LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes Lessons

     Conceptual Flow: Structure and Function  

     Conceptual Flow: Ecosystems

     Conceptual Flow: Energy and Matter in Living Systems

     Conceptual Flow: Evolution

LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

     Conceptual Flow: Heredity

     Conceptual Flow: Evolution

LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics Lessons

     Conceptual Flow: Ecosystems

     Conceptual Flow: Energy and Matter in Living Systems

LS4: Biological Evolution Unity and Diversity

     Conceptual Flow: Evolution

     Conceptual Flow: Ecosystems

Conceptual Flow Diagram 

Disciplinary Core Ideas 

NGSS Performance Expectations 

Click on linked PEs to see corresponding lessons. 

Year Presented

Structure and Function

LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• LS1.A Structure and function
• LS1.B Growth and development of organisms
• LS1.D Information Processing

1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2

3-LS1-1

4-LS1-1, 4-LS1-2

MS-LS1-1, MS-LS1-2, MS-LS1-3, MS-LS1-4, MS-LS1-5, MS-LS1-8

Life Science Part 1: Molecules, Organisms, and Ecosystems

Summer 2020

LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• LS1.B Growth and development of organisms
• LS1.C Organization for matter and energy flow in organisms

LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

• LS2.A Interdependent relationships in ecosystems
• LS2.B Cycles of matter and energy transfer in ecosystems
• LS2.C Ecosystem dynamics, functioning, and resilience
• LS2.D Social interactions and group behavior

LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

• LS4.D Biodiversity in Humans

K-LS1-1

2-LS2-2

3-LS1-1, 3-LS2-1, 3-LS4-4

5-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1

MS-LS1-4

7^th and 8^th Grade PEs:

MS-LS1-5, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-3, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5

Life Science Part 1: Molecules, Organisms, and Ecosystems

Summer 2020

Environmental Science

Summer 2019

Energy and Matter in Living Systems

LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• LS1.B Growth and development of organisms
• LS1.C Organization for matter and energy flow in organisms

LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

• LS2.A Interdependent relationships in ecosystems
• LS2.B Cycles of matter and energy transfer in ecosystems

PS3 - Energy

• PS3.B Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer

K-LS1-1

2-LS2-1

5-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1, 5-PS3-1

MS-LS1-5

7^th and 8^th Grade PEs: 

MS-LS1-6, MS-LS1-7, MS-LS2-3

Life Science Part 1: Molecules, Organisms, and Ecosystems

Summer 2020

Heredity

LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

• LS3.A Inheritance of Traits
• LS3.B Variation of Traits

1-LS3-1

3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2

MS-LS3-2

8^th Grade PE: 

MS-LS3-1

Life Science Part 2: Evolution and Heredity

Summer 2021

LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

• LS4.A Evidence of Common Ancestry
• LS3.B Natural Selection
• LS4.C Adaption
• LS4.D Biodiversity in Humans

LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structure and Process

• LS1.A Structure and Function
• LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

• LS3.A Inheritance of Traits
• LS3.B Variation of Traits

ESS2: Earth Systems

• ESS3.E Biogeology

K-ESS2-2, K-LS1-1

2-LS4-1

3-LS4-1, 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS3-2

4-LS1-1

8^th Grade PEs: 

MS-LS4-1, MS-LS4-2, MS-LS4-3, MS-LS4-4, MS-LS4-5, MS-LS4-6

Life Science Part 2:Evolution and Heredity

Summer 2021

Grade Level

NGSS Performance Expectation(s)

Lesson Title and Description

Lesson Materials

Presenter(s)

TK

K-LS1-1

What is Living at My School?

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Darby Feldwinn

Patty Malone

Janis Spracher

Summer 2026

K

Rivers, Ponds, and Lakes Oh My!

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Kandie White

Janis Spracher

Summer 2026

1

1-LS1-1

K-2-ETS1-1

Copy Cat

In Part 1 students working in small groups to pair up 10 pictures. Students share their matches using the sentence frame: I think the picture of the (e.g., lily pad) goes with the picture of the (raft) because (they both float). Other students respond using either: Group ___ said ___, and I agree with them because ___, or Group ___ said ___, and I respectfully
disagree with them because ___. This continues until the class realizes that each plant or animal card can be paired with a human who is mimicking that organism’s ability with external help (e.g., a fish pairs with a human scuba diver because scuba gear allows a person to breathe underwater).

During Part 2, students review how humans have mimicked plant and animal structures. They focus on penguins, which can stay warm in cold environments, while humans need jackets to accomplish the same task. Students explore the structures other animals use to stay warm and consider materials humans have developed to mimic these structures. They then apply their engineering skills to design and build a jacket for a “metal person” using three of the provided materials. They test their jackets by measuring how long they keep the metal person warm.

During Part 3, students analyze all the data to determine which materials worked best and which worked least well. As in Part 1, students engage in a structured debate and come to a class consensus. As a class, they select the three best materials and the teacher builds a new jacket to test whether it performs better than individual designs.

