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Biology Foundations and Lab Skills Teaching Resources · High school biology; AP extensions where noted.

This guided reading task asks students to compare descriptions of scientific inquiry and then design a testable investigation on paper. The aim is to explain how evidence is used, rather than copy a list of steps from a website.

Learning goals and preparation

• Distinguish questions, explanations, predictions, and evidence.
• Compare a simplified classroom sequence with inquiry in practice.
• Credit a source and explain an idea in original words.

Prerequisite: scientific method notes. Materials: paper or a document editor and access to the two readings below. The teacher should open the readings before assigning them; a printed excerpt selected under the source’s terms or a teacher explanation can replace web access.

Reading stations

1. OpenStax: The Process of Science. Find how the reading distinguishes a hypothesis from a prediction and how evidence is used to examine an explanation.
2. College Board: AP Biology Lab Manual Resource Center. Read the overview of inquiry-based investigations. Identify examples of decisions students can make about methods, measurements, or analysis. This is a source about teaching inquiry, not a required procedure for this activity.

Student response sheet

Record the title, organization, URL, and date accessed for each reading. In your own words, answer:

1. What makes a question investigable with scientific evidence?
2. How does a prediction differ from a proposed explanation?
3. Why might a researcher return to an earlier question or revise a method?
4. What useful role does a classroom sequence play? What does it leave out?
5. How could observations contribute to an investigation without a manipulated treatment?

Apply what you learned

Plan a paper investigation of how water availability might affect seed germination. Define “germinated,” the measurement period, treatment levels, independent experimental units, conditions kept comparable, and an appropriate comparison. Explain what pattern would support your prediction and what alternative explanation would still need attention. No seeds, chemicals, or organisms are handled during this web quest.

Teacher feedback

A useful plan names observable outcomes and avoids treating “better growth” as a measurement. If seeds share a container, students should consider whether the container rather than each seed is the independently treated unit. A good response credits sources, distinguishes the two readings’ purposes, and acknowledges uncertainty. Do not require an “if–then” sentence as the only acceptable form of a scientific hypothesis.

Assessment: check accurate concepts, specific design choices, reasons for those choices, and source credit. For AP extension, ask students to identify a confound and propose a better sampling or treatment-assignment strategy.

Related teaching resources

• Review scientific inquiry concepts
• Check the variables in your plan
• Organize a scientific report

Sources and further reading

• OpenStax: the process of science
• College Board: AP Biology laboratory resources

Archive Photos

    

 

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Constructing a Concept Map of the Characteristics of Life

1. Brainstorming Phase:  Identify facts, terms, and ideas that you think are in anyway associated with the topic. Make a list of these items and print them neatly on small Post-It® notes, one per note, in very brief form, i. e. a single word or short phrase. This is a brain-storming process, so write down everything that anybody in your group thinks is important and avoid discussing how important the item is. Don’t worry about redundancy, relative importance, or relationships at this point. Your objective here is to generate the largest possible list you can. Before your group completes this step, you may have more than 50 items.
2. Organizing Phase: Spread out your concepts (Post-It® notes) on a flat surface so that all can be read easily and, together, create groups and sub-groups of related items. Place your CENTRAL THEME in the middle of the terms. For this project, the theme of the map is “LIFE CHARACTERISTICS“. Try to group items to emphasize relationships. Feel free to rearrange items and introduce new items that you omitted initially. Note that some concepts will fall into multiple groupings.
3. Linking Phase: Use lines with arrows to connect and show the relationship between connected items. Write a word or short phrase by each arrow to specify the relationship. Many arrows can originate or terminate on particularly important concepts. Arrows should only go one way, and each arrow should have a linking phrase attached to it.

Example of a Concept Map

 

 

Grading

	Rarely (1)	Sometimes (2)	Frequently (3)	Extensively (4)
Overall	The concept map does not seem to have a focus.	The purpose of the concept map is not clear. Few characteristics of life are represented.	The concept map has a focus, though it is somewhat disjointed or difficult to decipher. Most characteristics of life are represented.	The concept map clearly has a focus and a purpose. A casual viewer would understand what the map is trying to convey. All characteristics of life are represented.
Terms	Very few relevant terms present	Not enough terms are used to show clear relationships and purpose or many terms are irrelevant	Extensive use of terms, a few obvious points missing, or irrelevant terms present	An extensive use of terms and vocabulary used in the map. Terms are relevant.
Links	Many links not clear and unlabeled. Failure to show relationships.	Some links not clear or unlabeled. Relationships between ideas poorly established.	Links show the relationships between concepts. A few terms have more than one link present.	Links clearly show the relationships between concepts. Most of the concepts have more than one link present
Technical	Very poor organization, map impossible to follow.	Map somewhat difficult to follow. Organization poor.	Map easy to read and to follow. Organization fair.	Map easy to read and to follow. Organization good. No grammar or spelling errors.