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EPIC Lesson Plans


These assignments were developed as part of the College and Career Readiness Initiative (CCRI) to help high school students better prepare for college. These assignments may be used by high schools and in developmental education courses to help students enhance their college and career readiness, and also to determine the degree to which high school seniors and incoming college students are meeting College and Career Readiness Standards. Click the link below to view lesson plans in a specific category

EPIC Lesson Plans

The Education Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) is an organization dedicated to improving educational policy and practices. They have been responsible for studying the validiity of the college and career readiness standards. The following lesson plans have been created by EPIC to promote college and career readiness. They may be used in high school Biology classes and adapted for use in undergraduate college courses


Lesson Title


Date Added



Cells: The inside Story EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will research the structure and function of major cell organelles and use an analogy to another system to describe the functions. Students will communicate their understanding in a digital slide show or scrapbook and a written narrative.

pdfDownload the lesson113.95 KB
Crossing The Border EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will mix several solutions, record their observations, and interpret the results in terms of intermolecular forces. Students will also use drawings of phospholipids and proteins to predict how intermolecular forces cause these biomolecules to form a biological membrane in water. Then, students will apply their knowledge of cellular transport and predict how substances will move across a concentration gradient.

pdfDownload the lesson150.95 KB
Divide to Multiply EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will explore the stages of mitosis and the primary events that occur in each stage. This activity also assesses students’ understanding of mitosis by requiring students to model the process.

pdfDownload the lesson125.74 KB
Enzymes In Action EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students are asked to collect background information regarding the structure and functioning of enzymes. The students will then explore enzymes in the laboratory setting. The activity also allows students the opportunity to design and conduct a lab to measure the impact of a single variable such as temperature, pH, and substrate concentration on enzyme activity.

pdfDownload the lesson108.42 KB
Going, Going, Gone EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will research and come up with possible solutions for Colony Collapse Disorder—a phenomenon that has led to a decrease in the size of the domestic honeybee population. Colony Collapse Disorder is caused by an invasive mite.

pdfDownload the lesson103.75 KB
How Many Are There? EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will explore two methods for estimating a population’s size. Students will first practice census methods using seeds to model a sample population. Then students will census a real population of trees. Some simple statistical procedures will be introduced to analyze reliability of the census techniques.

pdfDownload the lesson164.91 KB
Macromolecule Mixes EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this assignment, students will compare and contrast different macromolecules. In addition, students will identify the macromolecules in a variety of substances using various indicators.

pdfDownload the lesson127.91 KB
Making ATP EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will relate the chemical changes of cellular respiration to dietary intake, mitochondrial structure, flow of electrons and hydrogen ions, and ATP synthesis. Students will investigate energy sources in their diet and produce and interpret drawings of sub-cellular structures and molecular structures.

pdfDownload the lesson212.34 KB
Pennies for Thought EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will carry out hands-on simulations to discover how variation and natural selection can produce a change in a population over several generations. Students will also learn some simple ways (data tables, histograms, etc.) to present the data generated in the simulation. Students then examine data from real investigations of natural, free-ranging populations of organisms and compare their simulation results to those obtained with real organisms.

pdfDownload the lesson228.93 KB
Spot It, Got It EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will locate and record real examples of processes and specimens that illustrate concepts discussed in a typical biology course. Students will then write a descriptive caption or statement that briefly explains how or why each image illustrates the concept.

pdfDownload the lesson132.87 KB
What Are The Chances? EPIC 2/22/2011 Biology

In this activity, students will use pedigrees and Punnett squares to explore patterns of inheritance. Students will apply what they have learned to determine how a genetic disorder is transmitted through a family.

pdfDownload the lesson109.54 KB