Teacher Tips

Busy as a teacher!

Living Things is a comprehensive topic with many sub-topics. The resources in the "Living Things" unit are categorized according to the following scheme.
	"Individuals" deals primarily with the anatomy and physiology of plants and animals. Cells, structure, systems, and adaptations are a few of the subject areas.
	"Families" addresses the systems for classification of plants and animals. Observed characteristics are emphasized as a primary means for classification.
	"Neighborhoods" considers the interactions of living things with the world around them. Ecosystems, habitats, and biomes are introduced.
	"Circle of Life" features the daily survival needs of plants and animals. Plant and animal life cycles are detailed, including birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
	Scattered throughout "Living Things," you'll find hands-on activities related to the subject matter at hand. The activities are generalized with room for modification so that you can make use of the existing resource materials you may already have in your classroom. The activities are not provided as recipes; rather, they are designed to stimulate your own ideas for investigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Curriculum Connections?: Increasingly, educators are using online resources as a significant part of their classroom instruction, yet they still need to "teach the standards" or "cover the curriculum." The Curriculum Connections are intended to link the resources in "Living Things" with existing curriculum standards, specifically the National Science Education Standards and, as a representative example, the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill science series. Hopefully, these connections will illustrate how the use of online resources, like "Living Things," can successfully meet your curriculum requirements. Use the Curriculum Connections Index to locate resources in "Living Things" relating to your curriculum.
What is the Keyword Matching Index?: The Keyword Index is intended to help you quickly access resources relating to the subject matter you have at hand. While by no means an exhaustive index, the keywords are broad enough that you should find what you need. The Index is only for the "Living Things" resource.
Where should I begin?: "Living Things" was designed to be as comprehensive and inclusive as possible. You will probably only use a subset of the resources provided. You may also want to scan the Keyword Index to get an overview of the topics.