NKCS MS Science Resources

Instantly converts length, area, volume, weight, temperature,fuel efficiency and power. Includes US customary and metric system. Helpful site for measurement unit.

Could be used as a mini lesson for 4.1.D.b (natural environment change-flooding). 

Online Mineral Museum--can be sorted by species, locality or group

Aligns with 4.3.C.a

Engaging article aligning with 4.1.B.c, 4.1.D.a, 4.1.B.b, 4.1.D.c, 4.3.C.b

Ride the Rock Cycle Mighty Minerals Sand Hunt Simple Sediments

students visit various websites to learn more about rocks and minerals

Students use various websites to explore the world of minerals.

links to various websites about soil, rocks and minerals

This actually covers a wide range of the objectives for earth science in both 6th and 8th grade.  If you use ISN's this ia a great resource.

There are a couple of things about this one that I think need some careful attention. For one: "A [food]chain will always start with a plant (a primary producer)." That isn't really true for the largest ecosystem on the planet, for example: the oceans. Not only are most algae not considered plants, a large number of these are unicellular and prokaryotic... the "blue green algae/bacteria" or cyanophytes. In fact, there are even deep sea hydrothermal ecosystems, for instance, that do not even rely upon photosynthetic organisms at all. These primary producers are chemosynthetic in the blackness that is the sea floor. So yes, "primary producer" is accurate... but not so for "plant." I'm also anxious to see what kids will place in between the snail and the bird (as pictured) on food chain "B" to complete the "missing link." I honestly had to work the Google to find out that spider-eating snails do exist. I feel like that is pretty obscure.

The phrase "rock snot" will gain the students interest and develop curiosity. Aligns with 4.1.B.b and 4.1.D.a. 

Lots of links to neat mineral websites

Use tools to identify rocks and minerals

interactive online identification lab

read works uses reading passages to enrich topics.  questions go along with the passage