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Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities
These minds-on activities, initially designed for use in the classroom, have been adapted for use in online teaching or distance learning. Advice for Using Google Docs is available at https://serendipstudio.org/exchange/bioactivities/Googledocs.
Introductory Activities- Characteristics of Life
- Levels of Organization in Biology
- Coronaviruses – What They Are and How They Can Make You Sick
- Introduction to the Functions of Proteins and DNA
- Cells – How do they carry out the activities of life?
- Why do some plants grow in odd shapes?
- How do organisms use energy?
- Using Models to Understand Cellular Respiration
- Using Models to Understand Photosynthesis
- Food, Physical Activity, and Body Weight
- How do muscles get the energy they need for athletic activity?
- Plant Growth Puzzle – Photosynthesis, Biosynthesis, and Cellular Respiration
- Where does a tree’s mass come from?
- Mitosis and the Cell Cycle – How the Trillions of Cells in a Human Body Developed from a Single Cell
- Understanding How Genes Are Inherited via Meiosis and Fertilization
- Comparing Mitosis and Meiosis
- Melanoma, Mutations and Abnormal Cell Cycles
- How Mistakes in Meiosis Can Result in Down Syndrome or Death of an Embryo
- Introduction to Genetics – Similarities and Differences between Family Members
- The Genetics of Sickle Cell Anemia and Sickle Cell Trait
- Genetics and Probability – Sex Ratios of Births
- A mistake in copying DNA can result in dwarfism
- Soap Opera Genetics – Genetics to Resolve Family Arguments
- Learning about Genetic Disorders
- DNA Function, Structure and Replication
- How Genes Can Cause Disease – Understanding Transcription and Translation
- Mutations and Muscular Dystrophy
- Why and How Your Body Makes Millions of Red Blood Cells Every Minute
- Genetic Engineering Challenge – How can scientists develop a type of rice that could prevent vitamin A deficiency?
- Gene Editing with CRISPR-Cas – A Cure for Severe Sickle Cell Anemia?
- What is natural selection?
- Natural Selection and the Peppered Moth
- How have mutations and natural selection affected fur color in mice?
- How Whales Evolved – Evidence and Scientific Arguments
- How Eyes Evolved – Analyzing the Evidence
- What is a species?
- Coronavirus Evolution and the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Evolution and Adaptations
- Understanding and Predicting Changes in Population Size – Exponential and Logistic Population Growth Models vs. Complex Reality
- Stability and Change in Biological Communities
- Food Webs - How did the elimination and return of wolves affect other populations in Yellowstone?
- Carbon Cycles and Energy Flow through Ecosystems
- Trophic Pyramids
- Introduction to Global Warming
- Food and Climate Change – How can we feed a growing world population without increasing global warming?
- Coral Bleaching
- The Ecology of Lyme Disease
This analysis and discussion activity helps students to understand the relationships between food, physical activity, cellular respiration, and changes in body weight. Analysis of a representative scenario helps students to understand how challenging it is to prevent weight gain by exercising to offset what seems to be a relatively modest lunch.
Download Minds-On Activities for Teaching Biology
Introduction and Activities Listing
Intro and Biological Molecules
- Characteristics of Life
- Levels of Organization in Biology (NGSS)
- Introduction to Proteins and DNA (NGSS)
- Enzymes Help Us Digest Food (NGSS; hands-on)
- A Scientific Investigation – What types of food contain starch and protein? (NGSS; hands-on)
- Coronaviruses – Introduction (NGSS)
- Who Took Jerell’s iPod? -- An Organic Compound Mystery (hands-on)
- Is Yeast Alive? (hands-on)
- Macromolecules Jeopardy
Cell Structure and Function
- Cell Structure and Function – Major Concepts and Learning Activities
- Cells – How do they carry out the activities of life? (NGSS)
- Why do some plants grow in odd shapes? (NGSS)
- Introduction to Osmosis (NGSS; hands-on)
- Cell Membrane Structure and Function (NGSS; hands-on)
- Cell Vocabulary Review Game
Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis
- Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis - Key Concepts and Activities
- How do organisms use energy? (NGSS)
- Using Models to Understand Cellular Respiration (NGSS)
- Using Models to Understand Photosynthesis (NGSS)
- Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration and Plant Growth (NGSS; hands-on)
