This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the emergence of life on the islands of Hawaii from a barren volcanic platform under the ocean waves to the rich explosion of life that covers the many climate zones of the islands today.

A look at the "comfort zone" humans live in, and the interplay of life and the biosphere. Created by Big History Project.

Geologist Walter Alvarez gets to the bottom of a scientific murder mystery. Created by Big History Project.

Discussion of the properties of water that make it essential to life as we know it: polarity, "universal" solvent, high heat capacity, high heat of vaporization, cohesion, adhesion and lower density when frozen.

This video segment adapted from NOVA illustrates why carbon is at the center of life on Earth. It also asks whether carbon-based life might exist on other planets.

Walter Alvarez introduces geology and discusses how the physical features of Earth can tell us about its history. Created by Big History Project.

GEO 131: Introduction to Physical Geography is an OER course that provides a comprehensive overview of Earth's natural systems and the forces that shape its physical landscape. Students will explore key topics such as weather, climate, hydrology, ecology, geology, and tectonics. Through both lectures and hands-on lab exercises, students will examine the processes of volcanism, erosion, soil formation, and glaciation, and learn to apply geographic theories to real-world issues. The course emphasizes understanding the distribution of natural features and the scientific principles that explain Earth's physical geography.

Earth's 4.6 billion-year history has distinct periods. Geologists use evidence in rock record to classify these. Created by Big History Project.

Three billion years ago single-celled underwater bacteria used sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into tiny oxygen bubbles. Soon plants were turning an atmosphere full of volcanic carbon dioxide into oxygen. As we learn in this video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth," photosynthesis created a good home for animals and humans, though not for some primitive organisms. They had to retreat to where oxygen couldn't reach them. Join researchers as they search for these organisms, now considered tiny time capsules from a time before there was oxygen on Earth.

A closer look at the life on Earth and the techniques scientists use to study living organisms. Created by Big History Project.

This lesson plan is perfect for practicing and developing speaking skills. With that being said, you should use it with a student(s) at a pre-intermediate level in English. This essentially means that a student can engage in short, unplanned conversations about everyday life. Essentially this lesson provides a student with the opportunity to ask and answer questions about life in Australia. Don’t forget, this lesson is perfect to use with individual students or groups.If you want additional lesson plans and support, including teachers’ notes, be sure to register for a free Off2Class account.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A team of researchers from the US and the UK has launched a mathematical assault on our planet. Using energy calculations, they’ve tasked themselves with determining the ability for life as we know it to make it through a catastrophe of cosmic proportions. It’s the end of the world as we know it. And the verdict is that life will be fine. Just what kind of calamity would it take to wipe out all life? The simplest answer is that, since life as we know it depends on water, the entire ocean would have to boil. Earth’s toughest creature, the tardigrade, can withstand temperatures well above boiling. But it can do so for only a few minutes. So the question now becomes, what cosmic events are cataclysmic enough to vaporize our oceans? Mathematically, it’s an energy problem—to which there are three possible answers. The first is an asteroid impact. Many space objects have struck Earth throughout history. And many still might..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This course examines how a variety of cultural traditions propose answers to the question of how to live a meaningful life. It considers the meaning of life, not as a philosophical abstraction, but as a question that individuals grapple with in their daily lives, facing difficult decisions between meeting and defying cultural expectations. The course also provides tools for thinking about moral decisions as social and historical practices, and permits students to compare and contextualize the ways people in different times and places approach fundamental ethical concerns.

The course explores the literary masterworks of three of the most celebrated authors of the Middle Ages in their original literary and historical contexts. The various themes they take up - the importance of writing in the vernacular; the discourse of love as a form of discipline practised upon the self; the personal and political aspirations of the self in society; the constitution of ideal forms of social organization; the role of religion in the life and works of lay authors - transformed the course of much of Western literature for the next five centuries. Readings will include the entire Divine Comedy, generous selections from the Decameron, and all of Troilus and Criseyde in the original Middle English, together with samplings from the Troubadour tradition and the dolce stil nuovo.

Rating: Example of High Quality NGSS Design if Improved

Science Discipline: Earth & Space Sciences, Physical Sciences

Length: Unit

In Investigating Life on the Third Rock, middle school students work to generate and explore the overarching question of “How does the solar system and its objects affect life on Earth?” Students use modeling and argumentation to explore the lesson-level questions: “What properties of the solar system and its objects help explain why Earth can sustain life?” “Does the Moon affect life on Earth?” and “Why do the solar system and its objects move like they do?”

Travel through time in a rowboat to consider some of the "mini-thresholds" in the development of life on Earth. Created by Big History Project.

In this seminar you will curate information on the types of mutation that best help you learn the information. A comparison of how harmful different types of mutation can be will generate a deeper understanding of each type. You will explore examples of authentic mutations and choose one to communicate your findings.StandardsBIO.B.2.2.1 Describe how the processes of transcription and translation are similar in all organisms.BIO.B.2.2.2 Describe the role of ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and the nucleus in the production of specific types of proteins.BIO.B.2.3.1 Describe how genetic mutations alter the DNA sequence and may or may not affect phenotype (e.g., silent, nonsense, frame-shift).

Learn how Training Officer Travis Fitzgerald went from lifeguard to engineering in a really big pool at Johnson Space Center's Neutral Buoyancy Lab.

explains how objects such as a letter written by Abe Lincoln and a dress worn by Lady Bird Johnson's are preserved to ensure safety while on exhibit in a museum. The site looks at steps taken by conservators to preserve objects, including examination, stabilization, research, and restoration.