Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Horseshoe Crab Fun

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Marine biology masters will meet the horseshoe crab and red knot shore birds that feast upon the crab eggs. Begin with a discussion and then have learners write postcards from each animal detailing their migration trips. A few math...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Are You Doing Here?

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students draw scenes of different environments and create unexpected visitors in those environments. They reinforce their understanding of the characteristics of different environments and the animals that do or do not live in these...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Salton Sea - Live or Die?

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students read and discuss the scientific article attached to the lesson. They compose a letter to the editor citing the importance of preserving an ecological environment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blubber Gloves

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine animal adaptations and how they meet their needs in a variety of environments. They discuss how they might adapt to their own environment before discussing how an animal could adapt. Next, they complete an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interrelationships Within the Marine Community

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders create an electronic story showing the interrelationship of species within the marine environment. They utilize the educational software, 'Destination Ocean' during this engaging lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dr. Green's Rainforest Mystery

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders create a brochure describing all of the information researched about a specific animal. Using this information, create a 3-D model of the animal and its habitat that could later be used to design an appropriate living...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering Local Food Chains

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study about food chains. With the assistance of a local biologist, Students hike the school trail system. They explore ecosystem and collect data by charting the organisms found and identifying the energy source. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is Natural?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Your junior highers will learn about which objects are natural and classify objects as abiotic or biotic. Your class will trace human products to their natural resources using matter cycles and then create their own definition of nature.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecosystems and Remote Sensing

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.
Lesson Plan
Forest Foundation

The Web of Life

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, decomposers. To begin a study of the forest ecosystem, learners examine the connections among the members of ecological communities.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cell Communication

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers clarify common misconceptions about cells. They assess initial knowledge of cells and cell behavior, read and discuss an article and consider the role of cell communication in the diseases of diabetes, multiple sclerosis...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Ain't Nothin' But a Rock Hound

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Here is an excellent lesson on rocks! In it, learners explore the world of rocks through the use of video, hands-on activities, and cooperative projects. This outstanding plan is chock full of terrific activities, websites, streamed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Testing for Life’s Molecules

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Want to hear a joke about sodium? Na. Young scientists test various materials to identify if they include protein, starch, and glucose by using the Biuret test, iodine starch test, and Benedict's test respectively. After practicing with...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Dinner in a Woodland

For Students 5th
After reading a short paragraph about what makes up a woodland habitat, fifth graders attempt to identify the primary consumers, secondary consumers, and third order consumers in two separate food chain scenarios. They also name a hawk's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pesticide Watch Card

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Students examine human health by identifying dangerous pesticides. In this agriculture instructional activity, students research the food production system in the United States and discuss dangers such as pesticides, chemicals and...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Using DNA to Explore Lizard Phylogeny

For Teachers 6th - 12th
In a fun and interactive two-day lesson, learners sort anole lizard pictures by appearance. Next, they watch a video about the anoles and re-sort based on the information in the video. In addition to physical characteristics, budding...
Unit Plan
Rural Science Education Program

Cells, Genetics, and Biotechnology

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
For scholars tired of reading the textbook, this unit includes nine hands-on lessons. Through group work, lab activities, experiments, and even one inquiry-based lesson, scholars apply knowledge about cells, genetics, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ego Trip- Exploring the Inner Workings of the Human Body

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students gain an understanding of how systems and organs in the human body work. They create their own fictional account of a trip through the human body, and describe one response the body makes to stimuli.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cell Wall Recipe: A Lesson on Biofuels

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Biotech engineers discover that changes in the DNA code for cell wall formation can help create crops better suited for biofuel production. They extract DNA from wheat germ. They decode paper strips with codes and relate the activity to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Properties of Clay

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders determine the physical properties of clay by examining ceramic works of art. They evaluate local soil samples for suitability for sculpting and compare clay taken from soil to manufactured clay.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Archeologists For a Day

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students listen to a reading about fossils and go on a hunt for items with fossil characteristics.  In this cross curricular fossil lesson, students will examine their fossil finds and create a graphic organizer.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water, Water Everywhere!

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Learners brainstorm on ways they use water, and where water comes from. They view video, Down the Drain, to gain specific facts about water use, properties of water, problems of water and the water cycle. They perform a lab activity...
Lesson Plan
Forest Foundation

Nature's Treasure Chest

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable. As part of their study of the forest ecosystem, class members read "Nature's Treasure Chest" about the many products made from trees and then craft their own recycled paper.
Unit Plan
Intel

Insects: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What would the world be like with no insects? Ponder this question using a research-based STEM unit that encourages scholars to investigate insects from both a beneficial and hazardous perspective. They learn about insect behaviors,...