Search results for: “Search”
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Data Analysis: Funky Juncos
View a short video about how a group of birds split from the main population and evolved in relative isolation near a college campus. The film is is 88 minutes long and all of its parts can be viewed at the Juncoproject.com, though for this activity, only one 16 minute chapter is viewed. The…
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Data Analysis: Virginia Opossum and Color Variations
Students examine scatter plots that show phenotype variations among opossums in North America, exhibiting variations in coat color, ear length, and size.
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Sheep Heart Dissection
Students use this dissection guide to learn the anatomy of the heart, using a sheep as a model. The sheep heart is similar to a human, and students can identify the major vessels: aorta, pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, and the vena cava. The guide includes instructions on how to determine which side of the heart…
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Data Analysis – Stature and Bone Length
Does the length of a person’s legs and arm bones correlate to the height of the person? The following graph shows a scatterplot of lengths of the humerus, tibia, femur and tibia. Examine the graphs shown below. What CLAIMS can be made to answer the question? Summarize the EVIDENCE shown in the graphs. Develop a…
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Case Study: Can a Virus Cause Diabetes?
This case asks students to examine data on children diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes after reading a short story about a young girl who was losing weight and feeling thirsty. The content looks at a possible connection between diabetes and infection by the coxsackie virus, a virus that is responsible for “hand, foot, and mouth”…
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Article: The Body Farm
This article has been adapted to model standardized test questions students, where the article is divided into columns and each paragraph is labeled with a number. Students are required to find information in the text and analyze text structures. Readers are asked to used context clues to understand difficult vocabulary. Students must also make…
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Lab Report Guidelines and Template
Help students organize a lab report for any experiment, includes basic layout: title, introduction, hypothesis, materials and methods, data, and conclusions.
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Case Study: How Did the Guppy Get His Color?
This case study examines evolution in guppies as evidenced by color variation in populations. It is based on an iconic study performed by John Endler where he collected data on guppies by scoring the size, number, and brightness of spots. Students progress though the slides (lecture and discussion), and examine details of Endler’s study, such as where…
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How to Learn the 12 Cranial Nerves
Learn the 12 cranial nerves with this simple mnemonic and coloring worksheet, appropriate for high school anatomy students.
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Zoobiquity – Review and Discussion Questions
I try to read at least one non-fiction book per year to try to keep myself up to date and inspired with new knowledge and advances in medicine. I have a classroom set of “Stiff” that I require my AP Biology students to read during the unit on anatomy. Recently, in a graduate class…
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Activity: Which Disease Is the Worst?
In this activity, students work in groups to read about different types of diseases and ultimately rank them from the least dangerous to the most dangerous. There is no actual right answer to this, and the cards are designed to foster discussion and provide a basic overview of the types of pathogens that cause…
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Cow Eye Dissection
Students dissect a cow eye as part of a unit on anatomy or the senses. This guide contains step by step instructions on how to cut the eye and identify the major features. Cow eyes can be purchased from Amazon or biology supply companies. You can also use sheep eyes, which are slightly less expensive.…
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Quiz: The Science of Biology
This practice quiz aligns with chapter 1 of biology textbook where concepts such as the nature of science and the scientific method are discussed.
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Endangered Species Project
Students create a publication (website, infographic) to educate their classmates about a specific animal that is on the endangered species list.
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Stickleback Fish – An Evolution Story
Students to examine two lakes and compare the types of fish in each. They learn how lakes form, and why spines may be an advantage for some populations.