Part 4 allows students to reflect on their learning through guided questions. Students generate additional examples of structures that allow plants and animals to function better than humans, as well as the solutions humans have designed to perform those same functions. In addition, students also discuss why scientists engage in debates.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Word)

Student Worksheet (pdf) 

Additional Materials

Darby Feldwinn

Summer 2026

Same, Same, & Different

In this lesson, students will explore the similarities and differences in animal structures (body parts) and the functions they serve amongst animal parents and their offspring.  They will make observations using images, texts, and videos to explain via drawings, writings, partner talks, and charades,  how animal parents and offspring communicate to get their needs met. Students will also consider the complexities of human impact on the environment, and they will think of ways they can help wild animals in their local communities.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (GDoc)

Student Assessment

Additional Materials

Kandie White

Summer 2024

3

Circle of Life

In this lesson, students explore the life cycles of plants and animals through observation, modeling, data collection, and analysis.

During Part 1, groups are given an organism and asked to draw its stages of life. Half of the groups are assigned plants and half animals. Groups then pair with another group studying a similar organism (plants with plants, animals with animals) to share their models and identify similarities and differences between their models.

During Part 2, groups pair with a group studying a different type of organism (plants with animals) and repeat the comparison process.

In Part 3, students watch a time-lapse video of a sunflower’s life cycle and compare it to the model of their assigned organism. Students are guided to recognize that all living organisms share common life cycle stages: sprouting or birth, growth, reproduction, and death. Students then create a sunflower life cycle model that includes these stages
and revise the model of their original organism to reflect this understanding.

In Part 4, the class collaboratively generates a life cycle model that can be applied to any organism. This model is tested and refined during Part 5.

Part 5 takes place over eight plus weeks. Students predict, observe, and measure fast plants and silkworms throughout their life cycles. During this time, students update the class life cycle model as needed and create graphs of the class median measurements for fast plant and silkworm length and height.

Part 6 concludes with students analyzing their graphs, labeling key life cycle stages, and identifying when organisms grew the most and the least. To demonstrate their understanding, students independently draw and label a life cycle model for an
organism not studied in class and share their models with peers.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Word)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Darby Feldwinn

Summer 2026

4

Think Fast!

Students will begin by discussing what happens when they see an object thrown toward them unexpectedly, and why they respond the way they do. Students will create an initial model explaining how the brain and other body systems work in response to this stimulation. Students will then plan and conduct an experiment to test how using different senses affects human "reaction time".

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (GDoc)

Additional Materials

Sammi Lambert

Cathy Neushal

Summer 2026

5

What's the Matter?

Students will begin by discussing how animals react to stimuli by watching a series of videos. They identify the cause and effect of each animal’s reaction. They then discuss reaction time. They talk about what happens when they see an object thrown toward them unexpectedly, and why they respond the way they do. This leads to two experiments in which students collect data on reaction time when using different senses (sight and hearing). They analyze their results. As an extension they analyze how plants react to stimuli.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Publisher)

Student Worksheet (pdf) 

Additional Materials

Rodney Lee

Sammi Lambert

Summer 2020

6

Cell Organelle Campaign

Students will begin by viewing a short video on the parts of a cell. While viewing, students will create quick sketches and list the functions for ten organelles. Students will randomly be assigned a cell organelle and create a campaign to get their cell organelle elected as the "Most Important Organelle in the Cell". Students will plan their campaign by selecting an organelle running mate, conducting research on their organelle's functions, and designing an informative poster with a slogan. Students will then present a 2 minute campaign speech and the class will vote for the most important organelle.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (PDF)

Additional Materials

Ashley Griffin

Summer 2026

Grade Level

NGSS Performance Expectation(s)

Lesson Title and Description

Lesson Materials

Presenter(s)

2

2-LS2-2*

K-2-ETS1-3

Hitchhiking Seeds

In this lesson, students will explore the different methods for seed dispersal and the effect that humans can have on this process. Students will also practice their engineering skills by designing and building a seed that can be dispersed by either wind or by animal. They will then evaluate their classmates’ designs to learn what properties of seeds make them ideal for each dispersal mechanism.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Darby Feldwinn

Kyla Rightmer

Summer 2025

2

Busy Bees

In Part 1, students cut out and color a flower. They then demonstrate what they already know about bees and their habitats by drawing pictures and discussing what bees need to survive. Students then act as “bees” and use the flowers they created, which are placed over bagscontaining “nectar” and different-colored “pollen,” to collect nectar. They observe how pollen is transferred from the flower to the bee and then to other flowers.

In Part 2, students watch a video on the life cycle of a plant and discuss why plants need bees. Students then explore the function of one bee structure (hair on legs) and one flower structure (pollen size). During this process, students collect observational data and analyze it to determine the function of each structure.

In Part 3, students explore additional flower structures (nectar amount, color, and scent). During this process, students collect data through counting and observations. After collecting data for each structure, students analyze the data to determine the function of each structure.

