Unit 1Intro to Biology
4 lessons2 Weeks
Intro to Biology
 Week 1
Lesson 1
My Pet Tardigrade
Student meet a fictional pet tardigrade that will be with them throughout the year to teach them Biology. They also see what real tardigrades look like under the microscope. 
Lesson 2
Tardigrade Poster
Students make a poster of a Tardigrade, which they will add to throughout the year. This will help them make connections from what they're learning to something they already know. 
 Week 2
Lesson 3
What is Alive
Students look at characteristics of life and decide what makes something alive. They learn about the scientific process. 
Lesson 4
Nature Observation Project
Students are introduced to a Nature Observation Project that they can work on for the next 7 weeks.  
Unit 2Building Blocks of Life
8 lessons4 Weeks
Building Blocks of Life
 Week 3
Lesson 5
Cell Theory
Students learn that cells are the building blocks of all life.  They will look at microscopic pictures of cells. 
Lesson 6
Cell Models
Students make models of plant and animal cells with pudding and fruit.  
 Week 4
Lesson 7
Single-Celled Organisms
Students learn about single-celled organisms like bacteria and amoeba.  
Lesson 8
Bacteria
Students design an experiment involving growing bacteria.  
 Week 5
Lesson 9
Microbes
Students learn about other microbes, including "good" bacteria, like yeast. They'll make their own pizza dough with these microbes. 
Lesson 10
Bacteria Conclusion
Students share the results of their bacteria experiment.  Students will also start growing bean plants for several experiments later in the course. 
 Week 6
Lesson 11
Nutritional Health
Students learn about ways to keep themselves healthy by eating the right things.  They learn about the 5 food groups and look at food labels. 
Lesson 12
Healthy Food Plan
Students see how much sugar common foods contain, and learn about the effects of too much sugar on their bodies.  Then they are challenged to design a food plan for a day that includes healthy balances of food. 
Unit 3Genetics
3 lessons2 Weeks
Genetics
 Week 7
Lesson 13
What is DNA
Students learn about DNA and make a model of DNA using marshmallows and licorice. 
Lesson 14
Looking at DNA
Students learn about chromosomes and then extract DNA from a strawberry. If they own a microscope, they can view it under the microscope. 
 Week 8
Lesson 15
Inheritance
Students learn about family traits and inheritance.  They use this knowledge to imagine what a new baby in the family might look like. 
Unit 4Cells Make Organisms
3 lessons2 Weeks
Cells Make Organisms
 Week 8
Lesson 16
Plants are Organisms
Students learn how cells come together to make things like plants and animals.  They dissect a plant to investigate all of its separate parts.  They will also start growing plants for later experiments.  
 Week 9
Lesson 17
Animals are Organisms
Students dissect a frog (real or on paper) and investigate all of the parts of the animal that make it work.  
Lesson 18
Animals are Organisms
Students complete their frog dissection.