Symbiosis Complete Lesson Plan - MS

Everything you need for an engaging, hands-on middle school unit on symbiosis—ready to teach and fully editable.
This multiday, low-prep lesson set includes presentations, worksheets, student-choice projects, and assessments that make complex concepts accessible and exciting for every learner.
With differentiated, student-led learning experiences, you’ll have more time to focus on what matters most: student success.

Essential Questions

• What is a symbiotic relationship?

• How do mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism differ?

• What are real-world examples of each?

Why Teachers Love This Kesler Science Complete Lesson

• Differentiated materials for students who need additional support

• Multimodal learning to keep middle schoolers engaged and active

• Flexible delivery—printable or digital options available for any classroom setup

• Editable PowerPoints to adapt to your teaching style and students’ needs

• Spanish translations for vocabulary, reading passages, and interactive notebook pages

Aligned with 2021 TEKS standard 8.12C, this lesson follows the research-based 5E Instructional Model—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate—to guide your students through every stage of inquiry-based learning.

What’s Included in Each 5E Stage

Engage

• Objectives and Word Wall Cards in English and Spanish

• Teacher guide with ideas for class discussions, hands-on activities, and common misconceptions

Explore

The student-led station lab offers a variety of ways to introduce symbiosis while supporting all learners and learning styles.
Students rotate through nine interactive stations to investigate relationships among organisms in different ways.

Input Stations help students absorb new information through multiple modalities:

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or experiment to spark curiosity

• Read It! – Differentiated reading passage (English and Spanish) with comprehension questions

• Research It! – Online exploration with guided tasks and questions

• Watch It! – Short video and discussion prompts

Output Stations give students opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of symbiotic relationships:

• Organize It! – Sort and classify examples using printable or digital materials

• Write It! – Respond to open-ended questions in complete sentences

• Illustrate It! – Draw or diagram symbiotic relationships to reinforce understanding

• Assess It! – Apply new vocabulary and concepts through formal assessment questions

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
Extension activities for early finishers or enrichment opportunities for deeper exploration.

Explain

• Editable PowerPoints (standard and interactive versions) with built-in differentiation

• Interactive Notebook Templates in both digital and printable formats (English and Spanish)

• Note-taking templates to help students organize key ideas during lessons

Elaborate

Encourage creativity and independent thinking with student-choice projects on symbiosis.
Students apply their understanding by designing personalized projects that showcase their mastery of mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.

Evaluate

• STAAR 2.0–style assessment questions in both standard and modified versions

• Review worksheets for discussion, practice, or homework assignments

Ideal for Classroom or Virtual Learning

Whether you’re teaching in person or online, this complete symbiosis lesson is built for flexibility.
The station lab and PowerPoint/interactive notebook components are fully compatible with digital and in-class instruction, making it simple to engage students wherever they are.

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.