Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This bulletin board style site includes links to online tutorials, web resources, an online editable biology dictionary, and forums on various biology topics. The dictionary is much like wikipedia, with the public able to edit and change the entires, but the site is moderated by a team. You may not want to accept the dictionary as a formal "source," but your students will like the ease with which they can look up terms and review biology material on this online environment.

Try these outstanding, highly-visual online activities, quizzes, and demonstrations to teach and reinforce biology concepts, including: classification, mitosis and meiosis, how enzymes work, selection/mutation/evolution, and multiple physiological processes. Your students will love the animation, created by a college professor/game developer.

tag(s): body systems (40), evolution (89), meiosis (8), mitosis (9)

This website is extremely informative and provides students with details about everyday illnesses and injuries, emotional support, puberty, nutrition, and more! There is such a wealth of information available at this website, teachers can find numerous subjects, activities and information. Several kid-approved recipes are also provided. Be sure to check out the movies - they provide general science information and simple explanations of the many systems of the body (and are quite entertaining). FLASH is required for some of the activities.

tag(s): human body (93)

Find extensive, up-to-date information on Genome Biology Research, ethical issues in genetics, biofuels, microbial genome research, and much more. This site would be a fantastic resource for student biology and microbiology research projects and career explorations. Help your students see what is happening in the very real world of science today.

tag(s): biodiversity (36), energy (133), environment (252), sustainability (50)

This is an online simulation game focusing on sustainable fishing. Students can manipulate variables (numbers of fishing boats, catch quotas) and see how those changes affect both the bottom line and the environment. Each change results in a year's worth of data (up to 15 year's worth), and then reactions from different stakeholders. The game can be played as one, but other participants will need to be online, or as a group. Register with your school email to get a code to set up your class, which could take two business days.

tag(s): environment (252), financial literacy (93), fish (18), resources (84), sustainability (50)

Download this complete unit on addiction includes teacher materials, standards,(see the Curriculum Supplement Series main page for the link to state standards), complete student materials and web resources, and everything you need to teach about the the biology and effects of alcohol on the body, including the effects of drinking on driving ability. NIH has done an outstanding job of organizing everything for you. There are videos to make the content come alive, however they reside on YouTube. f your district blocks YouTube they may not be viewable. SThis unit also includes a section where students observe videos of impaired mice to compare those exposed to alcohol; so now you can do a "lab" without the real mice!

tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28)

This website provides teachers with several unique science activities, with minimal cost. Topics include making bubbles, DNA, making milk stiff and making butter. Use the top menu bar and click BioTrek Outreach and slide down to BioTrek resources. This website is very basic, but has unique ideas. The activities teach basic scientific method and design of experiments vs. demonstrations. The DNA dance is a whole-class experience and introduces students to the complexities of DNA.

tag(s): dna (43)

Listen to songs to teach important (and less important) science concepts. This collection of MP3 files was generated from an old set of records (yes, those round vinyl things that had scratches). While the actual copyright holder information is a gray area, you can feel safe in playing the songs from the site. Most likely, these songs from the 1950s and 60s are past copyright at this point. In any case, you can click to play from smaller or larger file versions. Be patient while they load, even over a broadband connection. It will be worth the wait to teach parts of plants, the water cycle, weather, motion, energy, electricity, and MANY other topics with just a computer and set of speakers to help students retain the information. Most of the content is elementary to middle school age, but some is high school level. Learning support teachers seeking alternate study strategies will love this one!

tag(s): animals (295), energy (133), mammals (22), motion (47), plants (146), space (222), water (102), water cycle (22), weather (160)

This web site provides students and teachers with ideas for agricultural science projects. Many of these ideas could easily be used as classroom science experiments or as an individual student's science fair project. The site includes experiments that could be incorporated into science lesson plans.

tag(s): environment (252), medicine (57), zoology (18)

Living in an Alkaline Environment is a three-part activity that explores the ecology and diversity of life in alkaline environments. The activities feature Mono Lake, CA as an example of an alkaline, hypersaline ecosystem. The first two activities on this site are classroom lesson plans, and the third is an online investigation. Complete lesson plans and standards are included. The final activity asks students to draw upon their new knowledge to research organisms living in and around Mono Lake, and create field guide pages and a food web detailing the Mono Lake ecosystem.

tag(s): ecology (103)

