Energy comes in many forms, but how do living things get the energy they need to survive and thrive? In a simple, controlled experiment with yeast, water, and sugar, groups make observations about how yeast reacts with water alone, then...

Students examine vocabulary words that deal with the parts of the body. They identify the body parts and organs associated with the five senses. They identify common illnesses, causes and treatments. They research various lifestyle...

Students navigate and analyze information about the presentation of a disease during a class discussion. They document and share their analysis of information in a class discussion in order to describe a variety of disease origins.

What a festive way to examine what happens to the heart in different gravitational situations! Small groups place a water-filled balloon in different locations (on a table top, in a tub of water, and held in a vertical position), drawing...

Arm your young scientists with knowledge about anatomy as they build their own model of the elbow joint. Help them get a firm grasp on how muscles and bones interact to allow movement as they try different positions for the muscles on...

What is meant by the phrase "form follows function?" Allow your budding biologists to discover first-hand through two activities. In the first, groups work together to discover whether a solid cylinder or an empty cylinder can support...

Eating healthy can be a challenge, especially for people with special dietary needs. After learning about standard nutritional needs for adults, learners take on the role of a dietician and work together to create a menu for one of the...

Take the concept of burning calories to a more literal level in the second of seven lessons about energy in the realm of food and fitness. Using simple materials, groups will burn breakfast cereal and a pecan to see which one gives off...

Lub-dub, lub-dub. Why does the heart beat? Why does blood circulate throughout the body? Life scientists find out how important circulation is for dissolving and dispersing materials by timing how long it takes for food coloring spread...

What better way to study the structures of organisms than by creating a new being? After considering different types of skeletal supports (exoskeleton and endoskeleton), budding biogeneticists work together to create their own animals -...

Young scholars examine hygiene and health practices today. In this health science instructional activity, students research  medieval treatments to ailments common today. They evaluate how effective herbal remedies are in treating...

What better way to learn about muscle than by dissecting one? Using cow muscle (beef), learners compare bundles of yarn to muscle fibers as they explore each. The supplemental reading about astronauts losing muscle mass in space and what...

Between the pull of gravity and the push of air pressure, it's a wonder animals can balance or move at all. With a hands-on lesson about the center of gravity, learners discuss their own experiences with the topic, then work with...

Don't be chicken to try a lesson plan that compares the anatomy of birds to humans. Read the background information so you don't have to wing it when it comes to the anatomy of a chicken. Prepare cooked chicken bones by soaking them in a...

Would a baggie filled with water have the same shape sitting on a table as it would in a bucket of water? Why not? Allow learners to find out first-hand the effects of gravity acting alone on the baggie, as well as when gravity is...

Students focus on advanced technologies used to treat disease impacting the cardiopulmonary system; they then reflect on the experiences of having and overcoming illnesses.

Eighth graders are introduced to the workings of the major systems of the Human Body: circulatory, digestive, respiratory, nervous, skeletal, and endocrine Systems. They learn the major organs of the systems and their functions.

Students observe individual bones that comprise the neck portion of a chicken's backbone. After cleaning the bones of tissue, they examine the dried vertebrae and observe how they are adapted for support and protection.

This is a free middle school science program that supports teachers in the effective instruction of an NGSS-aligned, EQuIP-reviewed body systems curriculum unit. Groups of students will solve a mystery ailment affecting a 13-year-old. A...