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32 Standards Met with Wisconsin Fast Plants® Engage students and support NGSS with classroom-tested, tried-and-true Wisconsin Fast Plants®. A leading expert on the use of Fast Plants® in education recommends investigations and kits to support K–12 NGSS. View »
Bringing Real-World STEM Experiences to the Classroom by using miniPCR For schools grappling with budget constraints, biotech equipment costs can make it difficult to give students true-to-life learning experiences. One biology teacher has found a new resource that makes real-world instruction more affordable. View »
Infographic: Genomics-Driven Oncology Thanks to advances in oncology over the past decade, doctors are better able to diagnose and treat cancer, and ultimately, improve outcomes for patients. Dr. Neil Lamb of HudsonAlpha explains how. View »
What's the Big Idea? Understanding the Laboratory Experience in the AP* Chemistry Curriculum If you teach AP* Chemistry, you’re already aware, or need to be, that changes to the course curriculum are here, which means you’ll probably have to change your classroom instruction. To help relieve your anxiety, here’s an overview of the course revisions, some important dates to remember, and 2 ways Carolina can help to ensure your success during this transition. View »
Let Wisconsin Fast Plants® Grow on You! What if you could provide your students with an experiment that takes up little space, can be tailored to fit the time you have available in the classroom, and meets NGSS? View »
5 Steps to Teaching Inquiry in Your Science Classroom Worried about the inquiry lab requirement of the College Board's AP lab curriculum? Here are some great tips from an educator who's already done it. View »
Give Your Students That "A-ha" Moment Carolina is proud to announce its partnership with the educational outreach team of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology to provide educational kits that give students that “aha!” moment. The Institute’s educational products focus on addressing common student misconceptions and introducing students to potential career paths in biotechnology. The Institute also provides valuable FREE digital resources for educators. View »
Using the Concepts Associated with Providing Clean Drinking Water to Teach Science: An Interdisciplinary Approach Introducing students to the issues associated with safe drinking water is a great real-world, interdisciplinary way to teach science. View »
Hydroponics Using a nutrient-rich water solution and a unique, time-tested approach, you can successfully grow plants with no soil. In a hydroponic system, water does the work. Find out more about this fascinating method and the advantages that make it both appealing and effective. View »
Using pClone Red for a Science Fair Project on Bacterial Gene Expression The emerging field of synthetic biology attracted the attention of one high school student planning his science fair project. His research—and its award-winning results—may suggest new ways that you can explore gene expression with your students. View »
Tied Up in Protein Synthesis (or Lost in Translation): A Kinesthetic and Inquiry-Based Approach to Teaching the Central Dogma of Biology In this exercise, students tie Windsor knots to create a translation product from mRNA instructions—a protein “necktie.” Your classroom is the nucleus, and the hallway is cytoplasm. View »
The Science of Fear You know that hair-raising feeling you get when you’re scared? By undergoing a specific physiological response, your body is primed to confront, and hopefully overcome, whatever scary situation you face. View »
Phases of the Cell Cycle A concise take on the life cycle of a typical eukaryotic cell. View »
Infographic: Bring Your Genetics Lessons to Life with Model Organisms Carolina offers unique opportunities to work with model organisms—such as genetic corn (Zea mays), Wisconsin Fast Plants® (Brassica rapa), and fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster)—in your genetics labs. View »
Bacteriophages in Human Disease: Friends and Foes Help your students understand the connection between bacteriophages and human disease. This scholarly overview explores how bacteriophages have helped and hindered humans in their quest to overcome certain diseases. Use it as assigned reading or to kick off a classroom discussion. View »
Flipped Lessons Are Great, Now Try Layering! Getting the Most Out of Your Wisconsin Fast Plants® Lessons Tick-tock, tick-tock. Every classroom minute is precious, and teachers always look for ways to accomplish more during instructional time. Wisconsin Fast Plants® can help maximize your time while providing 3-dimensional learning recommended by the latest national standards. View »
Examples to Use When Teaching About Selection and Evolution: Fox Domestication and Poison Resistance in Rodents To make abstract science concepts more concrete, teachers often use real-life examples. But even classic examples can lose their appeal. Refresh your lessons on evolution and selection with 2 less well known examples. View »
Snakeheads Invade the United States Teach your students about the challenges nonnative species pose by focusing on a current example, the northern snakehead fish. Native to China, Russia, and Korea, this fish has established breeding populations in several states. Find out how this might have happened and what scientists are doing about it. View »
Biology in the Movies See how you can use movies to facilitate engaging learning experiences for your students. Each suggestion includes a brief synopsis and talking points. Here’s to making your biology lessons even better than before. View »
The Science Behind Lactose Intolerance Rumbly tummy after that milkshake? It could be lactose intolerance. In this brief overview, we’ll examine its causes, symptoms, and genetic underpinnings—plus point you toward some resources for further investigation. View »
Population Genetics and Evolution: Asking the Right Questions AP® Biology: It’s a question of shifting population genetics! Apply the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium model with Wisconsin Fast Plants® and independent student research. See a sample student question sheet from our featured kit’s activities. View »
How to Make a Good Scientific Model Are your students able to generate observations and construct a scientific model? Use our free scientific model checklist to help guide them. View »
Carolina Investigations® for AP® Chemistry: Chemical Kinetics The order of a chemical reaction shows the relationship between the rate of chemical reaction and the concentration of reactant. View »
Using Interactive Case Studies to Meet the New Science Standards Learn about the benefits of using Interactive Case Studies to teach science concepts View »
Having Friends Over for Lunch: The Mutualism of Paramecium bursaria and Endosymbiotic Algae When you teach symbiosis and endosymbiotic theory, consider using Paramecium bursaria, a protist that forms a mutualistic relationship with algae. View »
Getting a Handle on Variation of Traits This article is designed to help students and teachers think about the nature of various determinants underlying biological variation. View »
Video: Comparing DNA Sequences This engaging video by science teacher Paul Andersen shows you how to compare DNA sequences to understand evolutionary relationships. View »
Butterfly Necklace Use this activity to give students an understanding of the life cycle of the painted lady butterfly. Includes materials list and step-by-step instructions. View »
Meet the 12-Spotted Lady Beetle Explore the fascinating life cycle of the lady beetle with the help of this infographic. View »
Carolina’s Teacher- and Student-Focused Kit Development Process Carolina's kit development team approaches each kit as a tool to be honed so that it is easy to use, engages students, walks them toward success, and eases teacher workload. Learn more about the process in this short white paper. View »
Human Body: Nervous System Teach the functions of the central and peripheral nervous systems with this infographic. View »
Bioluminescence Explained Learn how bioluminescent organisms produce light, and explore the evolution behind this fascinating concept of biology. It’s more brilliant than you think . . . View »
Teaching About the Human Body Systems Are you ready to enhance your body systems curricula? Check out our free resources for teaching body systems. Pair them with models, dissection specimens and supplies, safety equipment, and more. View »
How to Teach the Crosscutting Concepts with Wisconsin Fast Plants Lessons taught with Wisconsin Fast Plants engage students with natural phenomena, and they are some of the easiest to design with crosscutting concepts as the foundation. Learn how. View »
Engineering for Sports: Traumatic Brain Injury How can sports-related brain injuries be prevented? Get tips and resources to help your students engineer and test brain protection device designs. View »