The OWLS Outreach team have developed an array of hands-on modules on ecology and evolutionary biology suitable for different age ranges, with particular focus on 5th-8th grade students. Many of our lessons are aligned with TEKS for Science standards, supporting our teachers in their curricula goals.
Typically, our lessons include and introductory slide presentation to introduce basic concepts and getting students excited about learning more about the topic in the real world. This is followed by an in-class activity where students get direct practice in the topic, often through experimentation with support from our volunteers. Finally, we incorporate a discussion of students’ findings and how they connect to the natural world.
Our Modules
Food Webs: Energy in ecosystems flows in complex food webs between trophic groups like primary producers, consumers, apex predators, and decomposers. Students will collaboratively build their own food webs for different ecosystems and learn how humans can impact these delicate balances.
Genetics: Genes are the ingredients and the recipe for making living things, from bacteria to people. Students will engage in activities to learn about the structure of DNA and RNA and how these molecules are heritable to pass down generations.
Human Impacts & Climate Change: Humans are major parts of the environment and have a wide array of impacts on living things. Students will learn about the role of people in the global climate and ecosystem processes and the positive changes made at different scales that can promote a healthier environment.
Adaptation & Natural Selection: The environment has a major influence on the bodies and behaviors of living things, leading to changes over generations and unique adaptations that help them survive and reproduce. Students will use an interactive game to learn about how adaptations can allow animals to gather the food they need to eat and survive.
Predator-Prey Dynamics: Predators and prey are important roles between living things in the natural world that impact populations, behaviors, and stability in an ecosystem. Students will collect hypothetical data to learn about the close relationships between prey and predators.
Species Interactions: Ecosystems are made up of communities of living things interacting through relationships like predation, parasitism, competition, commensalism, and mutualism. Students will use a tactile matching game to learn about these relationships and the impact of humans on biological interactions.
Biodiversity: Diverse communities of living things help to build healthy ecosystems. Students will learn about how humans may impact the diversity in an ecosystem and how scientists measure biodiversity in nature and practice collecting hypothetical data.
OWLS Outreach Virtual Modules
Please find information for virtual, asynchronous versions of some of our lessons at https://owlls.blogs.rice.edu/virtual-modules/