Category: Biology
Renee Greer, a Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, worked closely with the SMILE program to develop lessons that would share her expertise in cellular biology at an elementary school level. There are 7 lessons in total and they can be taught as a unit or individually.
Alicia Lyman-Holt, a staff member at the Hinsdale Wave Research Lab, led a session at the 2014 “Step up your STEM” Teacher’s Workshop and shared her expertise on Tsunamis, Civil Engineering, and the Engineering Design Cycle. Take a look at the materials that Alicia shared!
This year’s High School Challenge event will be held on February 13 and 14, 2014 at OSU, and it will focus on the complex topic of Marine Protected Areas. Here are two introductory lessons that provide a general overview into what Marine Protected Areas are and how they work! Click the titles below to access the lesson plans.
Marine Protected Areas: An Introduction
This activity was provided by high school club leader Ken Dicky. It adds to the sampling concepts taught in the halibut unit with a sample-to-population-inference activity. It is a chance to do some basic math (statistics) and eat food at a club meeting! Along with the activity worksheet you will find teacher notes with specifics on leading it during a club meeting. Ken says: “It was fun, valuable, and took about 1 hour”.
Sample to Population Inference Activity
This post contains the Ocean Fisheries activities that were presented at our Summer Teacher’s Workshop in August. Learning about fisheries can help students understand how all organisms have an essential role in an ocean ecosystem. The following activities highlight the affects that fishing can have on the ocean ecosystem and the important role that fishers, biologists, managers, and other stakeholders play in helping to protect the ocean.
Halibut: Flat or Fiction? Pacific Halibut and the Ocean Ecosystem
This unit of curriculum focuses on the Pacific halibut fishery. There are four lessons and each one builds off of the last. Students are able to take on various roles and perspectives of ocean organisms, fishers, biologists, and managers. Students make tough decisions about the ocean ecosystem and recognize the difficulties that managers face in maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
Rockfish Barotrauma Presentation by Lynn Mattes of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
You’re Excluded!
This is activity was developed by Oregon Sea Grant and explores the changes in the trawl industry technology. Students identify ways that changes in technology can positively and negatively affect fish populations and use problem solving skills to engineer their own fish excluder device.
Introduction to Fishing Fleet Presentation by Kaety Hildenbrand of Oregon Sea Grant
This post contains Schoolyard Ecology activities that were presented at our Summer Teacher’s Workshop in August. Schoolyard Ecology provides an excellent opportunity for students to get outside to explore and learn about their local environment. The activities included are examples of inquiry-based, hands-on, place based learning and environmental education. These lessons cover basic ecological concepts and promote environmental literacy.
Home, Home in a Tree
Trees provide a habitat for a host of plants and animals. In this activity students will discover how plants and animals depend on trees in many ways. If you don’t have trees available for observation shrubs, bushes, plants, and other greenery can be used for this activity.
Weaving the Web
Food webs are a way to show examples of how plants and animals interact. Food webs in a community can be very complex and this activity will allow students the chance to identify links in the web of life.
There are two sets of pictures that teachers use. One is very generalized and one is plant and animal specific to Eastern Oregon. This can be used to teach the differences of plant and animal life within Oregon.
Forest Cycles/ Stumping Around
The life that stems from a stump or rotting log can be fascinating. In this activity students will gain awareness of the different plants and animals that may arise from a stump or rotting log. If there are no stumps or rotting logs available feel free to use anything that may represent these items. A piece of a rotting log can be brought into the classroom or club, or maybe a shovel-full of bark chips from a nearby playground, get creative; there are always ways to demonstrate the decomposition and lifecycle of trees.
Owl, Mice and Seeds
This activity is a highly active way for students to gain understanding of the dynamic natures of populations, food webs and the changes that can happen in between predator and prey. Data sheet link: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0FEoHyeIyePQTl0QTM2S0VXeGs/edit?usp=sharing
This post contains Bioenergy activities for middle and high school that were presented at our Summer Teacher’s Workshop earlier in August. The lesson plans and any other resources for each activity are available on Google Drive. To access the lesson plans, click on the title of each activity. (Note: you do NOT have to have a Google account to access these files.) Please also note that the Fuel Comparison and Generations of Biofuels activities are the same, as both were presented to be used for both middle and high school levels. You are able to download and/or print the files for all of the activities directly from Google Drive, but you must download the file before you can make any personal edits. Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback!
Middle School Activities
The following activities are meant for use in SMILE clubs or classrooms at the middle school level. Each activity includes a comprehensive lesson plan with background information, materials, procedures, and challenge questions for your students. From these activities, we hope your students gain a better understanding of bioenergy and renewable resources, in particular renewable fuels or biofuels. Upon completion of these activities, middle school students should understand that bioenergy technology must be desirable, convenient, and accessible. They should be able to articulate the need for further technology development to challenge traditional energy standards. Through these activities students will also explore benefits to the environment and humans from bioenergy technology and understand that bioenergy pioneering efforts come from unexpected places. These activities will provide interesting, engaging opportunities for your students to learn and grow their understanding of bioenergy.
High School Activities
The following activities are meant for use in SMILE clubs at the high school level. Each activity includes a comprehensive lesson plan with background information, materials, procedures, and challenge questions for your students. From these activities, we hope your students gain a better understanding of bioenergy and renewable resources, in particular renewable fuels or biofuels. Upon completion of these activities, high school students should understand that bioenergy technology must be desirable, convenient, and accessible. They should be able to articulate the need for further technology development to challenge traditional energy standards. They will also explore benefits to the environment and humans from bioenergy technology and understand that bioenergy pioneering efforts come from unexpected places. These activities will provide interesting, engaging opportunities for your students to learn and grow their understanding of bioenergy.
