Skip to main content
  • The Water Cycle

    Book Chapter | March 2011

    Water is such an integral part of human existence that it makes up nearly three-quarters of Earth’s surface and has a profound effect on all life on Earth. Water vapor in the atmosphere accounts for just one-thousandth…

  • Cell Cycle

    Book Chapter | May 2014

    The purpose of this lab investigation is for students to apply what they know about the process of cell division to determine “Do Plant and Animal Cells Spend the Same Proportion of Time in Each Stage of the Cell Cycle…

  • Carbon Cycling

    Book Chapter | July 2015

    The purpose of this lab is for students to apply their knowledge of how chemicals, specifically carbon, cycle through the living and nonliving components of an ecosystem. Specifically, they will explore ”Which Carbon…

  • Life Cycles

    Book Chapter | March 2019

    The guiding question of this investigation is, How are the life cycles of living things similar and how are they different? The purpose is to give students an opportunity to use the disciplinary core idea growth and…

  • Ecosystem Cycles

    Book Chapter | March 2011

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the transfer of matter and energy in ecosystems. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that only matter is cycled through an…

  • Inquiry And The Learning Cycle

    Book Chapter | October 2012

    Inquiry instruction combines the teaching of scientific content with the development of scientific practices. Inquiry-based instruction has five essential features that occur along an inquiry continuum. In this chapter…

  • Cycling Against Cancer

    Book Chapter | September 2018

    This lesson asks students to consider the aspects of cell cycle regulation and feedback as they propose a mechanism to stop cancerous cell division with the strategic use of cell cycle regulators. The purpose of…

  • Water Cycle Diagram

    Book Chapter | March 2016

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the water cycle. The probe is designed to find out what students think a representation of the water cycle should include to show evaporation and…

  • Modeling the Rock Cycle

    Book Chapter | February 2019

    The guiding questions in this activity are,“Are all rocks formed the same way and how does rock change during the rock cycle?” Rocks are constantly being recycled on Earth and what happens to a rock depends on the…

  • Recycled Water: The Hydrologic Cycle

    Book Chapter | September 2011

    If we cannot see the water vapor, how do we know water vapor exists? In this Activity, you will examine the evidence regarding the presence of water vapor in the air and explore how water vapor plays a key role in the…

  • Creative Writing and the Water Cycle

    Book Chapter | October 2011

    Creative writing provides one strategy for helping students combine their powers of imagination with their arsenal of knowledge. Teachers also can use creative writing exercises to assess student understanding of…

  • Rocking Around the Rock Cycle

    Book Chapter | April 2012

    “What type of rock is this?” is a common question spoken by all children at some point in their young lives. Many students have rocks of all shapes and sizes in their “collections.” In this chapter, young students will…

  • Does It Have a Life Cycle?

    Book Chapter | June 2009

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about life cycles. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize that although life cycles vary in length and developmental stages, all…

  • The Rock Cycle: Rock Formation and Change

    Book Chapter | March 2011

    A single rock could provide an example of how slowly most geological changes occur on Earth. If you picked up a rock and kept it for the rest of your life, you would probably notice that it changes little, if at all.…

  • Lab 12: Cycling of Water on Earth

    Book Chapter | March 2018

    In this lab investigation, students are introduced to the disciplinary core idea of Earth Materials and Systems as they determine how temperature and the surface area to volume ratio of water affect the rate of water…

Asset 2