Lesson Plans

General Biology Lesson Plans

General Biology Lesson Plans

Spiders: An Organism for Teaching Biology (by Debora Scheidemantel)
Students explore basic ecology concepts and scientific processes using spiders as model organisms. They will capture spiders, observe and care for them, and use them to answer their own questions about spider behavior. Modeling the process of a research scientist, each team of students will design and conduct their own experiment. Simultaneously, the class will collaborate on joint projects investigating feeding rates of spiders and their importance in controlling the numbers of insects (by conducting a field study on or near school grounds). Designed for both middle and high school students

The Behavior of Ants (by David Shindelman)
Middle school students will use the steps of the Scientific Method to independently develop and test their own ideas through experimentation with ants. Students will take part in a four-part study of the behavior of ants.

Teaching People Plant Collecting (by Dick Barber)
Collecting, preserving and naming plants is a great "hands on" way to introduce students to field biology. By applying the five activities presented here, students will become real scientists. They will use all the steps field biologists use when making a scientific plant collection. Designed for middle school students.

Alien Plant Invasion: A Field Study Project at Saguaro National Park (by Maryann Carpenter)
This unit of lessons is designed to bring scientific process skills and current research into the high school classroom through a field study project at Saguaro National Park West in Tucson, Arizona. The park monitors the organisms that live there in order to allow the natural ecosystems to be preserved for the future. The students will assist park rangers in these efforts while learning and using the scientific method, gaining knowledge about plants, the desert, and population interactions (ecology).

What's Wrong with the Plants? (by Dee Dee Loredo)
This lesson unit is designed for high school biology students who have a working knowledge of plant anatomy and physiology. Students will sharpen their investigative skills as they attempt to determine what is wrong with some unhealthy plants. They will design and (possibly) carry out an investigation to determine possible causes of the plants' sickness. After researching common causes of plant diseases, they will learn more about the cause of the sickness in their own plants.

Drosophila Melanogaster and Mendelian Genetics (by Pete Geiger)
These lessons are designed to teach high school students how to use the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to apply their knowledge of Mendelian genetics. After the students sharpen their observations skills by looking closely at the various life stages of the fly, they set up matings to follow the inheritance of easy to observe dominant and recessive mutations. Tips for the teacher on how to rear and use fruit flies are included.

Ecology of the Sonoran Desert Soil Crusts (by Stephen Murray)
When you walk in the desert and encounter what looks like old asphalt on the ground, that "old asphalt" is most likely a desert soil lichen. This unit for high school students examines what characteristics the lichens share with other living organisms, sharpens students' observation and descriptive skills, and makes students more aware of the desert environment in which they live

Diffusion, Osmosis and Cell Membranes (by John McCandless, Jr.)
Students will explore some of the properties and processes of the cell membrane including permeability, passive transport, equilibrium, diffusion, osmosis, cell tonicity and rates of diffusion. Students will perform a number of laboratory activities intended to lead them to a thorough understanding of the importance of a cell membrane and the physical processes of diffusion and osmosis. Designed for middle and high school students.

Mutualism and Co-evolution (by Roxane J. Johnson)
This unit of lessons is designed for eighth grade science students though could be adapted for students in grades sixth through ninth. It is a unit of lessons that uses a variety of methods and approaches to teach flowering plant biology which includes seed germination; plant growth and food production through photosynthesis; plant transpiration and respiration; sexual reproduction focusing on flower structure, function and cross-pollination. By also studying the structure and function of a variety of plant pollinators, students will easily comprehend the concepts of mutualism and co-evolution.

Extracting and Analyzing Our Own DNA (by Jennifer Vuturo Brady)
These activities are designed to introduce high school students to current molecular biology techniques while building upon their understanding of cytology and genetics. Students will participate in the extraction and agarose gel electrophoresis of their own DNA. They will learn fundamental molecular biology skills and concepts through a series of hands-on laboratory activities. They then apply what they know about DNA profiling and Mendelian genetics to a real case study by interpreting DNA profiles and study behavioral data in order to determine why Harris' hawks form cooperative nesting groups in the Southwest United States.
Neurobiology (by Eric Renfro)ffdgdfsgg
These activities help high school students to understand the basic structures and molecules that allow the nervous system to function through modeling and research. In addition, a behavioral study on insects allows students to examine some of the behaviors governed by the nervous system. All these activities are designed for group work and incorporate students in the design of projects and the assessments.
Sources of Genetic Diversity (by Susan Furr)
A lesson for high school students wishing to learn about the three gentic events that give rise to biological diversity. Requires a good understanding of mitosis, meiosis, chromosome sturcture, homologous chromosomes, fertilization, sexual vs. asexual reproduction, and diploid vs. haploid number.