Biology

Filter Resources

The Carbon We See Everyday – The Science of Trader Joe’s

Get ready to take your students on a carbon-powered shopping trip to Trader Joe’s! This lesson on the carbon cycle transforms an everyday grocery store visit into a science adventure, showing how carbon is everywhere—from the veggies in your cart (photosynthesis, anyone?) to the paper bags made from carbon-rich trees, and even in the breath of shoppers exhaling CO2. Through relatable examples, the lesson makes the carbon cycle come to life, linking natural processes like respiration and decomposition to the things we encounter daily. With a lesson plan, student handouts, and a slide deck, you’ll have everything you need to turn your classroom into a carbon-cycle hotspot!

Lesson Plans Biology 6-8th CA GA IN NGSS Aligned TN

View

Virtual Field Trip Lesson on The Carbon Cycle

Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘It’s organic’? It’s a peculiar term in our world. For scientists, it means that the substance is composed of carbon. There’s something remarkable about carbon—it’s neither created nor destroyed. Instead, it’s recycled through our environment as we breathe, as plants conduct photosynthesis, and as bacteria decompose things. This lesson takes us to a local grocery store to teach us how carbon is cycled through the environment. The students will visit the grocery store and explore each stage of the carbon cycle through a 3D virtual world.

Lesson Plans Virtual Reality Biology Life 6-8th CA NGSS Aligned

View

Puerto Rico Virtual Field Trip – Sustainable Recovery

Puerto Rico is one of the most beautiful locations in the world. The island nation has a wealth of natural resources that flourish in an amazing region of the world. A few years ago a devastating hurricane, Hurricane Maria, hit the island of Puerto Rico. It is an amazing case study of Climate Change, Human Ingenuity, and the goal to rebuild a community using principles of sustainability. This lesson with teach the ideas of natural disasters, climate change and human response.

Virtual Reality Biology Physical Science 9-12th NGSS Aligned

View

Making My Own Medicine (Protein Synthesis)

Our capacity to build proteins in our body is an important component of our health. We make protein to serve important purposes in our lives. This lesson examines two very important protein synthesis processes. First, our bodies make Enzymes to help the chemical activities in our bodies. Enzymes speed up chemical reactions and lower the activation energy on chemical processes. Lactase in the enzyme we produce that allows us to process Lactose sugar in milk. This is an important enzyme, but many people have DNA allele patterns that do not allow them to make this protein. Second, antibodies are proteins that fight disease. Both vaccines and our natural response to being exposed to the virus rely on our bodies making proteins to make our own medicine.

Lab Examples Lesson Plans Social Justice Biology 9-12th CA NGSS Aligned

View

COVID 19 – Viruses, Antigens, & Antibodies

The 2020 school year was dramatically cut short due to the global virus pandemic. Viruses have always existed in a number of contexts, but few truly understand how viruses impact our lives. More importantly, our bodies have an embedded system for fighting viruses. This lesson, designed for middle school students, provides students an overview of the basics of viruses and explains how they impact the human body.

Lesson Plans Biology Life 6-8th CA

View

Tanzania – Fighting Climate Change With Safari’s & Reforestation (VR)

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the fight against climate change? Does your mind immediately think about the environmental efforts of African nations? In this lesson, students will learn about the powerful impact of humans on the environment. In Tanzania, scientists have worked on building a better and more sustainable culture. The reason why animals thrive in African safaris is because of the careful work to keep the (abiotic) non-living factors healthy enough to allow the animals to thrive. Additionally, using scientific knowledge to plant trees produces a healthier environment. The basic concepts are Ecosystem, Abiotic vs Biotic factors, Biodiversity, and Reforestation. The lesson includes virtual visits to Safari sites and a Reforestation project.

