u/diremouse

Looking for something fun and different to teach after testing?

We just released Micro Matchups, a free NGSS-aligned middle school unit where students watch real microscope footage of protists hunting, fleeing, and competing. It's meant to fit into one 50 minute class period, with presentation, videos, worksheets, all ready to go.

Students first try to predict the winner between 2 protists (like Lacrymaria vs. Halteria), based on size and evolutionary adaptations in a Pokemon-style matchup format. Then they watch world-class microscopy footage licensed from James Weiss / Jams Germs. A reaction video with Duke ecologist Dr. Jean-Philippe Gibert follows each round to scaffold deeper understanding about microscopic food webs, predator-prey interactions, and ecology.

It’s like the Serengeti in a drop of water.

It's free to you, thanks to NSF funding:
https://teach.galacticpolymath.com/units/en-US/21?t=ov

Would love feedback from any science teachers who try it.

This is part of a free unit "Micro Matchups: A multimedia-rich exploration of protists" for grades 6+ to get students excited about microscopic life.
https://teach.galacticpolymath.com/units/en-US/21?t=ov

"Stassun, an astrophysicist at Vanderbilt University who was appointed to the board in 2022, thinks the board’s public criticism in May 2025 of Trump’s proposed 55% cut to NSF’s current budget—which Congress ultimately ignored—antagonized the administration."