Amoeba Sisters Handouts

Preparing for the New 2018-2019 School Year?

The topics of "safety" (for all those exciting hands-on labs) and "characteristics of life" are always a great place to start! Scroll down under the resources to "safety" (topics are all listed alphabetically) and "characteristics of life" to find a link to our short, FREE videos (and accompanying resources if interested).

Look for these Summer 2018 Updates to This Page!

By July 31, 2018

Completion of Unlectured Series Topics [1st series of 18 topics]
Listed TEKS (TX science standards) on this page will be updated to August 2018 Streamlined TEKS (also updated on Texas Teachers page)
Adding in NGSS that our videos can help support on this page.

By August 31, 2018
Resources Will be Added To This Page for Our Newer Videos Below (which don't yet have resources):

Inside the Cell Membrane Video [this will be an annotated video script template handout]
Cell Cycle Video [this will be an Unlectured Series resource]
Chromosomes and Karyotypes Video [this will be an annotated video script template handout]
Updated Prokaryotic Cells vs. Eukaryotic Cells [this will be a standard recap handout]
Fermentation Video [this will be a select recap handout]
Mitosis vs. Meiosis Comparison Video [this will be a select recap handout]
Updated Viruses Video [this will be a standard recap handout]

About Resources Listed or Linked on This Page:

Our resources are a tool - and like any tool - it is how they are used that determines their effectiveness. Our goal is that our short videos (always less than 10 minutes) can provide foundation information so that there is more time for the valuable class experiences of hands-on labs, classroom discussion, and involving students in creating!

Recap Handouts and Select Recap Handouts:
On our recap handouts, we use video cartoons (drawn by Petunia) to help students connect to the material after viewing one of our short videos. Many of the questions are open ended and require application behind them such as asking students to put concepts in their own words or to make an illustration that is meaningful to them. All recap handouts purposefully have a table format so content is arranged in a grid. Our suggested way to use these handouts is to use 1-2 grid boxes at a time as classroom exit tickets in the last 5 minutes of class. Those last 5 minutes of class can add up! In 2 weeks, that's 50 minutes of time! Have students hand the handouts to you as they walk out the classroom door and use these formative checks to give feedback the next day. The next set of grid boxes can then continue to serve as a series of exit tickets for several days. Addressing your students' misconceptions can be a great way to open discussion the next morning- no grade needed!

Annotated Video Script Template Handouts:
Do your students like to doodle? Are they finding the vocabulary with a certain topic a challenge? Do you want to find a way to empower them to come up with their own questions (and explore the answers to share with the class)? Our annotated video script templates, available below for some of our videos, are templates designed for this. They contain an informal version of our video script (with slight improvements to define sentences and remove filler words to help with annotating), and they have an annotation key asking students to (1) highlight foundation parts of the transcript that they already knew (which can be built upon), (2) highlight information that is new to them, (3) come up with their own questions, and (4) underline vocabulary. In addition, the template has a spacious, blank right margin for students to sketch concepts that are memorable or relevant to them. Our suggested way to use these templates is to have students watch the short Amoeba Sisters video once first (not viewing and doing annotations simultaneously). PS. All of our Unlectured Series topics already include an annotated video script template with them as that is an important component of the Unlectured Series Resource.

Unlectured Series
Our Unlectured Series is an alternative to traditional lecture and notes in class- and places more emphasis on discussion, student questioning, and student creation. All Unlectured Series topics include an annotated video script template, a slideshow of question starters with memorable comics/illustrations for classroom discussion, and a facilitation guide. There is always a portion devoted to, "Why does this content matter?" and an opportunity for students to use their foundation knowledge to create a product. We made a video specifically on this resource that you can watch at the top of our Unlectured Series page here.

Terms of Use of Video Handouts:

Our handouts are designed for classroom use, and you can find our terms of use here! Please note: terms of use prohibit publicly posting answer keys made from our handout content as this is a modification of our published content (and a disservice to other teachers and students using them). We do offer official Amoeba Sisters answer keys (linked on this website to Teachers Pay Teachers- TPT) which also have these same terms.

i'm new to your videos and resources.
can you tell me all the resources you have available?
(Click to Expand)

What we offer for FREE:

We have many FREE student recap handouts that you can download and use for all of your students that you will find below on this page. (Please see our terms of use which outline their use as they can't be sold and answer keys made using them cannot be publicly available online, as that makes it difficult for other teachers to use.) Our handouts are designed in a grid format so that 1-2 of the "boxes" can be used as an exit ticket in those last 5 minutes of class. This allows one handout to serve as a series of exit tickets, and it can provide an opportunity to give feedback to students (and address misconceptions).
Check out our GIFs and comics, which you are welcome to use in your presentations---provided that you follow the terms of use (which includes that they cannot be put in items that you sell).
Our full video playlist (and all of our videos are always FREE!) can be a useful resource. We have over 50 videos there now, and we add a new video to our playlist every month.

