Students will make observations of bird pictures to note the similarities and differences in one animal group. They will note especially the beaks, feet, wings and feathers of different types of birds. The life cycle of birds will be explored.

A "Conversion Immersion" workshop was convened to provide a forum for instructors to work together to convert traditional "cookbook" laboratories to a more investigative format. This paper summarizes some of the ideas that emerged from the two sessions of the workshop, which included labs on the following topics: chick development, soils, antimicrobial agents, effects of pH and heavy metals on microbial processes, DNA isolation, immunohistochemistry, enzymes, osmosis, invertebrate diversity, plant diversity, microscopy and cells, muscle contraction, fermentation, and genetic engineering.

In this activity, users download and graph modeled climate data to explore variability in climate change. Most people know that climate changes are predicted over the next hundred years, but they may not be aware that these changes are likely to vary from region to region. Using data from the University of New Hampshire's Earth Science Information Partner, a digital library of Earth Science data, users will obtain annual predictions for minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation for each of these 5 states: New York, Georgia, Colorado, Minnesota, and California. Data will span the years 2000 through 2100. Users will import the data into Excel and analyze it to see what, if any, regional variability exists. Finally, they will download data for their own state, compare these results to the results from the other five states and use their results to answer a series of questions related to climate change.

This activity prepares you to launch an investigation of the relationship between precipitation and streamflow for a local watershed. It can enrich a study of the water cycle. Following the step-by-step instructions in a case study you will locate, download, format, and finally graph one year of Web-based data for these two variables. The graph highlights the details of this often complex precipitation-streamflow relationship and provides a context for launching a classroom discussion of the balance between surface runoff and infiltration during and after a rain event, soil porosity, soil saturation level, the influence of impervious surfaces in a basin, the impact of slope, wind and air temperature on watershed hydrology, and the influence of high or low vegetation. You should allow at least four 45-minute class sessions if you are planning to use this resource in a school setting.

I started this book in 2001 with a core group of doctoral students. The initial version included 12 chapters with no animations and very few images. Each semester, I ask my current students who are using this book as their required text in my class to improve on the book by either making animations, recorded presentations, graphics, editing, or various other contributions (there is no such thing as a completely free book!). It has been in HTML until May 2007 when we converted it to this Wiki. I continue to provide this book to the academic community free of charge, but now I would like all of you to contribute back by helping me to continually improve the book.

The Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners (NCEP) produces peer-reviewed teaching resources summarizing topics on conservation biology. Each module contains a synthesis document outlining the main concepts of a subject, a modifiable visual presentation, classroom exercises and solutions, teaching notes, and interdisciplinary case studies. For more information please visit <http://ncep.amnh.org> where all NCEP modules are available free of charge.

This wiki page describes ISKME's Teachers as Makers Professional Development Academy.A two day professional development teacher training for the Maker inside each of us. We will explore how Maker-Teacher collaboration can facilitate innovation in the classroom. The Makers’ Projects are points of inspiration for Teachers as they experience DIY inquiry and design. Teachers will have time to brainstorm, create, reflect, and share how their experiences at Maker Faire and with Make Teacher Academy can translate into their teaching using online resources and collaborative tools. This page includes links, activities, photos, video, and group presentations from the Academy.

Sometimes the topic of poetry is not received with enthusiasm by a classroom of high school students. What has worked for me in the past is to have a set of simple questions in regards to poetry itself, answered by my students (the 5 w's? + how?). There are no wrong answers because poetry means different things to different people. After the answers to the questions have been written on the board ( or butcher paper) and explored, I present a bilingual poem that includes everyday things ( such as bread). I have used Roque Dalton's "Como tu," "Like you," in the past.

Rather than give students specific prescriptive laboratory procedures, this method provides the student with a task, two or three procedural steps, and a list of resources available to accomplish the task. The method is illustrated in this chapter by an activity in which the student evaluates the quality of water from several unknown sources using abundance if indicator organisms and diversity as criteria.

CHALLENGE ONE is to listen first and acknowledge what you hear, even if you don't agree with it, before expressing your experience or point of view. In order to get more of your conversation partner's attention in tense situations, pay attention first: listen and give a brief restatement of what you have heard (especially feelings) before you express your own needs or position. Acknowledging another person's thoughts and feelings does not have to mean that you approve of or agree with that person's actions or way of experiencing, or that you will do whatever someone asks. Additional readings shown.

Who killed James Watson in the biology lab, with the biology textbook? In this non-majors laboratory exercise, students use scientific inquiry skills to solve a murder mystery. Many are suspects, but only one committed the crime. Each student plays a role and tries to uncover motive and opportunity of the other suspects. Hypotheses are tested with physical evidence: fingerprints, blood type, and paper strip DNA analysis.

In NASA CONNECT Ancient Observatories: Timeless Knowledge, students will learn how cultures from ancient times to the present have used the Sun and other objects in the sky to mark the passage of time. They will see how archaeoastronomers use ancient observatories to predict seasons and special events. Using simple tools of geometry and the angle bisector method, students will measure the movement of the Sun and find solar noon for their location. Grades 6-8.

In NASA CONNECT Better Health From Space to Earth, students will learn about the importance of good nutrition and exercise. They will investigate what we can learn in space about our bodies here on Earth. Students will see how researchers and scientists apply the mathematics concepts of measurement and estimation to study the loss of calcium in bones and the loss of muscle mass while astronauts are living and working in space. Grades 6-8.

In NASA CONNECT Breaking Barriers, students learn about supersonic aircraft while investigating the nature of science. They look at how NASA researchers continue to modify their work as we build powerful machines that push hypersonic records to mach 10 and beyond. NASA scientists and engineers use algebraic equations to help them build models that will fly faster, longer and higher. Grades 6-8.

In NASA CONNECT The Wright Math, students will learn about the evolution of flight. They will learn how the Wright Brothers became the first human beings to successfully design, construct, and fly an airplane. Students will learn the method the Wright Brothers used in designing their airplane. They will also be introduced to NASA's Morphing Project, a radically new approach to designing aircraft of the future. They will observe NASA researchers using problem-solving techniques to design wings that will change their shape during flight. Grades 6-8.

In NASA CONNECT Dancing in the Night Sky, students will learn about the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. They will learn the many legends and myths that have revolved around the aurora throughout the history of mankind. Students will also discover how NASA scientists and engineers use satellite technology to measure and analyze aurora data. They will see how Norwegian scientists apply the concepts of data analysis and measurement to study the Northern Lights by using ground-based instruments and sounding rockets. Grades 6-8.

In NASA CONNECT Having a Solar Blast, NASA engineers and researchers use data analysis and measurement to predict solar storms, anticipate how they will affect the Earth, and improve our understanding of the Sun-Earth system. Grades 6-8.

In NASA CONNECT Dressed for Space, students learn about the suits astronauts wear in space and why sizing is critical for working in space. They learn how the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space suits were developed. Building on past space suit technologies, NASA engineers and researchers use functions and statistics to create the next generation of space suits for the International Space Station and beyond.

In NASA CONNECT Glow with the Flow, NASA aerospace engineers use scale models to see how air flows and why materials glow under wind tunnel conditions. Students learn about the force of drag and discover how the blended wing body will affect travelers of the future. Grades 5-8.