Teacher Resources

Grade Level: Middle & High School

This standards-based STEM lesson plan investigates the influence of climate change on the transmission of vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever, West Nile virus, chikungunya, and malaria. These 3 units can each stand alone and are designed to be taught in this order. If outside of sequence, teachers may need to add supplemental materials. Funded by a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Climate Change and Vector-Borne Disease Unit

Climate parameters such as rising temperatures and increased precipitation are affecting mosquitoes and disease transmission worldwide.

Pathogens and Vectors Unit

Climate changes affect the life cycles of pathogens, causing faster replication that leads to increased transmission, and also affect the vectors for pathogens.

Disease Transmission Unit

Social and economic factors, in addition to climate variables, are critical in efforts to reduce the spread of disease.

Grade Level: Middle & High School

The massive lobster die-off in the Long Island Sound in 1999 was the inspiration for this 2007 draft event-based science lesson plan. Developed with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Bay and Paul Foundations.

Grade Level: K-12

This lesson plan explores 2 vector-borne diseases in Connecticut—Lyme disease and the West Nile virus—and the ticks and mosquitoes, respectively, that spread them. It uses the event-based science instructional model: students become the scientists, their work is a solution to a real problem, and the teacher acts as coach, guide, and advisor. Designed to be taught in 4 weeks. Developed through a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Grade Level: Elementary School, adaptable to other levels

This lesson draft is only available as individual files. Accompanying kits of specimens and materials can be borrowed from the Museum. Contact us with requests and questions. Made possible by a generous grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Developed collaboratively with Connecticut teachers.

Grade Level: Middle & High School

This lesson covers major geologic forces that shaped the land in Connecticut: tectonic processes, glaciation, weathering, and erosion. Designed to be taught in 3 weeks. Made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Compiled and written collaboratively with Connecticut teachers.

Grade Level: K-12

Event-Based Science Basics

Invaders! Impacts of Invasive Species on Food Webs and Ecosystems

These lessons were designed by teachers and museum educators through the Yale Peabody Museum’s Event-Based Teacher Collaborative. Many units have accompanying kits of specimens and materials that can be borrowed from the Museum. Contact us with requests and questions. Made possible by a generous grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Grade Level: K-12

Developed with Connecticut teachers at Yale’s 2012–2014 summer institutes for high school teachers jointly sponsored by Programs in International Educational Resources at the MacMillan Center, the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies, and the Yale Peabody Museum. Supported by a Title VI National Resource Center Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Made possible by generous support from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

Maya Cultures Across Time

American Histories: Native Peoples and Europeans in the Americas

The Indigenous Atlantic: Encounters, Exchanges, and Endurance

Grade Level: Grades 2, 3, 4

Activities about basic botany and plant ecology that are linked to Connecticut State science standards. Developed with Connecticut elementary school teachers. A teaching kit is available to borrow for classroom use. Made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Grade Level: K-12

These classroom laboratory exercises teach the basics of understanding morphological variation, a key way in which scientists evaluate the distinctiveness of populations. Teachers can prompt students to think about what ecological, environmental, or evolutionary controls may be influencing morphological variation in populations. Read through the directions and the slide presentations for an overview.

Dimorphism in Asian Shore Crabs

Morphological Variation in Littorine Snails

Grade Level: High School

The 10 lesson units of this standalone curriculum, based on the 2008 special exhibition Las Artes de México at the Yale Peabody Museum, can be used as standalone teaching materials.

Grade Level: 4th grade – High school

These curricula were originally designed to accompany the exhibition Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas. Most of the lessons can be used as standalone materials without having visited the exhibition.