LABScI
Taxonomy: Who is in My family?
Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...
Curated OER
Sun and Weather
How is the Earth's weather created? Middle schoolers will explain how the Sun's energy is transformed into different forms. They will perform mathematical calculations of volume, mass, and temperature. They they will explain the...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
The Dating Game
Learn about the human's ancestors through the (carbon) Dating Game. Use the script to have your high schoolers act out one round of the game. Once they have the idea, they will research another human ancestor and play a second round the...
Curated OER
Dinosaur Eggs Discovered! Unscrambling the Clues
Just a heads up: this lesson is based on a book, Dinosaur Eggs Discovered! Unscrambling the Clues. If you do not have or do not want to purchase the book, you may still find the other activities and worksheets useful in your earth...
Curated OER
Geologic Age
Learners investigate radioactivity as a tool for measuring geologic time and how geologists use this information to determine the absolute age of rocks or minerals.
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Australian Mammals: Evolutionary Development as a Result of Geographic Isolation
Young scholars comprehend the difference between monotremes, marsupials, and placental mammals. They are able to compare and contrast these organisms (Australian mammals) with other mammals. Students are able to identify Australian...
Curated OER
Niches and Adaptations
Learners present information about a species, its niche, and adaptations. In this lesson on animal environments, students explore how surroundings can affect a given population resulting in adaptation.
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A Dog's Life
Learners get a look into the life of dogs-from their origins and basic biology, through selective breeding, and into how dogs have become intricate parts of everyday life for many people worldwide.
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Candy Bar Subsurface Geology
Students are introduced to drawing and interpreting topographical maps. They each cut through there Jell-o mountain at regular height intervals, and trace around the shape of the Jell-o cut off at the height, overlaying the different...
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 lesson.
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Australian Mammals: Evolultionary Development as a Result of Geographic Isolation
Students examine the differences between monotremes, marsupials, and placental mammals and are able to contrast these organisms with other mammals. They learn about unique variation and the diversity of mammals located in Australia.
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, students identify characteristics, describe environments, and classify the plants that they find.
Curated OER
Half Life Lab
Seventh graders model radioactive decay using pennies, collect data from their model, apply scientific visualization techniques to their data and create animated models explaining the concept of radioactive half-life.
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Dogs & Darwin
Ninth graders construct and conduct a laboratory experiment illustrating the transfer of mutations. They compare and contrast natural selection in organisms with long and short reproductive cycles.
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Birds
Students study birds and examine the idea that they evolved from reptiles or dinosaurs. In this birds lesson students divide into groups and research one side of the debate, then at the end have the students debate each-other.
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Asteroids
Young scholars examine a potential asteroid impact site. They describe evidence and theories for extinction events.
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Hominoid Skull Comparison
Students are provided with evidence used to support evolutionary theory. They are introduced to classification by using primates as an example. Students read article related to Hominoid Skull Comparison and write a summary about the...
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Science: Generating Electricity
Eighth graders examine the various methods of generating electricity and explain their commonalities. They determine what is the most common source of energy and what are the potential environmental health hazards due to electrical...
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Linkages Between Surface Temperature And Tropospheric Ozone
Learners collect and interpret data to make predictions about the levels of ozone in the atmosphere. Using the internet to collect data students use their collected data to create a line graph for analysis. Learners make mathematical...
Curated OER
Date a Rock!
Students figure the number of half-lives since the sample solidified, and therefore the "age" of the sample rocks.
Curated OER
Chromosome Fusion
Students see how patterns can reveal events of the past, thereby merging elements of both experimental and historical science.
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Biology: Natural Selection
Students explore evolutionary processes and theories using the spotted fish applet. They observe what happens to fish in a closed environment with both food and predators. Students run the model several times and answer questions about...
Curated OER
Linkages Between Surface Temperature And Tropospheric Ozone
High schoolers organize and analyze data regarding changes in tropospheric ozone and then hypothesize about the consequences of these changes.
Curated OER
The Chemistry of Coal
Students investigate the chemistry of coal. This lesson serves as a review of conservation of mass, simple reactions and equation balancing. During the lesson, students research chemical components of coal, as well as environmental...