"The site provides an informal on-line course covering essential science content, as well as a searchable database of resources for the classroom."
*Evolution 101!
*Teaching Evolution
*Learn Evolution
Spiders are endlessly fascinating and a great school subject because they offer plenty of teachable topics that span the curriculum. We've tried to provide some of those topics here in these lessons, as for all their amazing physical features and unusual habits, spiders, with just a few notable exceptions, pose little threat to humans and are creatures deserving of understanding and respect. It's our hope that, as you work through the activities, your students will gain a new appreciation for spiders.
Developed for second grade. Students will use skills in hypothesizing, making educated guesses, and prior knowledge to access what kind of light will work best when taking pictures underwater. The students will be asked to look at a piece of fabric portraying an ocean scene with water and fish. After looking at the fabric with white light, students will be asked to look at the same fabric using three colored filters (red, green, and blue) and three different colors of light (red, green, and blue). The students will then be asked to decide which filters and colored lights work best with one another, and which ones should not be used when diving underwater to look at fish. Since the fabric portrays the fish in an orange-red color with the water being a darker blue, the red light is going to illuminate the fish, causing them to stick out from the background. The blue and green lights are going to make it difficult to see the fish. When combining the blue light and blue filter, the ocean scene is going to look dark and this is the same with the green light and the green filter. This experiment allows students to be actively involved, while forming educated guesses as to what they expect to see when using each of the different filters and colored lights.Biology In Elementary Schools is a Saint Michael's College student project. The teaching ideas on this page have been found, refined, and developed by students in a college-level course on the teaching of biology at the elementary level. Unless otherwise noted, the lesson plans have been tried at least once by students from our partner schools. This wiki has been established to share ideas about teaching biology in elementary schools. The motivation behind the creation of this page is twofold: 1. to provide an outlet for the teaching ideas of a group of college educators participating in a workshop-style course; 2. to provide a space where anyone else interested in this topic can place their ideas.
This lab-based course covers the foundational principles of modern life science as outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). It also includes approximately a third of the Earth and Space Science standards, primarily those connected to environmental science and ecology. The course emphasizes all three dimensions of the NGSS, with special attention to the crosscutting concepts of Patterns and Energy and Matter. Additionally, scientific inquiry and engineering design practices are emphasized throughout the course. The course is designed to follow a chemistry course and so builds on student understandings of molecules as they explore the biomolecular underpinnings of life's functions, the evolution of life, and the interactions of life in ecosystems. Technological, historical, political, and environmental aspects of biology will also be addressed. Critical thinking, data analysis, and argumentation from evidence are also emphasized.
Anchoring Phenomenon: A baby is born and seems perfectly healthy, but after a few days starts to exhibit strange symptoms that could lead to physical impairment or even death. What is causing the problem? Can the baby be saved? Unit Essential Question: How and why do cells make the molecules they need and get rid of the molecules they don’t need? What happens if steps in this process aren’t working?
For this unit plan, see the old unit calendar (link on left sidebar, click ALT3 tab at the bottom). Once we update this unit to the new Doc template, we will post it here. This is now unit 3, but it used to be unit 2 (we will update file and folder numbering as we continue to revise the units). Thanks for your patience as we work hard this year to update all of the materials to the new unit template and unit/standards arrangements.
Anchoring Phenomenon: Identical twins have the same DNA yet one was diagnosed with breast cancer and the other was not?? One about diabetes? Unit Essential Question: Why are some people diagnosed with diabetes and breast cancer while others are not?
For this unit plan, see the old unit calendar (link on left sidebar, click ALT5 tab at the bottom). Once we update this unit to the new Doc template, we will post it here. This is now unit 5, but it used to be unit 6 (we will update file and folder numbering as we continue to revise the units). Thanks for your patience as we work hard this year to update all of the materials to the new unit template and unit/standards arrangements.
This unit is under construction and should be ready by January 2019. Some of the materials for this unit will be taken from the former Unit 4 (Ecosystems Matter and Energy) but will also contain new material. Here is some of the source material that will be in the new unit when we get to it.
For this unit plan, see the old unit calendar (link on left sidebar, click ALT7 tab at the bottom). Once we update this unit to the new Doc template, we will post it here. This is now unit 7, but it used to be unit 4 (we will update file and folder numbering as we continue to revise the units). Thanks for your patience as we work hard this year to update all of the materials to the new unit template and unit/standards arrangements.
Flipgrid is now called Flip.
"Take your learners on an adventure with Flip Live Events without ever leaving the comfort of your classroom, home, or wherever you learn! These virtual field trips feature authors, scientists, humanitarians, and creators sharing their passions from all over the world, even from the bottom of the sea!"
Register for an upcoming Live Events.
Many options available on demand.
Students explore the response of springs to forces as a way to begin to understand elastic solid behavior. They gain experience in data collection, spring constant calculation, and comparison and interpretation of graphs and material properties to elucidate material behavior. Conduct this activity before proceeding to the associated lesson.
Students learn about homeostasis and create models by constructing simple feedback systems using Arduino boards, temperature sensors, LEDs and Arduino code. Starting with pre-written code, students instruct LEDs to activate in response to the sensor detecting a certain temperature range. They determine appropriate temperature ranges and alter the code accordingly. When the temperature range is exceeded, a fan is engaged in order to achieve a cooling effect. In this way, the principle of homeostasis is demonstrated. To conclude, students write summary paragraphs relating their models to biological homeostasis.
Hank introduces us to one of the most diverse and important families in the tree of life - the vascular plants. These plants have found tremendous success and the their secret is also their defining trait: conductive tissues that can take food and water from one part of a plant to another part. Though it sounds simple, the ability to move nutrients and water from one part of an organism to another was a evolutionary breakthrough for vascular plants, allowing them to grow exponentially larger, store food for lean times, and develop features that allowed them to spread farther and faster. Plants dominated the earth long before animals even showed up, and even today hold the world records for the largest, most massive, and oldest organisms on the planet.
This site provides everything you need to do a virtual fetal pig dissection.
All the systems are covered and there are even quizzes.
Dissect a frog without the mess!
More info here: http://froggy.lbl.gov/ (copy and paste to use)
Take on the role of the Surgeon throughout a hip resurfacing surgery!
In the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) simulation you will be thrown right into a crime scene where a murder has taken place. To investigate the crime scene your first task is to collect blood samples in the hope that the murderer has left traces of their DNA.
Analyze DNA
After sampling you will go to the lab to isolate and analyze the sample of DNA you collected. By using a PCR kit, a thermocycler, and the purified DNA from the crime scene, it is up to you to mix the correct reagents and perform the PCR experiment.
See the structure of DNA and its replication up close
A 3D animation will show the PCR experiment at the molecular level, illustrating the structure of DNA and its replication. Quiz questions will be asked throughout the experimental process, as well as at specific steps of the PCR itself.
Identify the murderer
In the PCR simulation, you will your collected sample and other prepared samples from the suspects on a gel, and then compare the patterns that emerge.
Will you be able to identify the murderer?
The concept of water activity is important to food preservation. When water activity is less than 0.6, almost all microbes, including bacteria, molds, and yeasts, stop growing. Vegetables are usually dried even further, to water activity of 0.3 or 0.2, for quality and storage. Virtual Labs – Controlling Water Activity in Food explores a traditional method of preserving corn by drying. In this virtual laboratory, learners test water activity levels of dried corn and explore how they change under three different storage environments. The interactive animation guides users through the theory and practice of sampling a food product, using a water activity meter, and setting up replicates, to build familiarity with concepts and procedures used in real food science labs. Before beginning this lab, it may be useful to complete Virtual Labs – Understanding Water Activity.