biology

Multiple hands-on, minds-on activities for teaching biology to high school and middle school students are available at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/waldron/. 

Additional teaching resources presented here include:

• minds-on discussion/worksheet activities, games, and web-based activities for learning and review
• overviews of important biological topics, including major concepts, common misconceptions, and suggested learning activities.

The topics covered include biological molecules, cellular respiration and photosynthesis, cell structure and function,  cell division, genetics, molecular biology and human health, biological concepts, and scientific method. 

The overview at the beginning of each major section suggests a sequence of activities which can be used to help students overcome common misconceptions and develop a genuine, solid understanding of important biological concepts. 

In the hands-on activity, Enzymes Help Us Digest Food, experiments with the enzyme lactase and discussion questions help students to learn about enzyme function, enzyme specificity, and the molecular basis for lactose intolerance. Students also learn about the scientific method by interpreting evidence to test hypotheses and designing the second and third experiments to answer specific scientific questions about lactase. An alternative version of the Student Handout which gives specific instructions for all three of the experiments is provided as an attachment below.

Download Student Handout: PDF format or Word format

Download Teacher Preparation Notes: PDF format or Word format

 This overview of energy, cellular respiration and photosynthesis summarizes important concepts and common misconceptions.  It also suggests a sequence of learning activities to overcome misconceptions, develop student understanding of important concepts, and relate these concepts to familiar topics such as breathing, food, body weight, and plant growth.

The attached file has the key concepts and suggested learning activities.

The questions in this worksheet/discussion activity help students understand that a large part of a plant’s mass consists of water, most of the biomass comes from carbon dioxide, and minerals from the soil contribute only a tiny amount of the plant’s mass. The first attached file has the Student Handout and the second attached file has the Teacher Notes.

This worksheet/discussion activity presents a structured sequence of questions to challenge students to explain why plants that grow in the light weigh more than the seeds they came from, whereas plants that grow in the dark weigh less than the seeds they came from. The first attached file has the Student Handout and the second attached file has the Teacher Notes.