CK-12’s Life Science delivers a full course of study in the life sciences for the middle school student, relating an understanding of the history, disciplines, tools, and modern techniques of science to the exploration of cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, evolution, prokaryotes, protists,fungi, plants, animals, invertebrates, vertebrates, human biology, and ecology. This digital textbook was reviewed for its alignment with California content standards.

CK-12’s Life Science delivers a full course of study in the life sciences for the middle school student, relating an understanding of the history, disciplines, tools, and modern techniques of science to the exploration of cell biology, genetics, evolution, prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, the animal kingdom, the human body, and ecology. This digital textbook was reviewed for its alignment with California content standards.

After exploring the “Case of the Disappearing Log,” students will probably never look at a log the same way again. In this activity, students assume the roles of detectives faced with a nature mystery. First, they explore a decomposing log and look for evidence of how the log is changing. They make possible explanations for what might be causing log to disappear. Students then learn about common “suspects”—organisms that decompose wood—and the signature evidence they each leave behind. Students use a Disappearing Log Key to identify which organisms might have left behind which evidence, and use this information to make explanations about what has happened to the log since it was a tree. Finally, students learn that the log isn’t really disappearing, it’s turning into the invisible gases that are part of the cycling of matter in all ecosystems.

This video will help students, particularly those not in AP-level classes, have a practical application for knowing about the major divisions between plants, particularly about the details of plant anatomy and reproduction. Students will be able to :Identify the major evolutionary innovations that separate plant divisions, and classify plants as belonging to one of those divisions based on phenotypic differences in plants. Classify plants by their pollen dispersal methods using pollen dispersal mapping, and justify the location of a _„ƒcrime scene_„Ž using map analysis. Analyze and present their analysis of banding patterns from DNA fingerprinting done using plants in a forensic context.

Photo Credit: Photo Credit : Photo by Jan Kohl on UnsplashIn this lesson students will read about eh cause and effect relationship between the removal of the wolves in Yellowstone in the early 1900s had a direct effect on the other wild life living in the same ecosystem. This lesson will take about 45 minutes. 

Use your cell phone to explore the mini-scopic world. Open your eyes to the amazing world of the ultra-tiny when you convert your cell phone into a portable, picture-taking Miniscope using a simple plastic lens from a laser pointer.

This resource includes a Google Slides presentation teachers can use to teach a lesson on cellular respiration. The Slides presentation can be converted into a Nearpod presentation using the Nearpod add-on. Accompanying this resource is a video explanation of how to use the resource and how technology has been strategically added to the lesson to engage students. I took an "old" lesson on cellular respiration that was simply comprised of a PowerPoint Presentation with a worksheet of fill-in-the-blank notes and a crossword puzzle for early finishers and enhanced it using Nearpod. I also used the new Utah Science and Engineering (SEEd) standards to have students compare the phenomena of how fast can Usain Bolt run, and how many world records he could actually have at the Olympics.  Students take a poll to assess whether they think Mr. Bolt deserves the title, "The fastest man alive!"  When we look at the mathematical chart data using a collaborative board in Nearpod, students can see that glycolysis is different than cellular respiration and that every human has a metabolic threshold.  Students then explore sugar burning through a Nearpod sticky-note discussion and get direct instruction on the chemistry of cellular respiration by using Nearpod fill-in-the-blank cards that automatically score responses.  Resource Author: Shannon Mower

Every cell in your body needs to take in nutrients, oxygen, and raw materials and export wastes and other substances—but it’s not just a random traffic jam! A cell membrane (also called a plasma membrane) regulates what comes in and what goes out. Explore the properties of soap films and relate them to the properties of plasma membranes and the mechanics of transport across membranes.

The topic of this video module is how to classify animals based on how closely related they are. The main learning objective is that students will learn how to make phylogenetic trees based on both physical characteristics and on DNA sequence. Students will also learn why the objective and quantitative nature of DNA sequencing is preferable when it come to classifying animals based on how closely related they are. Knowledge prerequisites to this lesson include that students have some understanding of what DNA is and that they have a familiarity with the base-pairing rules and with writing a DNA sequence.

After a butterfly species disappeared from a location where it had been found for many years, conservation professionals accessed climate projections to identify potential habitat for its recovery.

This variation on the classic bird beak activity demonstrates variation of beak size within a population and shows how the proportion of big-, medium-, and small-beaked birds changes in response to the available types of food. The “birds” with binder clip “beaks” live in Clipland where the large population becomes divided into two smaller populations by a mountain range. Popcorn, lima beans and marbles are the three types of food available in the two areas. Food is spread out for the birds to eat and then after 15 seconds it is counted to see whether birds have gathered enough food to survive. The big billed birds need to eat more than the medium and small billed birds to survive and each bird needs to eat more than the minimum amount of food for survival to be able to reproduce. Four years pass during the simulation and students are asked to describe what happened to the Clipbird populations and what they think caused the changes. A link to Rosemary and Peter Grant’s research on finch populations in the Galapagos is identified for those teachers who want to connect the simulation to a real life example.

This lesson focuses on codominance and incomplete dominance.  This lesson includes phenomena, video, quiz, activity, and project. In this lesson, students will be working as a whole class, independently, and in small groups.  

This lesson plan focuses on codominance and incomplete dominance.  Students will activate prior knowledge with a bell ringer followed by the phenomena and learning of the new knowledge with textbook read/quiz, and flashcards that the students make.  Students will practice Punnett squares.  The lesson ends with a student project on codominance and incomplete dominance.   (This resource's preview image was created by the author of this lesson plan.)

This lesson plan focuses on codominance and incomplete dominance.  Students will activate prior knowledge with a bell ringer followed by the phenomena and learning of the new knowledge with textbook read/quiz, and flashcards that the students make.  Students will practice Punnett squares.  The lesson ends with a student project on codominance and incomplete dominance.   (This resource's preview image was created by the author of this lesson plan.)

This lesson plan focuses on codominance and incomplete dominance.  Students will activate prior knowledge with a bell ringer followed by the phenomena and learning of the new knowledge with textbook read/quiz, and flashcards that the students make.  Students will practice Punnett squares.  The lesson ends with a student project on codominance and incomplete dominance.   (This resource's preview image was created by the author of this lesson plan.)

This activity provides an introduction to natural selection and the role of genetic variation by asking students to analyze illustrations of rock pocket mouse populations (dark/light fur) on different color substrates in the Sonoran Desert (light/dark) over time. Based on this evidence, and what they learn about variation and natural selection in the accompanying short film, students use this evidence to explain the change in the rock pocket mouse populations on the lava flow (dark substrate) over time. This is one of several classroom activities, focusing on related topics and varying in complexity, built around the short film. This ten minute film shows adaptive changes in rock pocket mouse populations, demonstrating the process of natural selection and can be accessed at http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/making-fittest-natural-selection-and-adaptation. The film is also available as an interactive video with embedded questions, which test students’ understanding as they watch the film.

Make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. Change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or filter white light. View the light as a solid beam, or see the individual photons.

Students will construct a model of the carbon cycle to explore the cycling of matter in decomposition. Students will design a process to compost food waste and recycle products used during lunchtime to reduce the amount of garbage the school produces.