Our understanding of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change rapidly. The following resources for teaching high school biology students are up-to-date as of November 2022. Previously provided resources are available at (Archived).

On this page:

• Coronavirus Learning Activities
• Ongoing Sources of Reliable New Information
• How to Turn Information Sources into Learning Activities
  
  

Learning Activities

For the first four learning activities listed below, the links lead to Student Handouts (available in Word, PDF, and as a Google doc) and Teacher Notes that include instructional suggestions, background information, links to additional sources of information, and an explanation of how each activity is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (#NGSS).

1. Log in to your Google account.
   
   
2. On the Serendip page for the activity you want to use, click on the link for the Student Handout Google Doc.
   
   
3. Click on the Make a Copy button to make a copy in your Google drive where you can edit the Student Handout.
   
   
4. If you want to rename the file or move your copy of the Student Handout to a folder of Serendip biology activities, click on the File tab and then click on Rename or Move.
   
   
5. You can instruct each student to make a copy of the Student Handout; they just need to click on the File tab and then click on Make a Copy. Then, each student can answer the questions in his/her individual copy.
   
   
6. To encourage discussion, you can have pairs of students collaborate electronically to answer the questions.
   

This minds-on analysis and discussion activity begins with a video of an animal cell chasing and eating a bacterium. This introduces analyses of how different types of cells carry out the activities of life.

As part of these analyses, students learn about (1) the similarities and differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, (2) the functions of membrane-bound organelles in eukaryotic cells, (3) the relationship between structure and function for different types of animal cells, and (4) differences between plant and animal cells.

Biology is the scientific study of living things.

The Student Handout, together with two videos, help students to understand the characteristics of living things and the challenges of distinguishing between living and non-living things.

This analysis and discussion activity also introduces several themes that will be revisited in a general biology course.

ARCHIVED PAGE
Please see: this Teaching Resources page for current information.

Lesson Plan from NSTA
A lesson plan entitled “Coronavirus – What’s the real story” is available at http://blog.nsta.org/2020/02/05/novel-wuhan-coronavirus-whats-the-real-story/

Where do new viruses come from?

This Stated Clearly video does a good job of explaining how mutation and natural selection can start with a virus that infects a non-human animal and produce a virus that infects humans, thus resulting in a new human infectious disease. It is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJLXdsO1GBI. 

Coronavirus
This AsapSCIENCE video does a good job of explaining how the corona virus infects your body and causes illness. It is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTYfke545vI.

This overview summarizes major ecological concepts and recommends learning activities on topics such as food webs, energy flow through ecosystems, the carbon cycle, trophic pyramids, exponential and logistic population growth, species interactions in biological communities, succession, and effects of human activities on ecosystems. This overview also recommends introductory ecology readings. 

In the proposed sequence of topics and learning activities, the major biological concepts build in a logical progression that uses earlier concepts to help students understand subsequent concepts and reinforces student understanding of earlier concepts as they are used in subsequent sections of the course. For example, students are introduced to DNA structure and function early in the course and then use their understanding of DNA structure and function to enhance their understanding of subsequent topics, such as genetics and cell structure and function.

The attached documents present the proposed sequence of topics and learning activities. The learning activities will help students meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (http://serendipstudio.org/exchange/bioactivities/NGSS/listing).

This minds-on, hands-on activity begins with the driving question of how a tiny seed grows into a giant sequoia tree.

To address this question, students first consider what types of molecules and atoms are in plants. Next, they analyze data from an experiment on changes in plant biomass in the light vs. dark. Then, they conduct an experiment to evaluate changes in CO₂ concentration in the air around plants in the light vs. dark.

Students interpret these data to develop an increasingly accurate and evidence-based model of the contributions of photosynthesis and cellular respiration to changes in plant biomass.

This activity counteracts several common misconceptions about plant growth, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration. (NGSS)

This activity uses the example of a flock of pelicans in flight to illustrate how analysis at multiple levels of organization enhances our understanding of a biological phenomenon.

Through an interactive whole-class discussion of PowerPoint slides, students learn about the multiple levels of organization in biology, as well as reductionism and emergent properties.

To reinforce these concepts, students answer the questions in a Student Handout and discuss their answers in additional whole class discussions.

This NGSS Modeling Biology Capstone Course has been developed for use in a high school science curriculum that begins with physics, followed by chemistry, and then biology. We have developed and classroom tested materials for five topics (with a total of eight instructional units). These are:
1- Introduction to Biology
2- Biological Molecules (A-Chemistry of Life; B-Enzymes)
3- DNA (A-Structure and Function; B-Transcription and Translation)
4- The Cell
5- Energy and Biological Processes (A-Cellular Respiration and Bioenergetics; B-Photosynthesis and Biosynthesis).
Subsequent topics will include inheritance, organism biology, ecology and evolution. For an overview of the course, see the first attachment below.

For additional information about this course, see https://tinyurl.com/NGSS-ModBio. If you are not already a member of AMTA (American Modeling Teachers Association) and want to join for full access to all the materials, you can go to https://modelinginstruction.org/ and click on membership.