- Food, Physical Activity, and Body Weight (NGSS)
- How do muscles get the energy they need for athletic activity? (NGSS)
- Alcoholic Fermentation in Yeast – A Bioengineering Design Challenge (NGSS; hands-on)
- Plant Growth Puzzle (NGSS)
- Where does a tree’s mass come from? (NGSS)
- Photosynthesis Investigation (NGSS; hands-on)
Cell Division
- Mitosis and the Cell Cycle (NGSS; hands-on)
- Mitosis and the Cell Cycle (NGSS)
- Meiosis and Fertilization – Understanding How Genes Are Inherited (NGSS; hands-on)
- Understanding How Genes are Inherited via Meiosis and Fertilization (NGSS)
- Comparing Mitosis and Meiosis
- What causes melanoma and other types of cancer? (NGSS)
- Mistakes in Meiosis – Down Syndrome or Embryo Death (NGSS)
- Mitosis, Meiosis and Fertilization Vocabulary Review Game
Genetics
- Genetics Concepts and Activities (NGSS)
- Genetics (NGSS; hands-on)
- Genetics Intro – Family Members (NGSS)
- Genetics Sickle Cell Anemia and Trait (NGSS)
- Genetics Probability – Sex Ratios (NGSS)
- Mistake in copying DNA & Dwarfism (NGSS)
- Soap Opera Genetics (NGSS)
- Were the babies switched? The Genetics of Blood Types (NGSS; hands-on)
- Dragon Genetics I (hands-on)
- Dragon Genetics II (hands-on)
- Learning about Genetic Disorders
- Genetics Vocabulary Review Game
- Genetics Jeopardy
Molecular Biology
- Molecular Biology: Major Concepts and Learning Activities (NGSS)
- DNA (NGSS; hands-on)
- DNA Function, Structure and Replication (NGSS)
- How Genes Can Cause Disease - Introduction to Transcription and Translation (NGSS; hands-on)
- How Genes Can Cause Disease - Understanding Transcription and Translation (NGSS)
- UV, Mutations and DNA Repair (NGSS; hands-on)
- What types of mutations cause more vs. less severe muscular dystrophy? (NGSS)
- Making Red Blood Cells (NGSS)
- Genetic Engineering Challenge – Preventing Vitamin A Deficiency (NGSS)
- Gene Editing with CRISPR-Cas – Potential Sickle Cell Anemia Cure (NGSS)
- Molecular Biology Vocabulary Review Game
Evolution
- Resources for Teaching and Learning about Evolution
- Evolution by Natural Selection (NGSS; hands-on)
- What is natural selection? (NGSS)
- Natural Selection and the Peppered Moth (NGSS)
- How have mutations and natural selection affected fur color in mice? (NGSS)
- How Whales Evolved (NGSS)
- How Eyes Evolved – Analyzing the Evidence (NGSS)
- How does evolution result in similarities and differences? (NGSS; hands-on)
- What is a species? (NGSS)
- Coronavirus Evolution and the COVID-19 Pandemic (NGSS)
- Evolution and Adaptations (NGSS)
Ecology
- Ecology Concepts and Learning Activities (NGSS)
- Exponential and Logistic Population Growth Models vs. Complex Reality (NGSS)
- Some Similarities between the Spread of Infectious Disease and Population Growth (NGSS; hands-on)
- Stability and Change in Biological Communities (NGSS)
- Food Webs, Energy Flow, Carbon Cycle and Trophic Pyramids (NGSS)
- Food Webs (NGSS)
- Carbon Cycles and Energy Flow through Ecosystems (NGSS)
- Trophic Pyramids (NGSS)
- Introduction to Global Warming (NGSS)
- Food and Climate Change – How can we feed a growing world population without increasing global warming? (NGSS)
- Coral Bleaching (NGSS)
- Global Warming (NGSS) (NGSS)
- Resources for Teaching about Climate Change
- The Ecology of Lyme Disease (NGSS)
Human Physiology and Health
- Negative Feedback, Homeostasis, and Positive Feedback, with Breathing Experiment (NGSS; hands-on)
- Homeostasis, Negative Feedback, and Positive Feedback (NGSS)
- How do food molecules reach our muscles? (NGSS)
- How do we Sense the Flavors of Food? (NGSS; hands-on)
- COVID-19 Vaccines (NGSS)
- Molecular and Evolutionary Biology of HIV/AIDS and Treatment (NGSS)
- Resources for Teaching Cancer Biology
- Carbohydrate Consumption, Athletics, Health – Using Science Process Skills
- Vitamins and Health – Why Experts Disagree
- Regulation of Human Heart Rate (hands-on)
- Should You Drink Sports Drinks? When? Why?
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To preserve the value of these learning activities for other teachers, please do not post keys for any questions from any of these activities!
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Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities
Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities has 50 remote-ready activities, which work for either your classroom or remote teaching.
Narrative is determined not by a desire to narrate but by a desire to exchange. (Roland Barthes, S/Z)
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