Amoeba Sisters Handouts

Quick Amoeba Sisters Updates!

Our posts may be less frequent & our email responses may take a bit longer- temporarily- for a good reason. Pinky had her (2nd) baby!! It's a 99.9% chance that Petunia is the amoeba posting over the next few weeks. 🙃

Is it too early to start thinking about Spring?
This March, we will be at four different conferences! We'd love to meet you!

Will you soon be teaching a scientific theory? There are many misconceptions about the word "theory" when used casually vs. in science. Here's a quick video about the difference. Thanks to our patrons for the topic vote!

Click above to see video.

Resources Listed or Linked on This Page:

Our resources are a tool - and like any tool - its effectiveness is based greatly on how it is used.

Annotated Video Script Templates

Where do I find them? Linked throughout this handout page next to certain topics to Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT). You will need to scroll down about a third of the way down on this page underneath the purple "terms of use" box to see where the topics (alphabetical listing) start. Or, you can see all templates together here.
About and Suggested Use: Our annotated video script templates 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 parts of the transcript that they already knew (which can be built upon), (2) highlight key information that is new to them, (3) come up with their own questions, and (4) underline vocabulary. The template has a spacious right margin for students to sketch concepts that are memorable or relevant to them. P.S. 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.

Recap Handouts/ Select Recap Handouts

Where do I find them? The FREE student recap handouts are downloadable on this page. You will need to scroll down about a third of the way down on this page underneath the purple "terms of use" box to see where the topics (alphabetical listing) start. Topics with FREE student recap handouts will have buttons next to them that say "Recap- Amoeba Sisters PDF." All of our FREE resources are hosted on this page; we like to avoid double posting our free items to other locations. Select recap handouts are linked next to certain topics on this page to TpT- or see all select handouts here.
About and Suggested Use: Both our FREE and select recap handouts use video cartoons (drawn by Petunia) to help students connect to the content after viewing one of our short videos. Many questions are open ended and ask students to put concepts in their own words (or drawings). All recap handouts are in a grid format. 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. Students can hand the handouts to you as they walk out the classroom door. These formative checks can be used to open discussion the next morning and to give feedback- no grade needed. The next set of grid boxes can then continue to serve as a series of exit tickets for several days.

Unlectured Series

Where do I find the Unlectured Series Topics? Topics are linked individually on this page next to certain topics to Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT), but we recommend viewing our Unlectured page where they are all grouped together.
About and Suggested Use: 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. Each topic has a portion devoted to, "Why does this content matter?" and an opportunity for students to use their foundation knowledge to create a product. See a detailed Q&A on their use and read reviews on our Unlectured page.

P.S. Click above graphic to see our blog post on this topic. While these "absolute statements" do not seem to involve edu videos on YouTube (yet), we believe the effectiveness of edu videos ALSO depends on how they are used so we made a video with some suggestions!

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 next to individual topics. 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 recap 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. The template provides an opportunity for students to sketch, identify key points, recognize important vocabulary, and come up with their own questions. P.S. 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! The Unlectured Series is designed to be an alternative to traditional lecture/notes and encourages student questioning, discussion, and student creation. There are 18 topics total in our complete first series, and these topics are individually linked on this page. We also have them available all together in our 18 topic bundle.

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! TpT contains 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, we greatly appreciate the support from those that purchase items that we offer exclusively on TpT.

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 marketplace 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.

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 by topic, and topics are listed in alphabetical order under the purple terms of use box---scroll down just a little bit more. 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

Reviewing with GIFs! (from Spring 2017)

-Also, check out some of Pinky's Ed Tech Favorites for some tech related tips and 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."

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!

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

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 Recap - Amoeba Sisters PDF
File Size:	441 kb
File Type:	pdf

Quick Amoeba Sisters Updates!

Resources Listed or Linked on This Page:

Annotated Video Script Templates

Recap Handouts/ Select Recap Handouts

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

Fermentation

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

Mitosis vs. Meiosis ​Side by Side Comparison

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

[General Lab] Safety

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

(Inside the)
Cell Membrane

Gene Regulation
(focusing on gene expression in operon)

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

Mitosis vs. Meiosis
Side by Side Comparison

Multiple Alleles (ABO Blood Types)

Plant Reproduction
(in angiosperms)

How Cells Become
Specialized
*focuses on stem cells