Columbus City Schools
Asexual and Sexual Reproduction
Can you name a type of reproduction that produces no variation in the offspring? The multimedia lesson covers both sexual and asexual reproduction through videos and discussions. It includes topics such as genetic modification, meiosis,...
Columbus City Schools
Diversity of Living Things
Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have...
Curated OER
Dilworth Elementary Character Education Respect (September)
R-e-s-p-e-c-t, find out what it means to your class! After a grand conversation about what is, and how one can show respect, scholars take part in a plethora of activity choices such as role playing, a game of Simon Says, wood working,...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Natural Selection and the Evolution of Darwin's Finches
Darwin explained the connection between species of finches 150 years before scientists understood DNA. Technology and progressing science proved he was right, yet many struggle to understand how natural selection happens. Scholars use...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Special Friends: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 9)
Enhance language proficiency with a Special Friends themed English language development unit. Each lesson follows a listen, speak, move, and/or look routine that is guaranteed to get your scholars discussing topics such as animal...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Think Positive!
Following an attention-grabbing read-aloud, scholars brainstorm ways they can change negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Small groups plan and perform a skit that showcases one of the new ideas to uplift one's feelings....
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Keep Finding the Positive
Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Patterns in the Distribution of Lactase Persistence
We all drink milk as babies, so why can't we all drink it as adults? Examine the trend in lactase production on the world-wide scale as science scholars analyze and interpret data. Groups create pie charts from the data, place them on a...
American Psychological Association
Using Psychological Perspectives to Answer Questions on Behavior
Perspective is everything when it comes to assessing human behavior. Class members examine a series of statements and identify the perspective represented by each to demonstrate their understanding of different psychological perspectives.
Curated OER
Meet Our Teachers
Learners of all ages interview, record, and photograph teachers and staff at their school. They organize the photo with a soundbite into a PowerPoint presentation. They transcribe the interview and write a response to it.
Curated OER
Special Candy Game
Building a strong classroom community starts with group activities focused on sharing and respect. The class sits in a circle, shares a talent they possess, then tell peers to throw them a piece of candy if they don't have the same...
ARKive
Biodiversity and Evolution – Darwin’s Finches
Teens experience natural selection firsthand (or first beak) in an activity that has them act as finches foraging for food. Using different household items to act as different beak styles, your little finches will collect as much...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture
Got milk? Only two cultures have had it long enough to develop the tolerance of lactose as an adult. Learn how the responsible genes evolved along with the cultures that have been consuming milk. This rich film is supplied with a few...
Curated OER
The Genetics of Parenthood
Students explore the field of genetics. Through a graphing activity, students assess four common traits. They complete a Meiosis I and II charts which represent possible gametes for an individual. Students discuss phenotype and...
Alabama Learning Exchange
President's Day for Special Education/Early Elementary
Young scholars investigate how both Abraham Lincoln and George Washington displayed the trait of honesty. They listen to read alouds of class books and poems that address both the lives of these men and the trait of honesty. They use a...
Curated OER
Gene Puzzles
Learners come to understand that in sexually reproducing organisms, such as humans, typically half of the genes come from each parent.
Students examine a fictional pedigree and determine which gene is responsible for a given trait. The...
Curated OER
"Exploring Shakespeare" An Introduction of Character and "Hamlet"
Students examine the literary terms "round character" and "characterization" through the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare. They view and discuss examples of clip art, video, and comic strips, and describe the character traits. ...
Curated OER
When Heredity Follows Different Rules
In this heredity worksheet, students will create 3 Punnett squares to determine the genotype and phenotype of the offspring from specific breedings. Then students will answer 7 true or false questions based on chromosomes and sex-linked...
Curated OER
Heredity And Environment
Students complete a pre-test on the relationship between heredity and the environment. As a class, they write down descriptions of themselves and identify which traits can be changed and not changed. In groups, they determine which...
Curated OER
It's Genetic--Or Is It?
Students identify examples of the interplay between genes and environment on certain traits and discuss how the Human Genome Project has led to a greater understanding of the role of genes on complex traits.
Curated OER
Classroom Cladogram of Vertebrate/Human Evolution
Middle schoolers build a Colossal Classroom Cladogram of vertebrate evolution. After putting it together, they show the gradual, mosaic accumulation of the traits which we, as humans, possess.
Curated OER
People to Look Up To
Middle schoolers research an assigned person who exemplifies one or more of the following character traits: respect for others, empathy, perseverance, integrity, composure under pressure or responsibility. They assess how a person's...
Curated OER
Character Scrapbook Teacher's Guide
Students analyze a book's characters and create a scrapbook to print and save. In this on line interactive characterization lesson plan, students identify character traits and gain a deeper understanding of a book's characters.