What is An Internet Lesson?

Simply put: Internet lesons are worksheets that guide students through sites on the web They usually have a focus or theme, so that students are surfing the web willy nilly. Most of these were developed at an inservice the science teachers at my school did to develop internet resources as part of our School Improvement Plan. These differ from webquests in that they were designed to look at one or two sites and can be completed in one hour long class period. All these lessons require internet (web) access and most would be best accomplished individually. The links belows open to the worksheet for the lessons, the site the lesson relates to is found within the worksheet.

Lessons

Biology and General Science

Virtual Field Trip to the San Diego Zoo

Smog City - manipulate variables to see how air speed, temperature, cloud cover, etc. affect smog levels in a virtual city.

Recycle City - use the government's EPA site to learn about recycling and waste reduction. Play the Dumptown Game

Virtual Mouse House - uses an interactive breeding program to show ratios of breeding mice, using Mendelian Genetics

Peppered Moth Simulation - a game that analyzes how coloration affects moth populations.

Parasitology - explore the CDC resources on parasites and construct a chart

Cloning Web Lesson - explore GSLC unit on cloning

Evolution Lab - this project uses the evolution simulation located at biologyinmotion.com. Students use the simulator to model evolution and natural selection. Web lesson.

Biome Tutorial - Not a webquest, this is a simple worksheet that goes with the Missouri Botanical Garden's biome site

So You Want A Dog? I created this lesson because of some major issues in my community with people not taking care of their pets, this lesson goes through the chosing of a dog, and students investigate problems and needs of the dog breed they choose

Endangered Species Project - This lesson was adapted from the activities located at bagheera.com. Shortened to fit into a 1-2 day class period

Harvest of Fear (Nova) -- Genetically modified crops - Another Nova made shockwave site, this one explores how crops and foods are genetically modified and some of the ethical isses of genetic modification

Investigating Tree Rings (Nova) - Nova made this shockwave site to explore what we can learn from tree rings. Some of it is a bit complicated, depends on how much detail you go into in your plants unit.

DNA Fingerprinting (Nova) -This is a great lesson that explores the detective work behind the use of DNA fingerprinting, students practice making their own DNA fingerprints (virtual lab) and solving a crime.

Comparing Mammalian Brains - For advanced anatomy classes, this lesson uses the internet to look at and manipulate brains of several species and construct a comparison chart

Plants Overview -This is a basic plant lesson, that goes through the anatomyand physiology of plants and gives students a view of some of the stranger plants in the world

Basic Genetics Internet Lesson - Students will browse the Genetics Science Learning Center Website to learn about basic genetics, including the structure of DNA, transcription and translation.

Scanning Electron Microscope - tutorial and interactive virtual microscope, students also view SEM pictures

Whyfiles - good introductory lesson on searching the internet and reading scientific articles

Ology - good introductory lesson on different branches of science

Bacteria Identification Virtual Lab - for advanced students studying bacteriology, shockwave simulation shows how DNA is extracted from a bacterial sample and then identified

Sex and the Single Guppy - uses a shockwave simulator to breed generaions of guppy and analyze species change in relation to predator populations. Adapted from PBS lesson.

Advanced Version of Sex and the Single Guppy

Camouflage - Short interactive activity that shows how animals use camouflage to hide themselves

Cells Alive - Helpful review for the cell and cell parts, includes prokaryote and eukaryote comparison, and an interactive cell.

Karyotyping Activity - Learn how karyotypes are made and practice pairing homologs and diagnosing genetic disorders.

Bioethics - Your Genes, Your choices - Examines several scenarios about genetic testing and ethics. Students must draw their own conclusions and think about what they would do in similar situations

Mitosis and Meiosis - Looks at virtual cells in the stages of cell division, students learn to identify the stages and cell structures that are important in cell division.

Mitosis - Similar to Mitosis and Meiosis, but only the Mitosis part
Meiosis - Similar to Mitosis and Meiosis, but only the Meiosis part

Life's Greatest Miracle - A Nova site the explores life from conception to birth. Appropriate for both health and biology classes. Shows an excellent video/animation on how genes are turned off and on to build an organism. Note: may not be suitable for all viewers.

Becoming Human - Explores the evolution of hominid species. Contains a nice video clip collection and an interactive site.

Anatomy and Physiology

How has medicine Changed? (Nova) - Nicely done shockwave site explores medicine through history, Good introductory lesson for health of anatomy class

Skull Anatomy Tutorial - examines the bones of the skull, students can manipulate and looks at bones

Heart Online Exploration - anatomy lesson on the heart, virtual simulations

Resources