Animating the Tree of Life
Students will explore an animated "Tree of Life." They will record observations and questions about it and discuss them as a class. Create your own cartoon!
General Animals
Associated Shape of Life Content
Constructing the Tree of Life
Students explore the evolution of life on earth by constructing a "tree of life" -- metaphorical art that arranges groups of organisms by characteristics and when scientists think they first evolved.
For more BIG FUN, take a look at the new Animating Tree of Life Lesson Plan where students create their own cartoon!
Nature’s Innovations
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.
World’s Most Awesome Invertebrate
After note taking during the phyla episodes of the shapeoflife.org, student pairs will randomly pick an invertebrate from the hat. After doing more in-depth research on their chosen invertebrate, student pairs will design and create a flyer that will promote the invertebrate’s special abilities. Furthermore, the students will find at least one video clip of their invertebrate from the shapeoflife.org website to present to the class as evidence of their claims. Finally the student pair will argue why their invertebrate should be crowned the “World’s Most Awesome Invertebrate.”
Activity: Invertebrate Critter Cards
In this activity students explore how animals are classified. For centuries taxonomists have been classifying the diversity of animal life based on observations and measurements of animals’ body plans. And now, with DNA sequencing, scientists have for the most part confirmed the work of earlier taxonomists. Students will learn the characteristics that define five of the major invertebrate phyla by watching videos, reading and sorting animal cards. The phyla are: Cnidarians, Annelids, Arthropods, Molluscs, and Echinoderms.
It's a Disco Light Show in the Deep Sea
Bioluminescence is a spectacular living light show common in the marine environment and especially useful in the deep sea. It provides a way for deep sea animals to communicate and survive in the darkest part of the ocean.
Please explore this rich array of bioluminescence resources our colleague, Rick Reynolds, created for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
‘Class’ification
In this lesson, students will be introduced to the concept of taxonomy, and categorization of organisms based on Carl Linnaeus’s system of classification.
Plankton - It's a Way of Life
Students learn about the microscopic world of tiny plankton drifters. They watch videos that simulate looking at live invertebrate larvae under a microscope.
World’s Most Awesome Invertebrate - for ONLINE LEARNING
This reformatted lesson plan is derived from our popular World’s Most Awesome Invertebrate lesson plan.
After watching the nine phyla videos, students make a compelling argument for their choice of the most awesome invertebrate.
IT'S A DISCO LIGHT SHOW IN THE DEEP SEA
Bioluminescence is a spectacular living light show common in the marine environment and especially useful in the deep sea. It provides a way for deep sea animals to communicate and survive in the darkest part of the ocean.
Please explore this rich array of bioluminescence resources our colleague, Rick Reynolds, created for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Activity: Invertebrate Critter Cards
In this activity students explore how animals are classified. Students will learn the characteristics that define five of the major invertebrate phyla by watching videos, reading and sorting animal cards.
Modeling Evolutionary Relationships with Trees
In this lesson, students will address misconceptions about phylogenetic trees before completing a modeling activity to give them a better understanding of how trees are used to model evolutionary relationships.
'Class'ification
Carl Linnaeus
In this lesson, students will be introduced to the concept of taxonomy, and categorization of organisms based on Carl Linnaeus’s system of classification.
World’s Most Awesome Invertebrate
After watching the nine phyla videos, students make a case for the most awesome invertebrate by presenting a verbal argument and creating a flyer.
Nature's Innovations: Animals as Engineers
In this lesson, the class will investigate how, through the process of evolution, animals have solved their engineering problems and how people have mimicked those natural solutions.
