Crossing Boundaries

Ecoregion descriptions by WWF, useful with Science Pipes biome lesson and other activities using these ecoregions

Discovery Channel teacher materials

Zamzar file conversions online. Use the free service or pay for more premium features..

"Pundits may be asking if the Internet is bad for our children's mental development, but the better question is whether the form of learning and knowledge-making we are instilling in our children is useful to their future." "Online blogs directed at peers exhibit fewer typographical and factual errors, less plagiarism, and generally better, more elegant and persuasive prose than classroom assignments by the same writers."

hehe..students might not get the humor of Monty Python, but I do!

A great evolution video..

"Don't despair: that's the message of a new paper in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, which argues that decades of conservation actions at multiple scales have had a positive impact for many of the world's endangered species. "

Resources for using Edublog more effectively

Short clips from Simpson episodes which demonstrate particular science concepts/topics **Jesus Fish and Natural Selection is a neat one**

Each Target store will award three Field Trip Grants of up to $700 to K-12 schools, enabling one in 25 schools throughout the US to send a classroom on a field trip. Applications are due by Sept 30.

Downloadable publications include "Checklist of NYS Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals, Including Their Legal Status"

"EcoTipping Points are small actions that tip the balance from decline to restoration by tapping the inborn power of nature and human societies to heal themselves." Case studies range from community gardens in NYC to reversing tropical deforestation in Thailand.

This interactive investigation explores these questions: - What evolutionary processes have affected the distribution of Earth's species today and in the past? - How do scientists study past evolutionary processes on Earth? - How do graphs and charts help scientists test their hypotheses?

Animal species all follow the same rule for how common they are in an ecosystem, scientists have discovered. And the rule is simple. Everything from birds to fishes, crabs to snails to worms, and the parasitic animals that live inside or on them, follows it. "You can predict how common something might be just by knowing its body weight--how big an individual is--and how high up the food chain it is," says biologist Ryan Hechinger , lead author of a paper in this week's issue of the journal Science.

"large animals were once ubiquitous across the globe. They shaped the structure and dynamics of ecosystems. Their decline, largely caused by humans through hunting and habitat fragmentation, has far-reaching and often surprising consequences, including changes in vegetation, wildfire frequency, infectious diseases, invasive species, water quality and nutrient cycles."

I've got a pdf file of the actual article from 7/15 Science. Let me know and I'll gladly e-mail a copy to anyone interested.

A cute animated version of Wangari Maathai's story about a hummingbird trying to put out a forest fire. "The hummingbird story reminds us all that however small we are, in the face of hard times, of huge problems we can still do something, we can still make our voices heard, we can still have an impact."

An interactive website for learning about cloud forest ecosystems. Includes videos and lesson plans.

"Forest canopies provide structure that affects weather patterns, contributes to nutrient cycling, and provides habitat for plants and animals, among other things. A lot remains to be discovered...there's room for new scientists to climb up and explore. "