Water Bears | Science Article #143 | Biology | Life Science | Science Insight | Literacy

Studying water bears (tardigrades) is fascinating and important due to their extraordinary resilience and potential implications for science. Tardigrades are microscopic organisms capable of surviving extreme conditions, including intense radiation, extreme temperatures, and even the vacuum of space. Research into their unique biology spans fields like genetics, astrobiology, and biotechnology, offering insights into the mechanisms behind their durability and potential applications in medicine, space exploration, and environmental science. Understanding tardigrades not only deepens our knowledge of life’s limits but also inspires innovations in technology and resilience strategies for extreme environments. With all this in mind, let’s engage with this teaching resource.

This science article provides the perfect grab and go, print and provide resource that can supplement lessons. It is an article with questions to check comprehension and inspire scientific thinking. I am very proud of this series of science articles and they are rich with information and wonder at the majesty of science. Each science article includes a fun fact(s) to add to the knowledge gained from this article. Formatted in an easy to read and digest manner, each paragraph is numbered to help with referencing and each question answer has a paragraph reference number to point to the specific information (where applicable).

WHY / WHEN TO USE:

• Useful for substitute (sub) teaching
• To extend students
• To increase scientific literacy in your class
• A weekly reading task
• Great as a lesson filler when class goes too fast
• To inspire students on a particular topic
• Give a selection of these articles for students to choose from

WHAT’S INCLUDED:

• 3 page Word doc teacher version with answers
• 2 page Word doc student version with room to fill in answers (text boxes)
• 3 page PDF teacher version with answers
• 2 page PDF student version without answers (but space left to do so)

More will be coming to cover other subjects and other topics, so please do keep an eye out for more science articles from The Teaching Astrophysicist!

If you have any questions, please feel to DM me on instagram @theteachingastrophysicist

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