What we sell on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT):
TpT is a platform we love as it allows teacher creators to support their work! TpT is free to join. As outlined on all product pages, purchased TpT resources cannot be made available publicly online. This would make us unable to support our work.

We sell answer keys which accompany the free website student handouts to help support our work. You will find them linked on this page. We also have many of our answer keys in bundles, which are discounted from buying them individually. Answer keys offer convenience, and they also can be useful if you are new to the content. As mentioned in product descriptions, please don't purchase a key without first making sure you have the free accompanying handout from this page that it goes to it (and that you have determined that it's an ideal fit for your classroom).
We offer a few "select handouts" that come with their own answer keys. You will find these linked (but not uploaded) on this page. They are styled just like our regular free handouts in the grid format for exit ticket use, but they tend to cover more detailed/less standard topics. For example, water properties, the endosymbiotic theory, and non-Mendelian inheritance are topics that have select handouts (with accompanying keys).
We offer annotated video script templates for some videos. You will find these linked (but not uploaded) on this page. They contain an informal version of our video script with slight improvements to define sentences and remove filler words to help with annotating. They have an annotation key asking students to (1) highlight foundation parts of the transcript that they already knew (which can be built upon), (2) highlight information that is new to them, (3) come up with their own questions, and (4) underline vocabulary. In addition, the template has a spacious, blank right margin for students to sketch concepts that are memorable or relevant to them. PS. All of our Unlectured Series topics already include an annotated video script template with them as that is an important component of the Unlectured Series Resource.
Our Unlectured Series! We are so passionate about this project. The Unlectured Series is designed to be an alternative to traditional lecture/notes and encourages student questioning, discussion, and student creation.

some of the resources you listed are on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT). What is TPT and how do i join?
can my school have a tpt account?
(click to Expand)

Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) allows teacher creators to be able to earn support for their work which allows us to continue our creating! You will find all kinds of amazing resources (in all content areas PK-12!) created by those that are, or have been, in the classroom. While we plan to always have free resources available (and, of course, our videos are always free) as this is part of our mission, but we greatly appreciate the support from those that purchase items that we offer exclusively on TpT. Your support helps us move forward!

It is completely free to join TpT. Here is their general sign-up page for a personal account: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Signup

TpT is a popular marketplaces for edu resources. Did you know your school can also have a TpT account? Check out the new TpT for Schools. This allows schools to purchase items that they need through one place for their teachers, and it works well with school purchase orders. Even if your school doesn't have a TpT for Schools account, it is possible to purchase something on TPT with a school purchase order.

More Questions about how a school can use TPT? You may find this helpful from TPT: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Help/for-administrators-77/How-should-I-use-TpT-for-Schools-as-a-district

We remain advocates for resources created by educators who know what it's like to be in the classroom. P.S. We are also advocates for open textbooks in K-12 and also higher ed. You can find a recommendation on our videos page regarding a FREE, peer-reviewed textbook that we often cite as a reference in our video details.

Support Us?

Our videos are FREE! Subscribe to our YouTube channel? Subscribing to our channel is also free and would make us the HAPPIEST of amoebas! :)

Resources Q&A
Click on a question below to expand the answer. If using a mobile device, you can scroll by scrolling on the left or right side of your screen.

I'm using your handouts for daily exit tickets so I can give feedback the next day. However, what if I want my students to annotate digitally on them since they are pdf documents? (I'm at a 1:1 campus)

There are so many free tools for this now that work in Chrome itself! Consider the free, quick Chrome extension Kami or the free Chrome app DocHub (not affiliated with either tool). These tools allow for annotating and writing on PDFs and work well with Google products as well. Here's an example in our quick screenshot video on our Twitter page! Just a reminder though: always check the privacy policy/terms of use of any tool before using in your classroom.

I'm searching for a certain topic. How are your resources organized on this page?