Really excite your AP biology, ecology, and biochemistry students with these real-world applications of the sciences in solving problems. Each case is presented in a narrative, and the learner resources include advice on reading cases, collecting data, and all the steps to solve the problems. There are over two dozen problems across several biology, chemistry, ecology, and molecular biology disciplines. These are college-level problems, so you may want to use one as a whole-class activity to model the process and spur enthusiasm for further scientific study. The ideal is then to allow groups of students to continue with the investigations, if they have sufficient knowledge to do so on their own.

tag(s): genetics (80), scientific method (48)

AP Biology teachers will love these downloadable, advanced mathematical models (Excel and other) for many biology concepts in ecology, botany, genetics, biochemistry, and more. Created for college classrooms, the models are quite sophisticated and may be best used by advanced students or as a whole-class activity. These models provide real-world application of mathemetical and scientific concepts that are certain to excite budding scientists. The desciptions include computer software specifications for successful use. Some examples of applications include: a model for biogeography and the impact of mainland species pool, area of the island, and distance of the island from the mainland on the species available on the island; a 3D mathematical model of various factors' impact on the growth of tree branches; and a worksheet that simulates the population growth of two interacting species

tag(s): ecology (103), environment (252), modeling (8), species (16), statistics (121)

Here's a collection of pointers for students interested in keeping arthropods as pets - either at home or in the classroom. Not sure what to feed that Praying Mantis? The answers are here. There's even a special article on the details of keeping these critters in the classroom. Bookmark this one; it will come in handy one day.

tag(s): insects (69)

This highly visual site gives visitors simple information about the brain and explains the functions of its three main parts. Click the link at the top center titled Alzheimer's and Dementia to find the stages of Alzheimer's and a thorough explanation of the effect of Alzheimer's disease on daily life. Roll your mouse over the colored text on each slide to view the specific region described.

tag(s): brain (56)

Find out how the introduction of an organism not indigenous to an area can wreak environmental havoc. In this interactive game, students must examine ten successful invaders and attempt to match them to the damage they can inflict in their new environment. There is a lot to learn at this site, however the interactives still require Flash.

tag(s): ecology (103), species (16)

This searchable site contains more than 1500 micrographs of scientific, biological and medical subjects photographed with light and electron microscopes. Categories include bacteria, crystals, slime molds, insects, protozoa, viruses, and much more. Includes a "Virtual SEM" that allows visitors to find out what it is like to load and zoom-in on specimens using an electron microscope. Please read the "Image Use" information before you reproduce or copy any of the images on this site!

tag(s): microscopes (10)

This nicely organized visual site about animals is perfect for independent student research at the elementary level. Students can select an animal by type, read through the kid-friendly text to learn more about it, and browse through some great photographs. Animal topics include birds, fish, reptiles, spiders and insects, amphibians, and mammals. The site also includes a search feature (scroll to the bottom of the home page) and games, puzzles, and other activities. Although all reference links are active, some of the games and puzzle links are no longer working. This site does include some small advertisements.

tag(s): amphibians (17), animals (295), birds (46), fish (18), insects (69), mammals (22), reptiles (12), spiders (10)

Cornell's Ornithology lab has created one of the most comprehensive bird species sites on the web. While parts of the site require a subscription, this online bird guide remains an effective, well illustrated online guide to bird spotting, habitats, and identification. Teachers will find many uses for the site as a reference tool, and as a resource for studying habitats and migration patterns

tag(s): birds (46), migration (45)

This online tutorial walks students through DNA basics, the cell cycle, and the process of mitosis. Each step of cell division is introduced with a brief description and illustration. Includes a short animation of mitosis, review quiz, and vocabulary list. Though the mitosis animation requires Flash, nothing else does. There is a lot to learn here through text, diagrams and quizzes.

tag(s): cells (82), division (98), meiosis (8), mitosis (9), vision (44)

This wonderful collection of high quality captioned photographs draws visitors into the mysterious world of microorganisms. After viewing these images, you will never look at pond scum in the same way again. The gallery - organized into three main sections featuring freshwater, marine and insect collections - boasts special exhibits tucked inside virtual rooms. Visit the Hall of Arthropods, Radiolaria Lounge, the Ciliate Center, and more. An eye-opening addition to a biology class.

tag(s): microorganisms (10), organisms (15), photography (130), radio (20)