Lesson Plans Social Justice Virtual Reality Biology Earth & Space 9-12th CA GA IN NGSS Aligned TN

View Download

Redlining & Urban Heat: A Lesson in Climate Change

A recent study from Yale University found that there is a link between redlining and climate change. How could this be? As city planners make decisions about how to organize their cities, the height and density of the buildings, and the color of the rooftops all impact the temperature in the cities. When we combine the fact that urban centers are often places with few trees and thus lower oxygen production, the combination of air quality and heat can cause problems for urban schools.

Lesson Plans Social Justice Biology Earth & Space 9-12th College Science Teaching CA NGSS Aligned

View

Can Redlining Affect Climate Change

Many people know about how redlining, inequitable home buying policies, and its effects on the wealth of people of color. However, few have discussed how redlining has impacted the cities and communities where it historically occurred. A recent study from Yale university documented how poor city planning and redlining policies can be linked. The results are urban heat islands where communities are negative impacted in a number of ways. This lesson teaches the fundamentals of climate change, while allowing students to explore the how public policy also plays a role in climate change.

Lesson Plans Social Justice Biology Earth & Space Physical Science 9-12th CA

View

The Science In The City Book

Teaching science can be a difficult task. It requires a unique understanding of science content, student culture, and language.

Big Ideas Biology Chemistry Physics 6-8th 9-12th K-6th CA

View

Square Bubbles – Surface Tension

Who doesn’t love bubbles! The things with bubbles is that they offer a quick and easy way to view how electrostatic forces impact small interactions. In the bubbles we see, there is an interesting effect, where the maximum distance of the surface tension is a globe. However, have you ever seen bubbles in different shapes. This lesson explores how making square bubbles might be an option.

Lab Examples Lesson Plans Biology Physical Science Physics 6-8th 9-12th CA

View

The Science of Making Slime

Admit it, slime is simply awesome! Kids will make slime at home in their spare time, but what it the science of this uber relaxing materials. This lesson prepares your students to understand how substances engage in the formation of Polymers. The discussions of polymers can start at slime and explore environmental justice. Enjoy this engaging interpretation of slime.

Lab Examples Lesson Plans Biology Chemistry 6-8th 9-12th CA

View

Genetics Through Reebops

Genetics plays an important role in our life. How often have you wondered why someone’s brother or sister looks dramatically different from them? Our genes operate by a set of rules that we should talk about more often. Each parent has genes that split in half, scramble and then replicate. Even after that there are environmental factors that cause the genes to work. This lab uses simply marshmallows to teach this idea.

Lab Examples Lesson Plans Biology 6-8th 9-12th CA GA IN TN

View

Magical Milk Spectroscopy

Milk is mostly water, but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution. Fats and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding solution (the milk).

The secret of the bursting colors is the chemistry of that tiny drop of soap. Dish soap, because of its bipolar characteristics (nonpolar on one end and polar on the other), weakens the chemical bonds that hold the proteins and fats in solution. The soap’s polar, or hydrophilic (water-loving), end dissolves in water, and its hydrophobic (water-fearing) end attaches to a fat globule in the milk. This is when the fun begins.

Lesson Plans Biology 6-8th CA

View

A Cloud In a Bottle

This lesson is a great way to teach young people about gas laws and the water cycle. Using a small bottle and an air pump you can create the air pressure differential that you need to cause water droplets to move from their gas form to the liquid form of a cloud. This simple lab will teach your students to understand the states of water during the water cycle and how air pressure influence that change.

Lab Examples Lesson Plans Biology Chemistry Physical Science K-6th CA

View

The Flint Water Crisis – The Water Cycle

The basic concept of the water cycle can be one that is hard for students to connect to larger sociocultural issues. In helping students set a sense of how the water cycle matters to their lives, this lesson uses the issues of The Flint Water Cycle to help students understand how the water cycle is a vital component in providing clean water for everyone. This lesson includes slides, lesson plans, and handouts to be used for instruction. All of the lessons are available in downloadable and accessible in MS Word and Powerpoint formats that you can adjust.

Lab Examples Lesson Plans Biology 6-8th K-6th CA

View

Privacy Policy