You can view or download the lessons in html or word files by clicking the appropriate links.
Concept or conceptual understanding:
DNA is the genetic material in organisms. We can extract DNA from tissue using a simple procedure.
Concept or conceptual understanding:
Evolution results from selection acting on existing genetic variation in a population.
Inherited characteristics affect the likelihood of an organism’s survival and reproduction.
Reproductive isolation is necessary for speciation to occur.
Concept or conceptual understanding:
Nonnative species do not occur naturally in an area. Some nonnatives are considered invasive, meaning they can spread into an area and take over in such a way that natives cannot compete with them.
Concept or conceptual understanding:
This activity will reinforce the use of metric system measurements to describe muscle size and shape via modeling joints. Students will trace a second step in biological organization from cells to tissues. The idea of structure and function in muscle will be explored by using models to illustrate musculoskeletal interactions on joints resulting in movement.
Concept or conceptual understanding:
This activity will introduce the concept of diffusion. Students will find out through examination of a muscle cell that in science modeling is a commonly used tool, but often models do not describe the diversity seen in real life. Students will examine the importance of diffusion to cellular function.
Concept or conceptual understanding:
This activity follows the dissection of the eye where students were asked to speculate as to how the various structures work together to provide vision. In this activity, students will explore the physics behind sight and the biology involved, including typical diseases of the eye.
Concept or conceptual understanding:
This activity helps students understand how the shape of molecules determines how the cells themselves function in the circulatory system. Through a gel electrophoresis experiment, the students experience how molecules (in this case, proteins) can be separated out by charge.
Concept or conceptual understanding:
Using eggs and Eloedea as models, students will explore how molecules diffuse across a membrane. They will predict which direction the fluids will diffuse and later explain what happened at the molecular level.
Digging in the dirt (Ecology Lesson 4)
Concept or conceptual understanding):
The students will solidify their understanding of energy pyramids and food webs. They will be introduced to the interconnectedness of soil and aboveground ecosystems.
Invisible Animals (Ecology Lesson 5)
Concept or conceptual understanding:
Students will be introduced to how organisms interact as individuals, populations and communities. Students will be introduced to the idea that every organism has a habitat and niche. Students will solidify their understanding of interconnectedness and be introduced to and calculate some metrics for measuring communities (abundance, species richness, evenness and diversity). Students will collect experimental data and evaluate their hypotheses using graphs and summary statistics.
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The Good, the Bad and the Tattletales: Invasive species, indicator species and symbioses (Ecology Lesson 6)
Concept or conceptual understanding:
Students will understand what makes an indicator species, how and why species become invasive and the basis of symbiotic relationships.
Population Growth and Succession (Ecology Lesson 8)
Concept or conceptual understanding:
Students will learn about population growth and succession. They will be introduced to many examples illustrating factors that affect both.
Earth’s Systems and Climate Change (Ecology Lesson 10)
Concept or conceptual understanding:
Students will be introduced to the “spheres” of earth, the processes they regulate and their interconnectedness. Students will understand the resources that humans use in each sphere and the consequences of our actions in terms of global change for humans and other organisms.
Invasive Species (Requires two 50 minute class periods)
Concept or conceptual understanding:
Nonnative species do not occur naturally in an area. Some nonnatives are considered invasive, meaning they can spread into an area and take over in such a way that natives cannot compete with them
Microarthropod Lab
Exponential Growth Lab
The Carbon Footprint Lab
Design a winning weed
Wind Dispersal Lab