Teaching Conservation

This WebQuest uses an awesome interactive website to take students through the tragic events and aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. They will learn about how the oil spread through the water, different techniques that were used to clean up the spill, and the everlasting effects on the ecosystems and organisms of the Gulf. Perfect for self-guided learning, sub days, virtual days, or an in-class assignment. The questions could also be split up into separ

This WebQuest uses one awesome website to take students through questions about 6 aquatic biomes: Rivers & Streams, Ponds & Lakes, Wetlands, Shorelines, Temperate Oceans, and Tropical Oceans. It can be used alone, or in conjunction with my Land Biomes WebQuest (same website - keep it simple!). Perfect assignment for student-led learning; sub days, virtual learning days, etc. Depending on your online platform, the way you collect student responses may be different. For my kids, I created 6 "t

The peppered moth is a classic example of natural selection. This interactive/CER activity provides background information about the moths, the Industrial Revolution, and the experiments that Dr. Kettlewell carried out to examine the changes observed in the moth population in England. Students will navigate through a simple and informative website that culminates in playing a fun moth-capturing game. The game will provide students with their own evidence of change due to natural selection. The

Welcome to your NO-PREP lab activity that will get your students up and moving, practicing the steps of the scientific method, and writing a CER (claim evidence reasoning) conclusion! In this lab, students will answer the question "What is the effect of activity level on heart rate?" I use it with my ESOL Biology classes but really it could work with any science class in which you are covering scientific method and CER. All you will need to do is make copies of the lab sheet, and make sure the k

This WebQuest uses one awesome website to take students through questions about 6 land biomes: Rainforest, Tundra, Taiga, Desert, Temperate Deciduous Forest, and Grassland. The questions focus on climate (precipitation and temperature), soil conditions, and plant/animal adaptations. I also have another WebQuest covering the aquatic biomes. It uses the same website to keep it simple! Perfect assignment for student-led learning; sub days, virtual learning days, etc. Depending on your online platfo

FUN activity to either introduce or practice CER (claim-evidence-reasoning) OR observations vs. inferences! Little "space invaders" will take over your classroom, and your students will make observations (gather evidence) and then write claims/inferences based on what they see. Individual or group-friendly! Yes, this does take *a little* prep on your part to set up your space invaders (I suggest using pipe cleaners but you could use whatever materials you would like...different color paper cut-o

This is the perfect SIMPLE osmosis lab/demo for your students to observe osmosis, think about what is happening, and successfully write a CER (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning)! I love it because it is easy and it works. It does require a little prep (cutting up a potato and gathering some lab materials), but it will be worth it! The lab as it is written reviews the basics of diffusion, osmosis, and tonicity. You could use it as a starting point or addition to more detailed instruction on these topics,

This Energy Pyramid Poster Project allows students to explore energy transfer between organisms in a real ecosystem using the iNaturalist website. Multiple versions are included- you can use the same Georgia ecosystems that I use (Jekyll Island, Blue Ridge Mountains, city of Atlanta, Chattahoochee River, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge - direct links are included), or you can have students explore different ecosystems that you/they choose (instructions for searching for different ecosystems a

Use acrostic poems to review or assess student learning on climate change! This document includes printable legal-sized acrostic poem templates for your students to fill in. There are 5 phrases: Climate Change, Global Warming, Carbon Dioxide, Greenhouse gas, and Human Impact. You can let students decide which phrase to use for their acrostic, or you can choose to focus on just one of them! Each phrase comes in 4 different fonts to choose from, for a total of 20 pages. I usually use this as a re