Title: Each activity title is designed to be catchy yet tied to the activity's main theme. When shared with your students, the title should evoke a sense of interest and slight mystery that begins to motivate them.

Section: Each BAM! teacher activity series corresponds to a theme found on the overall BAM! site.

Investigative Question(s): The investigative questions are those ideas that your students should be able to speak to after completing the activity. They are not designed primarily to be answered directly by your students, although you may choose to use them in this way. These questions also express the activity's purpose.

Description of Content: This section provides an overview of the activity, including key concepts that are based on the best educational and scientific knowledge of the topic.

Relevant Standards: This section describes which portions of the National Science Education Standards, Benchmarks for Science Literacy, and the National Health Education Standards the activity addresses.

Objectives: These are instructional objectives directly oriented toward the activity and connected with assessment exercises at the end of the activity.

Ideas and Behaviors Common Among Students: This section provides a review of the literature on students' pre-existing ideas about the activity content. In some cases, these ideas represent deeply embedded misconceptions that must be confronted as a part of meaningful learning of the activity content.

Materials: This section lists the materials needed for individual students, groups of students, or for the entire class. The section includes both equipment as well as consumable supplies.

Safety: In order to protect students during active class work, this section provides clear suggestions and cautions to conduct the activity safely.

Teacher Background: This section provides background information on the concepts the activity addresses to help you prepare to conduct the activity with your students.

Procedure: This section provides detailed descriptions of how to conduct the activity, as well as time estimates for completing each section. In addition, the procedures are oriented around a 5-E Learning Cycle: (a) Engagement, such that student interest is captured, (b) Exploration, such that students have the chance to develop first-hand perceptions of the activity concepts, (c) Explanation, such that the teacher has the opportunity to collect those student perceptions and focus them on the appropriate lesson content, (d) Elaboration, such that students have the opportunity to apply their now -focused knowledge in a new context, and (e) Evaluation, such that the level of student content mastery can be determined. Some activities also include an Extension section with ideas for taking the concepts learned in the main activity further.

Performance Descriptors: This section provides analysis questions and evaluation rubrics to guide student evaluation.

Web Resources: This section lists and describes suggested websites that provide additional instructional support.

Text Correlations: Where possible or appropriate, suggested correlations to commonly used science or health textbooks are provided.