Virginia Department of Education
Organisms in Symbiosis
Searching for an activity that allows emerging biologists to explore symbiosis up close and personal? Pupils collect samples and view lichens through a microscope and conclude with a discussion about the relationship they have with other...
Curated OER
"What Insecit Am I"
Students play the game "What Insect Am I" to explore the parts of an insect and their habitats.
Curated OER
Habitat Collage
Pupils explore habitats. In this science lesson, students discuss habitats and the insects that are found within each habitat. Pupils create a habitat collage.
Curated OER
Life Cycles
Using computers, Students work in small groups and progress through the roles of Explorer, Researcher, Designer, and Evaluator as they study the life cycle of plants, insects, butterflies and frogs.
American Museum of Natural History
What is Biodiversity?
Not all dogs are the same just like not all finches are the same. An interactive online lesson helps individuals learn about the causes and limitations to biodiversity. The clickable sections describe the basics of the genetics of...
Curated OER
Insects and Camouflage
Students create an insect that can be camouflaged in its habitat. They study how camouflage can help insects survive.
Curated OER
A Home for a Cricket
First graders build a habitat for crickets after studying animal survival needs. They care for and observe the crickets in the classroom habitat.
Shmoop
ELA - Literacy.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.6
Key to understanding scientific or technical texts is identifying the underlying question the author is attempting to answer. Provide your young scientists with an opportunity to practice identifying these questions and the procedures...
Curated OER
Manduca
Students investigate the basic survival needs of both hornworms and humans. They compare and contrast the them by making a class list.
Learning for Life
Lesson 7: Stimulants
Make sure your class is aware and informed of the various types of stimulant drugs that exist. Here, they can learn their alternate names and some of their harmful effects. While this is a very basic direct-instructional lesson, the...
Curated OER
Ecosystems
Third graders identify and define an Ecosystem and the basic needs of all animals. They collect pond water in a pickle jar. They observe the organisms that are in the jar to keep an ongoing record of the creatures and their population.
Curated OER
Survival of the Fishes
Students study the aquatic environment in which largemouth bass are able to survive. They participate in a mystery animal activity based on their own basic needs to determine the identity of the largemouth bass.
Curated OER
Monarch Migration
Third graders investigate the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. They experiment with various tools to simulate the mouth parts of insects, conduct research, record their observations of butterflies hatching, write a play, complete...
Curated OER
Butterfly Lifecycles
What a great way to present this topic! While a little difficult to follow, this lesson provides great ideas for a second grade lesson involving butterfly lifecycles. Learners make drawings of butterflies, discuss life cycles, and write...
Curated OER
The Peppermint Beetle
Learners describe various ways insects use their sense of smell, and examine why some insects use scent marking. They conduct a scent hunt, searching for a particular scent on the trees on school grounds.
Curated OER
Insects: Grasshoppers
Students examine grasshoppers as they practice following instructions. In this biology lesson plan, students identify the characteristics of grasshoppers and the functions of grasshoppers' external body parts.
Curated OER
Genetic Disorders with Cultural Roots: International Insects
Pupils recognize that certain populations have specific genetic disorders that could benefit or harm them in their environment, work out punnett square problems and infer offspring probabilities from results, and provide advantages and...
Cornell University
Weed IPM
Go on a weed hunt! Scholars gain insight into the characteristics of plants and examine the outdoor environment in order to identify five different types of weeds. Learners then show what they know with a one-page reflection.
Curated OER
Going Buggy!
Pupils study bugs over a four week period. For this insect collection of activities, students observe insects covering basic science concepts and skills, such as classification, observation, and responses to habitat. Pupils develop a...
Curated OER
Grasshopper Mark and Recapture (GMR)
Students estimate the density of a population of insects (grasshoppers) at a given life cycle stage in a given type of habitat.
Curated OER
Life-Cycle Sleuth
Students analyze an animal's life cycle and behaviors, and examine what animals need to stay alive and reproduce. They develop theories and hypotheses about the reasons for migrations, using the Journey North online project.
Chymist
Landfills and Recycling
Examine the nature of landfills through experimentation. Scholars build miniature landfills and monitor changes over a six-week period. Observations allow individuals to draw conclusions about the different types of trash and their...
Curated OER
Elementary Animal Classification
Students investigate eight basic animal groups, and identify the different groups through knowledge of animal characteristics, changes, and life cycles of each group.