SpookyBiology

 PBS site on the biology of blood and the scientific developments that contributed to our understanding and use of blood. Feature articles make up the bulk of this site, as well as video clips from the television series, an education section with lesson plans and a discussion guide.  The breakdown of complex molecules in our world is accomplished by the interaction of loving organisms such as insects, nematodes, fungi, protozoan, and bacteria. Oxidation or the presence of oxygen causes chemical reactions that help to breakdown complex molecules. Students conduct an experiment based on their hypothesis that begins: “If a pumpkin is carved and left sitting in the same environment as an uncarved pumpkin, then. . .” · **Pumpkin Prediction [] **Check out these lesson ideas about pumpkins from Education World. For another inquiry lesson, see the Pumpkin Prediction activity. · **Pumpkins and More [] ** Everything you wanted to know about pumpkins. · **Pumpkin Math/Science Jokes:  ** What's the ratio of a pumpkin's circumference to its diameter? (Pumpkin Pi)  What do you get when you drop a pumpkin? (Squash)  Why did the cucumber call the pumpkin his cousin? (They both belong to the gourd family)  <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 6pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"> <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">·  **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bats [|www.kidsnet.org/sfkc/sfkc20031031-1.html] ** <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">·  **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bats, Bats, Everywhere! [|www.bats4kids.org/] ** <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">You’ve Got Bats [|www.50birds.com/bats.htm] ** <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">See // Spooky Science: Geology //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> for creepy critters that live in caves. <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 6pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"> <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msoansilanguage: EN; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Lessons from the Golden Toad []  ** <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msoansilanguage: EN; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Horned Toads []  ** <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 6pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"> <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Spider Science Inquiry Activity []  **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Includes viewing of clips from science fiction film, //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Arachnophobia. ////<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Students explore the question: // What is an arthropod and what characteristics divide arthropods into their class? <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Wolf Spiders [] **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Consider a wolf spider for a classroom pet! This site tells you everything you need to know. <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mysterious Giant Spider Web in Texas [|www.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/08/mysterious-gian/]  ** <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Spiders Rule Website [] ** <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Spider Poem:  ** The spider, dropping down from twig,  Unfolds a plan of her devising, A thin premeditated rig To use in rising. <span style="color: #2c1717; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (from //Natural History// by E.B. White) <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">
 * Spooky Science: Biology **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood [|www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/] **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">See // Spooky Science: Chemistry //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> for fake blood recipes.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Demise of a Halloween Pumpkin [|www.trms.ga.net/lessons/sc/pumpkin.html] [| and www.accessexcellence.org/AE/ATG/data/released/0517-TrumanHoltzclaw/index.php] **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bats [|www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson031.shtml] **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Check out lesson ideas about bats from Education World.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Toads [] **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Toads are not just a key ingredient in witches’ brew, they are important environmental indicators. All amphibians are susceptible to environmental toxins because of their sensitive skin. They are usually the first species to die out in polluted areas. If you have healthy toad populations in your area, it’s a good sign that your neighborhood is fairly unpolluted. And no, you cannot catch warts from touching a toad. Toads are voracious pest predators in the warm months, but go into underground hibernation around Halloween and won’t emerge until spring. Toads eat over 15000 insects each per season!
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Spiders [] **<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">With <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> their eight legs and multiple eyes, spiders are creatures right out of nightmares—and their sticky webs and venomous fangs don’t help their image. Even though they might look scary, spiders are actually extremely beneficial predators of all sorts of insect pests. Only three species in the U.S. that have venom considered strong enough to hurt people: the black widow, the brown recluse and the hobo, and spider bites from these are very rare.