Curated OER
Mark, Recapture, Sampling
Learners conduct a simulation to explore how scientists estimate the size of animal populations. They analyze a random sample and then extrapolate those results to a larger population. Additionally, they will apply the principals of...
Curated OER
Counting Animal Populations
Students learn how to count animal populations by the Mark and Recapture method. In this counting animal populations lesson plan, students begin by predicting amounts of different candies in a jar. Students then simulate using beans, two...
Curated OER
Go Fish
Help learners discover methods to estimate animal population. They will participate in a simulation of catching and tagging fish in order to estimate the fish population. They scoop and count goldfish crackers, record data, and use...
National Wildlife Federation
How Many Bison?
Math and science to the rescue! Some basic math concepts help scientists predict wildlife populations. Using tokens, groups simulate tagging a wildlife population. They then use proportions to estimate the population of the wildlife.
Curated OER
Ecology: Factors Influencing Animal Populations
Learners assess the factors affecting animal populations. Working in groups they define specific vocabulary terms and complete several activities from "Project Wild."
Curated OER
Clay Hill Animal Sampling
Students create animal print casts from molds in the classroom. They use the cast patterns to identify animal prints on a field trip in which they locate animal tracks, identify the location with GPS and create field casts of the...
Curated OER
Wildlife Sampling
Seventh graders use paper bags and crackers to simulate a wildlife sampling of salmon. They record data on spreadsheets and determine a formula to estimate salmon populations.
Curated OER
An Interdisciplinary Deer and Human Population Study
Students answer the question, "What environmental problems arise due to animal and human overpopulation and what might need to be done to combat these problems?" They play games, graph data and write proposals about the question.
Curated OER
How Many Animals?
Students use their math skills to develop estimates for the population of several animal species native to the Austrailian rainforest. It is a simulation that researchers at the Center for Rainforest Studies in Australia perform to...
Curated OER
Teaching Kids about the Environment
Fifth graders identify the species of plants and animals found in an environment. They compare these findings to plant and animal species found in an unlike environment. Students acquire and compare soil samples from the two sites chosen.
Curated OER
Beetle Collection and Release
Students investigate plants and compare them to the purple loose strife. As they observe the plants they predict possible impacts on plant populations based on their observations. They work in groups and present their findings to the class.
Curated OER
How Many Bears in the Forest?
Third graders model the tag and recapture of bears and use proportions to estimate the population of the bears in their forest. This is a statistical sampling method used by scientists and naturalists to determine population numbers.
Curated OER
School Forest
Sixth graders explore the concept of biodiversity. In this biodiversity lesson, 6th graders discover a variety of planets and animals that live in forests, and how a rotting log benefits that environment. Students also locate...
Curated OER
Wildlife Burrows
Burrowing animals are busy! Get your middle school ecologists busy as well by having them create a scale model of a burrowing population. They also design a PowerPoint or poster to explain their models.
Curated OER
Rapid Ecological Assessments
Students conduct an ecological assessment of a small area on school property. They inventory plant and animal life of a sample area and make calculations to determine implications for a larger area.
Curated OER
From Restriction Maps to Cladograms
Biology aces analyze restriction maps to determine the relationships among different primate species and then complete a cladogram. Preface this instructional activity with an explanation of how restriction enzymes are used to create the...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Got Lactase? The Co-Evolution of Genes and Culture
Does the human body evolve as quickly as human culture? With a stellar 15-minute video, explore the trait of lactose intolerance. Only about 1/3 of human adults seem to still have the enzyme lactase and therefore, the ability to digest...
Curated OER
Rapid Ecological Assessment
Pupils conduct an ecological assessment of a small area on school property and apply findings to the greater area. They inventory the plant and animal population of a sample area and extrapolate results to a larger area.
Curated OER
Red Tail Ridge Wetland Study Project
Fifth graders use a real life scenario of the wetlands to gather information on creatures of the habitat. In this wetlands lesson plan, 5th graders research the interdependence of organisms in a healthy habitat. Students collected...
Curated OER
Life in a Drop of Water
High schoolers examine the structure, function, and characteristics of microscopic organisms that inhabit freshwater through collection of water samples and observation through microscopes.
Curated OER
Monitoring Life In The Rocky Intertidal Ecosystem
Students investigate marine life by researching aquatic organisms on the Internet. In this oceanography lesson, students monitor algae and animals of the ocean by identifying their population and habitat on data sheet ID cards. Students...
Curated OER
Down, Dung and Dirty
Students investigate the stages of succession in animal dung communities. They create a dung culture using fresh cow, goat or horse dung then record data on the fungal species that appear over a two week period.
Curated OER
Migration Woes
Students are able to describe the reproductive cycle of the gopher frog. They are able to describe the impacts of habitat loss and degradtion on gopher frog populations. Students are explained that many factors limit the survival of...
Curated OER
How Big is a Dinosaur?
Fourth graders create enlarged replica of a stegosaurus drawing, using a grid to practice coordinates.