This lesson exposes children to a variety of animals and guides them through observation of animal similarities, differences, and environmental adaptations. This lesson can be used as part of a study of plants and animals. Before doing the lesson, students should know the meanings of the terms plant, animal, and living.

This article discusses misconceptions about birds (and penguins in particular). It provides tools for formative assessment and ideas for teaching correct scientific concepts.

This article provides links to lessons and units about birds, bird characteristics, and penguins. Ideas for literacy integration are included, and all lessons are aligned to national standards.

Students conduct a plot study to observe and record the presence of all living organisms in a selected area.

This article assembles free resources from the Polar Mammals issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and 3-5.

This article provides an overview of the geography, characteristics, and life of the Arctic and Southern Oceans.

This resource is from Tools4NCTeachers.  This is a set of two tasks, which may be used for instruction or assessment.  Each file contains a separate task, rubric, and recording sheets.  Remix this resource to include extension ideas or addtional tasks.

In this problem-based, blended learning mondule, students will investigate what is the single - most defining trait that makes us human? Is it our highly developed speech, our imagination, creativity, or our upright walking posture? Humans have mastered fire, developed tools, art, music, recorded our history, and accomplished a countless number of other things. In this module, students will explore genetics concepts regarding inheritance, natural selection, biology of the human brain, and our hominid evolution over the last two hundred thousand years. Students will utilize guided research, and independent work to formulate an argumentative essay, and substantiating their claim with evidence from their research. When the argumentative essay is completed, students will create a project from a choice board that demonstrates their understanding of one of the concepts of our humanity.