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Kids on shore with grid

 Teachers

Teachers

Of all the accomplished scientists we've interviewed over the years, there's always one thing they have in common: a teacher who encouraged their curiosity in the natural world.

Lesson Plan Material

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    Alitta Succinea
    Lesson Plan
    Annelid Adaptions + Art

    This lesson begins with students engaging in the practice of science -- observing the phenomena, describing their observations, and making sense of what they see. They observe annelid behaviors using a Shape of Life video with the audio turned off. They try to figure out what the phenomenon (the behavior) is, how it might help the organism survive, and how it might impact the environment. Working with a partner, they make hypotheses about what they are observing and organisms' adaptions that allow it to perform the behavior. They then explore how a key feature of both annelids and some art is repetition and how repeating patterns have benefits for both annelids and artists. They create artwork inspired by annelids and present them to the class, using the different mediums to explain annelid adaptations. Extend/Enrich activities are listed at the end of the lesson to help engage all learners.

    Full Lesson Plan

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    Top of the Tree of Life with Species
    Factsheet
    Cambrian Explosion

    The Cambrian Explosion was a burst of animal evolution that occurred in the ocean about 540 million years ago.

    Download Factsheet

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    Earth from space
    Reading
    Cambrian Explosion: A BIG BANG in the Evolution of Animals

    For most of Earth's early history, there simply was no fossil record. Only recently have we come to discover otherwise: Life is virtually as old as the planet itself, and even the most ancient sedimentary rocks have yielded fossilized remains of primitive forms of life.

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