In Part 4, students investigate the role of the bee dance in helping pollinators find flowers, allowing them to collect data using measurements. The lesson concludes with students writing and drawing a picture about what they learned about flowers and pollinators.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Word)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Darby Feldwinn

Kyla Rightmer

Summer 2026

Grade Level

NGSS Performance Expectation(s)

Lesson Title and Description

Lesson Materials

Presenter(s)

1

1-LS3-1

A Day at the (Virtual) Zoo

In this lesson, students will make observations of different animals at different virtual zoos. They will then make observations of specific plant and animal families to determine how the young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like their parents. They will also use their evidence to conclude that plants and animals change over time, but when they reach adulthood, their appearance remains stable. Students will obtain information from multiple sources to learn about other plant and animal findings and use their evidence to construct a poster and present their findings to the rest of the class and, if applicable, their big buddies.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Publisher)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Sammi Lambert

Summer 2021

3

Enchanted Traits

This lesson integrates science with language arts. In this lesson students will explore two species of trees that are growing in two different areas. This allows them to confirm that within a population, there are variations in trait values. In addition, they observe that the environment that an organism lives in can affect the value of a trait. This discovery is reinforced by readings that introduce the terms "inherited traits" and "acquired traits." This allows students to make a connection between the trees that they studied and the traits that they (humans) have.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Publisher)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Darby Feldwinn

Summer 2021

MS-LS3-2
*Note that there are no 5^th grade performance expectations in this DCI.

Wonder Genetics

In this lesson students use passages from Wonder to determine how a trait (August's deformity) is passed from parents to children. With guidance, they develop a model that explains how and why August got his facial deformity. In addition, the model allows for students to predict the probability that a set of parents, with known alleles, will have a child with the deformity.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Publisher)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Kyla Rightmer

Summer 2021

Monster Mash

In this lesson students will create a model of heredity. Students will construct the model using observations of two different species of monsters. Each species reproduces differently, one by sexual reproduction and one by asexual reproduction. Students will identify patterns in various sets of offspring and parents. This will allow them to make revisions to their model and include the two distinct types of reproduction (sexual and asexual) as well as develop a way to predict the fraction of offspring they would expect to have a given trait. Students will then use this model to explain the type of reproduction in humans. In addition, students' models will be challenged by giving them pictures of a parent and offspring from a monster that is capable of doing both types of reproduction. This will require students to revise their model. The lesson concludes with students chekcing their models against a grade-level appropriate scientific reading.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Publisher)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Louka Moutarlier

Summer 2021

Grade Level

NGSS Performance Expectation(s)

Lesson Title and Description

Lesson Materials

Presenter(s)

TK

K-ESS2-2

Plant and Animal Builders

In this lesson, students will use their past knowledge to draw and discuss where bees, birds, and gophers live. Through this, they will identify changes animals have made to the environment while listening to the book Mama Dug a Little Den. Afterwards, they will learn that plants can also change the environment and go on an exploriment around their school to search for evidence of both animals and plants changing the environment. The lesson concludes with stduents applying their learning to identify that humans also change the environment.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Word)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Darby Feldwinn

Janis Spracher

Summer 2021

K

Busy Beaver

In this lesson students will gather information about how beavers change their environments via read alouds, shared discussions, and multimedia presentations. They will make connections between beavers' needs and actions, and then they'll pair selected information (evidence) to make evidence-based claims about beavers changing their environment to meet their needs. Students will argue their claim with evidence to come to a group consensus on whether the beaver's actions are helpful, harmful, or both.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Word)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Kandie White

Laura Spracher

Summer 2021

2-LS4-1

Spice of Life

In this lesson students will make observations of coral reef habitats, one at normal temperature and one at higher temperature (which has cuased the coral to die), to see the variety of life in two originally similar habitats. Next, they will enact a simulation of three district coral reef environments that have difference food sources, which will allow them to construct a food web for three different animal species. They will then modify the simulation, which will allow them to observe the effects of increased temperatures on the habitats. This will allow students to generate the explanation that environments with diverse species are less affected by environmental changes and animals that eat a wider variety of foods have a higher likelihood of surviving environmental changes. They will apply this understanding to another habitat (rainforests).

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Publisher)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Darby Feldwinn

Ryan Helsel

Summer 2021

Follow Your Nose

In this lesson students will begin by modeling the salmonid life cycle in a playground activity. They then learn, in a jigsaw activity, salmonids' needs for survival at each stage of the life cycle. They draw a diagram of the life cycle of a local salmonid species. Next, they learn the internal and external structures that function to help the salmonid find its home stream, practice using their sense of smell to find their "home stream," and then write an evidence-based explanation for how salmonids use their sense of smell to find their home stream. Finally, students construct an explanation for how wildfires affect a salmonid's ability to survive and reproduce.

Lesson Plan

Student Worksheet (Word)

Student Worksheet (pdf)

Additional Materials

Patty Malone

Janis Spracher

Summer 2021