of the zebra mussel. They calculate averages and graph data from Seneca Lake in New York. They develop hypothesis...
Curated OER
Classify the Microbes
Young scholars classify microorganisms into categories based on their characteristics. Pupils use a taxonomic key to identify organisms. They classify certain bacteria, protists, and viruses using a classification or taxonmic key.
Curated OER
Marshland Ecosystem
Students classify animals based on their physical characteristics and eating habits. In this animal identification lesson plan, students investigate the life forms shown on a Parisian ceramic basin, and discover ecosystem the artist was...
Curated OER
Sharing with Others (Private/Religious)
Students appreciate uniqueness and differences by comparing and contrasting fruit. In this differences instructional activity, students study fruits and analyze for similarities and differences. Students sort the fruit into five...