Details: This lesson can be added to the Amplify first grade science unit: Animal and Plant Defenses: Spikes, Shells, and Camouflage. It can also be used with any unit on animal defenses and structures.Amplify Chapter 3 Driving Question: How can Spruce the Sea Turtle’s offspring survive where there are sharks?  Pursuit addressed:Toward the pursuit of Skills: Students participate in a class reading of an informational text. Students use the information outlined in the text to develop their knowledge of plastic pollution and its negative impact on sea turtles and the environment. They then use this knowledge to inform others or take other steps to help with reducing plastic pollution.Toward the pursuit of Intellect: In this lesson students learn about a topic that affects the environment and specifically how plastic waste affects sea turtles which they have been studying.  They can better understand an environmental problem and turn their understanding into action.

This classroom activity will show students that there is a lot we don't know about science, for example life throughout the universe. It will hopefully encourage students to question what we know and don't know, and exploration and study of the unknown.

For students interested in studying biomechanical engineering, especially in the field of surgery, this lesson serves as an anatomy and physiology primer of the abdominopelvic cavity. Students are introduced to the abdominopelvic cavity—a region of the body that is the focus of laparoscopic surgery—as well as the benefits and drawbacks of laparoscopic surgery. Understanding the abdominopelvic environment and laparoscopic surgery is critical for biomechanical engineers who design laparoscopic surgical tools.

How do strong and weak acids differ? Use lab tools on your computer to find out! Dip the paper or the probe into solution to measure the pH, or put in the electrodes to measure the conductivity. Then see how concentration and strength affect pH. Can a weak acid solution have the same pH as a strong acid solution?

This activity is acid-base titration lab where students determine the percent of calcium carbonate in an eggshell.

This video follows biologist Gretchen Hofmann as she studies the effects of ocean acidification on sea urchin larvae.

This activity first asks the students to study the patterns of bird flight and understand that four main forces affect the flight abilities of a bird. They will study the shape, feather structure, and resulting differences in the pattern of flight. They will then look at several articles that feature newly designed planes and the birds that they are modeled after. The final component of this activity is to watch the Nature documentary, "Raptor Force" which chronicles the flight patterns of birds, how researchers study these animals, and what interests our military and aeronautical engineers about these natural adaptations. This activity serves as an extension to the biomimetics lesson. Although students will not be using this information in the design process for their desert resort, it provides interesting information pertaining to the current use of biomimetics in the field of aviation. Students may extend their design process by using this information to create a means of transportation to and from the resort if they chose to.

Spreadsheets across the Curriculum Module. Students build a spreadsheet to calculate proper medicine dosages using the metric system.

Hear about how respect for Earth can help us attain a more sustainable lifestyle in the face of climate change in this video segment adapted from United Tribes Technical College.

A short video that discusses how changing climate is affecting the population of AdÃlie penguins.

The Phoenix metropolitan area, like many large cities, has problems with air pollution at certain times of the year. You can do a simple experiment to determine some of the factors that affect air pollution.

In this video adapted from KUAC-TV and the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska Native students contribute to research on how their environment is changing as a result of global warming.

This lesson focuses on the observation of properties and the classification of objects to build ideas about variables. Learners compare buttons to identify similarities and differences. In addition, learners are introduced to Venn Diagrams by reading "The Elves and the Shoemaker" and sorting their shoes in a giant diagram.

In this inquiry activity students work in groups to investigate allelopathy via research, using the scientific method to plan and carry out an experiment, and creating a formal written report and oral presentation.

Find out how angles and symmetry come into play in the game of pool in this video adapted from Annenberg Learner’s Learning Math: Measurement.

Students build a 9 M X 9 M model of an animal or plant cell with cell organelles inside it and give cell tours to Life Science students. May be done as two large groups, or a whole class project.

Farming ants might sound like a crazy thing to do unless you might like to eat chocolate covered ants. It turns out we can learn a lot from ants and the best way is to build your own ant farm.

In this math activity, learners explore the history of the Stomachion (an ancient tangram-type puzzle), use the pieces to create other figures, learn about symmetry and transformations, and investigate the areas of the pieces. The Stomachion, believed to have been created by Archimedes, consists of 14 pieces cut from a square, which can be rearranged to form other interesting shapes.

Students create four-legged walking robots and measure how far they travel across different types of surfaces. They design and create "shoes" to add to the robots' feet and observe the effect of their modifications on the net distance traveled across the various surface types. This activity illustrates how the specialized locomotive features of different species help them to survive or thrive in their habitat environments. The activity is best as an enrichment tool that follows a lesson that introduces the concept of biological adaptation to students.

This video segment from Wild Europe: "Wild Arctic" explores the struggle for survival in one of Earth's most extreme environments.