Resources are listed in alphabetical order. Tip: The keyboard shortcut Control+F (Windows) or Command+F (Apple) will give you a "find" box in the browser where you can quickly find a topic on this page (example: "karyotypes").

Do all of your videos have accompanying resources?

No, not all of our videos have an accompanying resource. This tends to happen when we have a new video and have not yet completed an accompanying resource. Since a video that does not have a resource will not be on this handouts page, bookmark our complete video playlist to access all of our videos. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified when we release new videos.

do your videos and resources support any specific science standards?

Our videos and resources are designed to specifically focus on and support science TEKS (Texas standards), but there is often standard overlap in many locations. You will find TEKS listed on this page when applicable. We have started to include NGSS that can be supported by our video topics. However, we want to emphasize that our videos and resources cannot be all inclusive of any standard, because we believe a strong lab foundation, student questioning, and discussion in the course is critical to fully addressing science standards. It is our goal that our videos and resources are supplemental to help support the standards that students are mastering.

what are some more ways to connect students to your video content?

-Involving students as creators of videos or GIFs

-Question template for students to design their own questions

-Also, check out some of Pinky's Ed Tech Favorites for other classroom tools that work well with videos.
*Reminder that tools have their own terms and privacy policies. We are not affiliated with any tools listed in "Pinky's Ed Tech Favorites."

Our new Unlectured Series!

Reviewing with GIFs! (from Spring 2017)

Do you present at edu conferences and schools?

Yes, come see us at one of our presentations! Or invite us to come to yours! Just a note: after summer 2018, we will not be available again to present until February 2019. Pinky is expecting her second baby!

Amoeba Sisters Terms of Use

Reminder: Terms of use prohibit publicly posting answer keys made from our handouts. This is an editing on our copyrighted published work (and a disservice to fellow teachers and students using them).

Alleles and Genes

Alleles and Genes - Amoeba Sisters PDF
File Size:	441 kb
File Type:	pdf

Preparing for the New 2018-2019 School Year?

Look for these Summer 2018 Updates to This Page!

About Resources Listed or Linked on This Page:

Terms of Use of Video Handouts:

Resources Q&A Click on a question below to expand the answer. If using a mobile device, you can scroll by scrolling on the left or right side of your screen.

Alleles and Genes

Asexual and Sexual Reproduction

Bacteria

Biological Levels ​(of Organization)

Biomagnification

Biomolecules

(Human)Body Systems ​(overview focuses on overall system functions)

Carbon and Nitrogen Cycle​

(Intro to) Cells

Cell Cycle (and cancer)

[Inside the] Cell Membrane

Cellular Respiration

Cell Transport

Characteristics of Life

Chromosomes and Karyotypes

Chromosome Numbers

Classification

Dichotomous Keys

Dihybrid (& Two-Trait) Crosses

DNA, Chromosomes, Genes, & Traits: Intro to Heredity

DNA Replication

DNA vs. RNA

Ecological Relationships

Ecological Succession

Endosymbiotic Theory

Enzymes

Food Chains/Webs, Energy Pyramids, and Intro to Biodiversity

Gel Electrophoresis

Gene Regulation(focusing on gene expression in operon)

Genetic Drift

Homeostasis and Feedback

Incomplete Dominance, Codominance, Polygenic Inheritance, Epistasis{Non-Mendelian}

Meiosis

Mitosis

Monohybrid Crosses

﻿Multiple Alleles (ABO Blood Types)﻿

Mutations

Natural Selection

Osmosis (and Water Potential)

Pedigrees

Photosynthesis

Plant Reproduction ​(in angiosperms)

Plant Structure & Adaptations

Prokaryotic vs. Eukaryotic Cells

?

Properties of Water

Protein synthesis

Safety (General Lab)

Sex-linked Traits

How Cells BecomeSpecialized*focuses on stem cells

Specialized Cells

Speciation

Viruses

Resources Q&A
Click on a question below to expand the answer. If using a mobile device, you can scroll by scrolling on the left or right side of your screen.

Biological Levels
(of Organization)

(Human)
Body Systems
(overview focuses on overall system functions)

Carbon and Nitrogen Cycle

(Intro to)
Cells

Gene Regulation
(focusing on gene expression in operon)

Incomplete Dominance, Codominance, Polygenic Inheritance, Epistasis
{Non-Mendelian}

Multiple Alleles (ABO Blood Types)

Plant Reproduction
(in angiosperms)

How Cells Become
Specialized
*focuses on stem cells