Biology in a Box: Small Group & Teacher-Facilitated Exercises
Below are links to all documentation for each thematic unit. Presentations are available in PowerPoint format, as well as PDFs for those wishing to print transparencies for overhead projectors. Teachers may wish to review unit workbooks for more in-depth information before using the supplied presentations.
| ADDITIONAL READINGS (PDF) |
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Unit #1 - Fossils
2009 TN Science Curriculum Standards 2009 TN Mathematics Curriculum Standards |
Fossils Book |
Fossils Part I (PowerPoint) Fossils Part I (PDF) Fossils Part II (PowerPoint) Fossils Part II (PDF) |
1) Tooth replacement in early chondrichthyans 2) Feeding behaviour and bone utilization by theropod dinosaurs 3) Cleptoparatism and detritivory in dung beetle fossil brood balls |
Unit #2 - Of Skulls and Teeth
2009 TN Science Curriculum Standards 2009 TN State Math Curriculum Standards |
Of Skull & Teeth Book | Of Skulls and Teeth (PowerPoint) Of Skull & Teeth (PDF) |
1) Variation and Covariation of Skulls and Teeth: Modern Carnivores and the Interpretation of Fossil Mammals 2) Diet and morphology of extant and recently extinct northern bears 3) Tooth breakage and dental disease as causes of carnivore -- human conflicts 4) Relationships between oral morphology and feeding style in the Ungulata 5) Advanced carnivory in fossil armadillos 6) Comparative bite force in big biting mammals and prediction of predatory behaviour in fossil taxa 7) Comparative morphometric analysis of captive vs. wild African Lion skulls |
Unit #3 Fur, Feathers, & Scales: Insulation
2009 TN Science Curriculum Standards 2009 Grade Level Expectations for Mathematics |
Fur, Feathers, Scales and Insulation Book | Fur, Feathers, Scales and Insulation (PowerPoint) Fur, Feathers, Scales and Insulation (PDF) |
1) Ecology & thermoregulation in black rat snakes 2) Life with fur and without - energetics and survival of naked meadow voles 3) New twists in the evolution of endothermy |
Unit #4 Simple Measures
2009 TN Science Curriculum Standards 2009 Grade Level Expectations for Mathematics |
Simple Measures Book | Simple Measures (PowerPoint) Simple Measures (PDF) |
1)Milkweed Seed Dispersal: A Means for Integrating Biology & Physics 2)Use of Geometric Forms to Estimate Volume of Invertebrates in Ecological Studies of Dietary Overlap 3) The Importance of Tissue Density for Growth and Life Span of Leaves and Roots: A Comparison of Five Ecologically Contrasting Grasses |
| #5 It's in Your Genes 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 7.3, 8.2, G.4 |
1. Genes are segments of a DNA molecule 2. Patterns of Trait Inheritance: Mendel's Laws Law of Independent Segregation Law of Independent Assortment |
It's In Your Genes | |
| #6 Animal Kingdom 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.6, 5.4, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 8.1 |
1. Graph That Diversity (3-8) 2. Find that Animal (K-12) 3. Relatives of Relatives (6-12) 4. The Mysterious Beast |
Animal Kingdom | |
| #7 Backyard Naturalist 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.2, 7.3, 8.1, 8.3, G.2, G.5 |
1. Who Walked Here Matching Tracks (K-2) Key That Animal (3-8) Getting to Know the Animals Game (6-8) 2. The Scoop on Poop Matching the Poop with the Pooper (K-2) Using a Key to Identify Animal Scat (3-8) Grouping Scats by Animal Diet (3-8) 3. Bird Songs and Things that go Bump in the Night How many different birds do you hear? (K-5) Identifying Individual Birds (6-12) Identifying Birds in Groups (6-12) Sounds of the Night (K-5) Nocturnal Naturalist (6-12) |
Backyard Naturalist | |
| #8 Everything Varies 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 5.10, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.2, 7.3, 8.1, 8.3, G.2, G.5, G.6 |
1. Recognizing Individuals as Unique (K-12) 2. Matching Leaves (K-5) 3. Using Math to Make Decisions about Leaf Variation What is the expected value for a trait? (6-12) Comparing the sizes of leaves from two samples (8-12) 4. Shell Match (K-2) 5. Making Sense of Variation: The Matching Game (3-12) 6. Finding Species (6-12) 7. Mechanisms (3-12) 8: Mystery Shell |
Everything Varies | |
| #9 Forestry 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.2, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.8, 5.10, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.2, 7.3, 8.1, 8.3, G.2 |
1. Dendrology (K-12), a) Trunk Parts; Tree Rings and Tree Cookies; Leaves & Seeds (K-5) b) Leaf Keys (6-12) 2. Wood Types a) Pick the Products; Matching Wood Chips (K-12) b) Density and Porosity (6-12) 3. Wood Products? (K-5) 4. Who Lives Here (6-12) 5. Game Board (9-12) |
Forestry | |
| #10 Behavior *New Unit: State Blueprint Correlations not yet available |
Part I. The Senses 1. The Sense of Touch 1.1-1.2 The Tactile Box (K-1) 1.3 The Black Box Experiment Introduction to Scientific Method (3-12) 2. The Chemical Senses: Smell/Olfaction 2.1 How Good is Your Nose? (K-12) 2.2 Find That Flower I (3-12) 3. Vision is a Vibrational Sense 3.1 Find That Flower II (3-12) 3.2 a) Slap Snack Alarm (K-12); b) Slap Snack Mimic (3-12) 3.3 Jumping Spider Dances: a) Learn a Dance (K-2), Develop an Ethogram (3-12); b) Comparing Ethograms (8-12) 4. Hearing is a Vibrational Sense 4.1 Bat Echolocation (K-12) 4.2 The Vibrational Sense of Spiders Part II. Environment and Learning 5. Temperature Effects on Call Rates (3-12) 5.1 Frogs 5.2 Crickets 6. T-maze Experiments for Preference & Learning (3-12) 7. Caching Acorns: A Memory Game (3-12) |
Behavior |
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