Elisabet O. Orville
30 copies of the learning package with articles from the New Haven Register
30 small magnifying glasses
15 penlights
LESSON 1:
Lab on Phototaxis in Invertebrates
To the teacher
; Phototaxis is a way of “asking” an organism whether it can perceive light or not and then respond to it. All the invertebrates used in this lab are either positively or negatively phototaxic. After students have determined the response to light, they are asked how this response might be useful to the particular animal. Then they look for the organism’s eye(s) and draw it.
The lab can also serve as an informal introduction to the invertebrate kingdom. It is open ended students can delve as deeply as they wish into the structures and behavior of these animals. It should be a fun lab for them.
You will probably not want to use all the organisms from the following list. Connecticut Valley Biological Supply Co., Inc. is a good place to order the smaller organisms (address in back of unit). Sow bugs, earthworms and pond snails could be brought in by you or your students and fruit flies will magically appear if you put a rotten banana in an open jar. If the animals are too lively a short stay in the refrigerator will sedate them temporarily.
