The purpose of this resource is to have students observe their lilac plants and identify the five phenophases (first leaf, full or 95% leafed, first bloom, full bloom and end of bloom) for each lilac plant. During the growing season, students will observe their lilac plants and identify the five phenophases (first leaf, full or 95% leafed, first bloom, full bloom and end of bloom) for each lilac plant.

Cloning is an amazing technology that allows us to make exact copies of living organisms.  From duplicating organs to designer babies, the possibilities are endless; however, there are numerous drawbacks to cloning creatures. In this lesson you will explore how cloning works and identify your core values and feelings on the concepts. And finally, you will produce a presentation that outlines the benefits and drawbacks  of this technology.StandardsBIO.B.2.4Explain how genetic engineering has impacted the fields of medicine, forensics, and agriculture (e.g., selective breeding, gene splicing, cloning, genetically modified organisms, gene therapy).

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Gut microbe-mediated breakdown of intestinal contents is important for host nutrition and immunity, but the specific nutrients consumed by common gut microbes are unclear. To learn more, a recent study combined microbiota profiling and untargeted metabolomics to examine gut metabolites and microbes in mice. Microbiome disruption with an antibiotic (streptomycin) increased the levels of carbohydrates, particularly sugar acids and sugar alcohols, in the cecum and these increases were associated with depletion of Clostridia and Erysipelotrichia. Conversely, inoculation of microbe-free mice with a Clostridia/Erysipelotrichia mixture (CE17) reduced sugar acid and sugar alcohol levels. Transplantation of microbe-free mice with a complex normal-mouse microbiome (C57FMT) produced similar results, supporting the importance of Clostridia and Erysipelotrichia for digestion of these substances..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Learn about cloud formations over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in this video from Nature.

Coalbed methane (CH4) is a natural gas and valuable energy resource that occurs in coal beds. This site, hosted by an energy development corporation, explains the geology and stratigraphy of Wyoming in the context of the formation of coalbed methane and its occurrence in Wyoming. Maps, cross sections, stratigraphic columns and fence diagrams are provided to explain Cretaceous and Tertiary coalbed methane-plays in Wyoming.

This interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service describes the many forces that affect shorelines, including tides, weathering, erosion, and deposition.

This video segment from Nature shows the destructiveness of the shark fin and shark cartilage industries.

Investigate collisions on an air hockey table. Set up your own experiments: vary the number of discs, masses and initial conditions. Is momentum conserved? Is kinetic energy conserved? Vary the elasticity and see what happens.

This visualization shows the molecular interaction of infrared radiation with various gases in the atmosphere. Focus is on the interaction with C02 molecules and resultant warming of the troposphere.

This activity addresses climate change impacts that affect all states that are part of the Colorado River Basin and are dependent on its water. Students examine available data, the possible consequences of changes to various user groups, and suggest solutions to adapt to these changes.

Wildfires are occurring more frequently and increasing in size in the western US; in this lesson students will explore this concept by analyzing environmental data to find patterns and practice communicating their findings.

This article describes some common misconceptions that elementary students may have about plants. It also includes suggestions for formative assessment and teaching for conceptual change.

In this activity, students use climate data to develop a simple graph of how climate has changed over time and then present the result in a blog, emphasizing effective science communication.

This activity explores how the topic of climate change is represented in various forms of writing, from scholarly articles to opinion pieces and works of fiction. While the content does not emphasize climate science itself, it instead allows students to focus on how the science is being portrayed.

A chapter on listening skills from the textbook, Communication Skills, developed by the Language Communication for Development Department at the Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi.

A chapter on using the College Library from the textbook, Communication Skills, developed by the Language Communication for Development Department at the Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi.

A chapter on writing skills from the textbook, Communication Skills, developed by the Language Communication for Development Department at the Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi.

A chapter on writing skills from the textbook, Communication Skills, developed by the Language Communication for Development Department at the Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi.

In this activity, students collect data and analyze the cost of using energy in their homes and investigate one method of reducing energy use. This activity provides educators and students with the means to connect 'energy use consequences' and 'climate change causes.' Through examining home energy use and calculating both pollution caused by the generation of electricity and potential savings, students can internalize these issues and share information with their families.

During this single day lesson plan, students will be hypothesizing, preparing and comparing the usage of fats within baked products. Students will be asked to hypothesize the potential results of saturated versus unsaturated fats within a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Throughout the lesson, students will be completing a follow along lab packet. Said packet contains the following: lab plan/hypothesis sheet, recipe, lab notes sheet, and reflection sheet. This lesson may be completed within a single 55 minute class period or spread across two days to allow for extended preparation and reflection time (2 days suggested). Image Credit: OER Title Image Provided by Sorin Gheorghita | Unsplash