Lesson Plan
Pennsylvania Department of Education

Animal Classes and Their Ecosystems

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars explore animal characteristics by participating in an environment identification activity. In this animal habitat lesson, students discuss a range of different wild life and the ecosystems that they are a part of. Young...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Kind of Insect is That?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders characterize insects and classify insects according to the Linnaean system. They use hand lenses or microscopes to examine insect body parts.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Case Study Two: Shark Dissection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read an article on sharks prior to beginning a dissection lab. As part of the lab, students identify differences between the shark anatomy and human anatomy and hypothesize why those differences exist.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Food Safety Unit Exam 1

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students complete seventeen question test about food safety which includes matching vocabulary terms, short answer questions and fill in the blank questions. Test is part of the Food Safety Unit produced by the College of Agricultural...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigation of Meiosis in Common Plants and Animals

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students witness various stages of mitosis through preparing onion root tip slides. With teacher guidance, they learn a great deal through the hands-on process of preparing the slides themselves.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction To Insect & Spider Body Parts

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers inspect several different specimens of insects and spiders to determine characteristics that are similar and different between the two groups. They identify the basic body structure of spiders and insects and then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Have Or Not To Have Oxygen (Part I - Fermentation)

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students explore the fermentation process. In this biology lesson plan, students describe the process of glycolysis and infer the reactants and products of fermentation.
Worksheet
Curated OER

The History of Life

For Students 9th - 12th
In this origin of life worksheet, students will review the different theories on how life originated on the Earth including the experiments conducted by Louis Pastuer, Francesco Redi, and Miller and Urey. Students will complete 14 fill...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pollen Tube Growth

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students demonstrate the proper usage of the compound and dissecting microscopes. They identify the parts of a flower and the functions of the flower parts. Students describe the process of gamete formation and fertilization in a flower.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mountain Pine Beetle

For Teachers 1st - 7th
Students identify the different parts of a tree. For this biology lesson, students investigate how mountain pine beetles kill trees. They examine the beetles' anatomy using a microscope.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Microbes Help Ecosystems

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders observe different microorganisms under the microscope. In this biology activity, 6th graders draw and describe the samples they see. They study the root nodules of plants and explain how the plants benefit from those bacteria.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tree Friends

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students are introduced to tree structure and use. They identify their special tree using all senses except sight. Students identify six different internal parts within a cross section of tree trunk (bark, phloem, xylem, cambium,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applied Science - Science and Math Post Lab

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Learners construct paper. For this applied Science lesson, students create paper using lint. Learners investigate the different fibers in their homes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Microscopy Exercises

For Teachers 2nd - 7th
Students explore organisms and botany by utilizing microscopes. In this microscopic research lesson, students define many plant and organism related vocabulary terms such as conifers, moss and spores. Students view spores and other...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Particulate Observation Lab

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students collect samples of common dust from their homes and school for examination under a microscope. They identify the components of their samples using the provided "Atlas of Indoor Dust Particles." Pupils take samples form a variety...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Onion Cells

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students observe the cells of an onion by wet mounting it and viewing it in a microscope.  In this hands on lesson students make their own wet mount slide of an onion and are able to identify the cells in it such as, the nucleus,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigation Xylem

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars investigate how water travels up the stem of vascular plants by using food coloring to stain the xylem of a number of different plants. They know the function of leaves, stems, and root at the end of the experiment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cell Structure and Function

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify the main ideas of different cell theories. Using a microscope, they compare and contrast the structures and functions of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. They also compare and contrast animal and plant cells and complete...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Technology and the Human Eye

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders compare technology and the human eye. In this science lesson, 5th graders label the parts of the human eye and trace the path of light as it travels through the eye.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing Light Bulbs

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders compare filaments in different light bulbs. In this science lesson, 5th graders view the filaments of light bulbs under a microscope.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Neuron Anatomy Comparison

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create a scale model of a motor neuron that is two hundred times larger than the actual neuron. They identify the structures of a neuron and observe neurons under the microscope then use a worksheet to convert actual sizes into...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Invisible Life

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
By setting up an aquarium in the classroom, learners are able to describe some macroscopic and microscopic organisms that are found inside. This well-designed, and educationally rich lesson requires pupils to use microscopes to view...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shells on the Mountain Top?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners work in groups to remove fossils from sediments, classifying as many organisms and parts of organisms as possible into major groups. They study the data from each formation and make conclusions about the types of organisms and...
Lesson Plan
University of Hawaiʻi

Taxonomy and Me!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...