What will you find here? 

STEW is a collection of hands-on science lessons produced by middle school teachers for their own use. The topics selected reflect, though are not limited to, the objectives of MSDA . They include genetics, the senses, ecology and cell biology. Materials necessary for these series of experiments should be readily available in most school systems with limited budgets. Please feel free to use and modify these lesson plans as you see fit.

Who created these pages?

These pages were produced by teachers active in Maryland's Prince George's educational system Their development from inception through final web production is based on the experiences and backgrounds of these dedicated professionals. All the authors were participants in the Howard Hughes Biology and Technology Workshop held at Western Maryland College. During the 2-week workshop these teachers were given the opportunity to refresh their biological background as well as gain the necessary technology skills to use equipment received for their classrooms. Each participant went back to their classroom with a G3 computer with video-editting capabilities, an additional large monitor and a videomicroscope set.

Any questions?

Any comments or questions about a specific class should be directed to the author. Questions about the page as a whole, participation in the workshop or further contributions may be sent to Dr. Esther Iglich [eiglich@mcdaniel.edu].

	Area of study	Topic
	Ecology: food chains,pollution,Pfeisteria, aquatic organisms	Chesapeake Bay: food chains and water pollution
	Genetics: chromosomal structure; human genetic diseases	Karyotyping Human Chromosomes
	Cell biology: cancer vs. normal cell structure; lung tissue	Cancer
	Hearing and the nervous system: how sound is produced;anatomy of the ear; noise pollution	Noise pollution and human hearing
	microscopy, mitosis,	Mitosis: dance of the chromosomes
	genetics, cell biology,sickle cell structure,punnet square,microscopy	Hereditary Diseases: sickle cell anemia
	ecology, population interactions,	Plant and animal interactions
	nervous system,	Beyond the senses
	nerve structure and function, reaction time lab exercises	Central nervous system
	study of single celled organisms in the environment; microscope slide as well as creative activities to reinforce concepts	Protista in the urban environment
	exploration of the impact of alien species into natural communities	Alien invasions: zebra mussels and oysters
	study of oyster filtration and anatomy	The role of oysters in the Chesapeake
	study of local biodiversity and trophic levels	Comparsion of bodiversity in the pond and soil
	experiments with sediment removal and acid rain	Who dirtied the water supply?.........sediments and acid rain:
	hands on experiments with stomatal role and structure	Stomata and plant processes
	a variety of labs on reaction time and nerve structure	5- Senses
	excercises which encourage students to identify the stages of mitosis in both animals and plants and help in understanding meiosis	Cell Division in Plant & Animal Cells
	includes a review of the 5 kingdoms and investigations of plant/animal/fungal interactions	Plant and animal interactions in our living world
	demonstrations/labs on cell permability	Cell permability
	observations of pond water and their inhabitants	Water quality