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In this lesson, students will compare asexual and sexual reproduction while analyzing the rate that offspring are created. Then, they’ll explore how the elm zigzag sawfly is spreading across North America, the threat this poses, why this case is different from other insect invasions and what concerned citizens can do.

A group of single-celled microbes that belong to the domain of life known as archaea may have been crucial to the evolution of complex life. Members of this group, known as Asgard archaea, seem to have evolved in several ways that primed them to give rise to multicellular life. This suggests that complex life may evolve more easily than biologists have thought, but researchers are still working out how exactly it could have happened.

Swoop aside, vampire bats. The grisly-eater prize may go to Europe’s greater noctule bats. Discuss how various measurements can combine to increase our understanding of a complex predator-prey behavior, all while interpreting graphs and discussing how other forms of evidence could improve the current model.

Many people fear sharks even though it’s more likely for someone to be struck by lightning than bitten by a shark. People should instead fear for sharks, many of which are threatened. Researchers are working to convince people that sharks, which are vital to maintaining the ocean’s health, are more valuable alive than dead.

In a research study about group coordination and cooperation, researchers tasked both humans and ants to solve the same sort of puzzle individually and in groups. Students will describe what they learn about the study’s experimental design, first after watching videos of the ant trials, then after watching videos of the human trials, and finally after reading a comic that summarizes the research study.

Scientists have long noted that polar bears seem to leave much of their prey behind, preferring to eat only the blubber. On first glance, this might look wasteful. But abandoned portions of that carcass might actually benefit other species in the ecosystem. Practice carrying out percentile calculations while answering questions about polar-bear predation strategies, all while discussing the ecological interplay between various species in a harsh Arctic biome.

In this lesson, students will review the human muscular system and then explore how its movements compare with those of woodpeckers. Students will also examine a diagram that shows different woodpecker muscle groups and analyze data from a research article about how those muscles are used while hammering.

Golden apple snails can completely regrow a functional eye within months of having lost one. Understanding how the snails re-create or repair their eyes might someday lead to therapies to heal people’s eye injuries or reverse some eye diseases.

In this activity, students will read the Science News Explores article “There’s life beneath the snow — but it’s at risk of melting away” and reflect on how the author of the article educates the reader. After finishing the article, students will create their own ecosystem portrait to educate their classmates about a unique ecosystem.

Freshwater fish make vast treks, but their migrations remain hidden beneath the surfaces of rivers. This invisibility has left freshwater fish largely overlooked, even as their populations worldwide have plummeted. Now, global “swimways” for migratory fish are emerging as an important conservation focus.

In this activity, students will create their own dioramas. To do this, students will observe their local ecosystem and take pictures of parts of their ecosystem that they believe tell a story. Students will then learn about how dioramas can be used to tell scientific or historical stories and will convert their ecosystem stories into 3-dimensional dioramas.

In this lesson, students will review genetics concepts, explore natural and artificial selection, and take a closer look at hybridization.