Curated OER
Primary Biological Content Area Covered
Learners use the scientific method to make predictions about mold growth. In this fungus lesson, students use worksheets to help them illustrate predictions and graph mold growth from white to wheat bread. Learners first...
Curated OER
Rotten Truth
Pupils complete activities to study decomposition. In this decomposition instructional activity, students work in pairs to observe a decay buffet experiment. Pupils keep compost bag journals. Students define and discuss the process of...
Curated OER
What's in Our Woods?
Students observe their local forest and document the change that occurs over the school year. For this forestry lesson, students utilize a GPS to mark a certain area of the woods as their study area for the remainder of the year....
Curated OER
Log Hotel
Students identify how the different plants and animals work together to cause the changes in the log. Students discuss the sequence of events in the life of the tree and log. Students plant a seed to take home and care for. Students...
Curated OER
Composting in Schools: Observing Compost Microorganisms
Students explore composting. In this composting lesson, students use compound microscopes to observe the microbial communities in compost. Observations and documentation of changes will occur over the course of several weeks.
Curated OER
Forest Decomposition
Students explore decomposition. Students define and describe components of the decomposition process. Students make a composter in a terrarium. Students record observations and changes weekly, drawing conclusions about the results of...
Curated OER
Pharaoh Mountain Hike: Investigating Adirondack Life Zones
Students hike a local mountain and examine its life zones. They measure various components at each zone and collect leaf litter at the sites. At the mountain top, students make descriptive observations and complete a handout about the...
Prezi
The Six Kingdoms
Why can't dinosaurs clap their hands? Because they no longer exist. The six kingdoms do exist, and through the presentation individuals discover kingdom names, their description, and view photographs of a few samples.
Curated OER
Observing the Development of Drosophila in Apple Juice Agar
Students observe the development of the Drosophila fly. They observe the first two stages - the egg and the 3 larval instars. They observe the culture every day for 8 days using a stereo dissecting microscope.
Curated OER
Hand Washing
Mostly discussion, this lesson explores the importance and methods of hand washing. A few true stories of community illnesses spread by the neglect of washing hands serve as an anticipatory set. The activity is most memorable if you are...
California Academy of Science
Composting: A Scientific Investigation: California Academy of Sciences
Garbage, recycle, compost: Does it really matter where we put our trash once we are done? By making detailed observations over seven weeks, kids will see which materials break down naturally to become a healthy part of the soil, and...
Michigan State University
In Search of Life
Explore the habitats around you with an activity that takes kids out of the classroom to learn about the local variety of habitats and the living things that call them home. In small groups, scholars investigate their surroundings,...
Curated OER
Species and Specimens: Exploring Local Biodiversity
Students practice skills essential to all scientific investigation: carefully observing and collecting data. They become field biologists in a series of hands-on activities to collect and identify specimens, and survey and calculate the...
University of Hawaiʻi
Taxonomy and Me!
Taxonomy is the study of organisms and how you phylum. Three biology activities are included, helping scholars understand four of the six kingdoms, specifically Protista, Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia. Scholars observe and classify in...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Viral Lysis and Budding
How do some viruses spread so quickly, and why do they make us feel terrible? Answer these (and many more) questions through a simple yet impactful lessons. Pupils observe demonstrations that show the two methods viruses use to escape...
Curated OER
Spud Smear
Learners study various samples of microorganisms in petri dishes. In this microorganism lesson, students place various samples of items in petri dishes and observe them after several days of incubation.
Curated OER
The Nature and Science of Technology
Fifth graders practice using the scientific method by observing and creating mold. In this bacteria lesson, 5th graders experiment creating their own mold and fungus using petri dishes and oatmeal. Students create an information table...
Curated OER
Water Molds (Oomycetes)
Students research a group of fungus-like organisms; the Oomycetes, by baiting them from natural sources (water and soil) and observing them.
Curated OER
Bug Detective
What happens when a living thing dies? After reading a paragraph of background knowledge on the life cycle of bugs, third and fourth graders work through four clues to figure out which bug is which. When they finish, they can study the...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Teach Mrs. Jones' Class about Microbes
During a biology lesson, scholars research microbes, design a lesson plan using an outline, and present the lesson to the class.
Curated OER
Chapter 1: The Science of Biology
Provide young biologists with everything they need to excel in the study of lymphatics, the nervous system, hormones, cellular division, and more! Pupils utilize the workbook, complete with end-of-chapter assessment worksheets, to gain...
Curated OER
Moldy Jell-O
Mini mycologists plan an experiment to determine what affects the growth of mold on gelatin. A list of available materials is provided, but the procedure needs to be designed by the lab group. A data table is also provided in which to...
Curated OER
Science and Art Museum
Imagine each one of your learners on task and interested in scientific material. Learners investigate science related art by creating a small museum! Using digital cameras, pupils photograph different scientific actions that look...
Teach Engineering
Breathing Cells
Pairs work together to determine whether unknown solutions are either acids or bases by using a red cabbage indicator solution. After determining the general pH of the unknown solution, classmates blow into the same indicator after...