NOAA
Watch the Screen!
Can a sponge cure cancer? Life science pupils visit the drugstore under the sea in the fifth instructional activity of six. Working groups research the topic then get hands-on experience by testing the inhibiting effects of several...
Curated OER
Human Evolution: Biology, Bones
Learners will love a weeks worth of bone study. They use bones and characteristics of bones to explore the evolution of hominoids. Bones are compared, categorized, and considered. A great way to bring physical anthropology and material...
Serendip
Using Molecular and Evolutionary Biology to Understand HIV/AIDS and Treatment
HIV mutates rapidly, making treatments challenging to find. Scholars learn about why it mutates so quickly and how scientists race to find treatments. The resource approaches the issue from both a molecular and evolutionary perspective...
Virginia Department of Education
A Salt Marsh Ecosystem
What a web we weave. Pupils use yarn as the primary resource to create a web depicting the intricacies of a salt marsh ecosystem. They participate in a question and answer session, which leads to an in-depth facilitated discussion...
Curated OER
A Simple Model for Natural Selection
Do you have what it takes to survive as a fit predator or will elusive prey lead to your extinction? Find out in a creative natural selection activity. Using different colors and shapes of grains to represent different species and...
Curated OER
Changes in Nature
The goal of this science lesson is to have youngsters be able to identify the physical and chemical changes in the carbon cycle, and water cycle due to weathering. The in-class inquiry/experiment is quite interesting and easy to...
National Institute of Open Schooling
Coordination Compounds
Cyanide, a coordination compound, is used in the extraction of gold and silver. Part 24 in the series of 36 delves into the world of coordination compounds. Classes learn, through readings, discussions, and answering questions, how to...
Virginia Department of Education
Predator-Prey Simulation
Do your pupils have the misconception that environmental predators are "bad" and harm smaller creatures? The simulation explains, in detail, the important role predators play in maintaining a stable ecosystem. Through web-based research,...
Curated OER
Evolution of the Virus: Teaching Macroevolution Through Microevolution
Students describe the anatomy of a virus. In this biology instructional activity, students compare and contrast the characteristics of bacteria and viruses. They discover the genetic adaptations of viruses over time.
Curated OER
The Creation of an Imaginary Species
Students explore the characteristics that distinguish different forms of animal life on Earth which are the results of natural selection and adaptations to their environment. The creatures are created using a game and then drawn by the...
Curated OER
The Beaks of the Finches
Young scholars become birds and are given "beak-types". After completing the simulation, students relate results to adaptations and natural selection. Extensions of the simulation allow for comparative results and include population...
Curated OER
Mimicry: An Example of Adaptation
Students are able to explain the relationship between adaptation and ability for survival and reproduction. They are able to give examples of a series of adaptations that would support the idea that evolution is a series of minor...
Curated OER
Not Just a Bag of Beans
Students determine the types of natural selection and variation that exists in a population, using beans.
Curated OER
Natural Selection
High schoolers estimate how many different species of organisms inhabit the Earth. In groups, they match the pictures of embryos at the different stages of development. They compare and contrast animals from the sky, land, and water...
Discovery Education
Blueprint for Life
DNA is the code for all biological traits, both plant and animal. Using an exploratory lesson, learners begin to explore the concept of a biological code by decoding word puzzles. They then extract DNA from plant cells using detergent to...
Curated OER
The Evidence for Evolution
Summarize a unit on evolutionary evidence. Learners recount information about the fossil record, molecular record, homologous structures, convergent evolution. This worksheet provides plenty of room for high schoolers to write out...
Curated OER
Population Biology - Biology Teaching Thesis
Students explore the effects of different density-dependent and density-independent factors on population growth. They explore how the interactions of organisms can affect population growth. Students explore the pattern of population...
Curated OER
The Age of Reason and Enlightenment
A presentation that truly covers the age of reason and enlightenment. Nearly every facet, event, and key player in 18th Century Age of Enlightenment is covered. The information is clear, easy to follow, and lends itself well to note...
Curated OER
AP: Chapter 22: Descent with Modification
After taking in part of Darwin's The Origin of Species, advanced biology learners reiterate its themes and concepts. Also examined are the contributions to the theory of evolution made by Linnaeus, Lamarck, and Wallace. Use this...
Lesson Plans
Analogy of the Cell Project
Intended to supplement your existing cell function and organelle lessons, pairs work together to develop a real-world analogy for cell structures. In addition to writing paragraphs about the comparison, each group will make a short...
Curated OER
Health Physics: The Effects of Radiation on Living Things
A mix of scientific details and background information about the well-known sites of radiation attacks or accidents. This topic may open up details that you may consider as sensitive, and could be upsetting to some pupils. This is a...
Curated OER
7th Science Quiz
This seventh grade life science quiz has a professional appearance and well-written multiple-choice questions. However, it seems to cover too broad a variety of biology topics for only 15 questions to fully assess. There is one question...
Curated OER
What Parts of a Plant Do We Eat?
Did you know that tomtoes and cucumbers are actually fruits? Biology or botany beginners read about the function of flowers and fruit and find that some food items commonly called vegetables are, by definition, also fruits! Give learners...
Curated OER
Biology: New Trials & Findings
Students use background knowledge to summarize articles about skin cancer research and present them to the class and place their studies along a clinical study timeline. They are introduced to clincal trails and to various aspects of...