Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan

A list of questions about the characteristics of flatworms to use after viewing the video Flatworms: the First Hunter.Shape of Life: Platyhelminthes Worksheet. Students make sketches and write short answers to questions about the amazing world of flatworms. A Powerpoint with questions to answer while watching the video Flatworms: The First Hunter

Lesson Plan

In this lesson students make connections between fossils and modern day organisms. Using the information about the Cambrian Explosion, they explore theories about how and why organisms diversified. Students hypothesize what evidence might be helpful to connect fossil organisms to modern organisms to show evolutionary connections. Students use three videos from shapeoflife.org.

Lesson Plan

In this activity students explore how animals are classified. For centuries taxonomists have been classifying the diversity of animal life based on observations and measurements of animals’ body plans. And now, with DNA sequencing, scientists have for the most part confirmed the work of earlier taxonomists. Students will learn the characteristics that define five of the major invertebrate phyla by watching videos, reading and sorting animal cards. The phyla are: Cnidarians, Annelids, Arthropods, Molluscs, and Echinoderms.

Lesson Plan

Students learn about the microscopic world of tiny plankton drifters. They watch videos that simulate looking at live invertebrate larvae under a microscope.