Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan

This lesson requires students to do a report on distinct scientific fields using Shape of Life videos, Internet resources and a handout about “Cool Science Careers."

Lesson Plan

In this lesson students engage in the practice of science by observing behaviors using Shape of Life videos with the audio and closed captioning turned off.

Lesson Plan

Students can get the 'real scoop' on what it's like to be a scientist. They analyze the approaches of two different scientists to understand how they use the “Three-Dimensional” practices and concepts described in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Lesson Plan

Students explore unique sponge adaptations through short Shape of Life videos and student-centered activities.

Lesson Plan

Through a sequence of “explore-before-explain” laboratory investigations, coupled with segments from the Shape of Life videos, students study molluscs in the present and their long  evolutionary history. The module includes those listed below, which can also stand alone.

Lesson Plan

A brief hands-on investigation of Class Gastropoda (snails and slugs), followed by a critical thinking exercise centered on segments of the Shape of Life. Students first examine the bodies and behavior of live slugs or snails, then use water balloons to model their unique style of locomotion, and finally tackle a series of analytical questions designed to cultivate a grasp of divergent evolution: the branching of a single ancestral form into multiple new forms for diverse new functions, niches, and habitats.

Lesson Plan

Antoni Gaudi, the famous Spanish architect, found his inspirations from nature. From trees to light to whale bones, Gaudi used solutions from nature for structural support or decoration. He is not unique in using natural engineering to solve problems in our daily lives. In this lesson, we will investigate how, through the process of evolution, animals have solved their engineering problems and how people have mimicked those natural solutions.

Lesson Plan

Students explore the diversity and adaptations of marine arthropods through short videos and student centered activities.

Lesson Plan

Engaging Students with Echinoderm Phenomena, Adaptations, and Art

Lesson Plan

Students explore the extraordinary adaptions and diversity of terrestrial arthropods through short Shape of Life videos and student-centered activities in the 5E Instructional Model.