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This is a resource published by Scholastic and it contains ten different interactive booklets that focus on science topics. The different booklets are: Creepy Crawly Insects, Animal Groups, Food Chains, Habitats, Life Cycle of a flowering plant, My Healthy Body, Sound, Wild, Windy Weather, Our Home, Earth and Our Solar Systerm. This book can be purchased online or at the Learning Shop and it offers and excellent way to integrate science and literacy and promote nonfiction reading in science. This is a great resource to facilitate the use of nonfiction science texts into literacy as the books also contain various components of nonfiction texts including bold words, pictures, diagrams and tables. With regard to differentiation, this book is great because even though it is technically for grades 2-3 the topics it covers are high interest and I have used several of the booklets with my fourth and fifth grade students. Another component I really like about these booklets is that they are reproducible so my students can take them home and can add to the what they have available to them at home. With regards to standards, these booklets address reading, writing, science and health standards. There are standards for both the end of fourth grade and eigth grade that these resources can be used for. In order to meet eighth grade standards, I would recommend further extension activities. Some of the specific standards addressed include: E.8.6 Describe through investigations the use of the earth's resources by humans in both past and current cultures, particularly how changes in the resources used for the past 100 years are the basis for efforts to conserve and recycle renewable and non-renewable resources THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANISMS F.4.1 Discover* how each organism meets its basic needs for water, nutrients, protection, and energy* in order to survive F.4.2 Investigate* how organisms, especially plants, respond to both internal cues (the need for water)

This resource supports all areas of science and environmental education. ECB is a state agency that supports technology in the classroom. Staff, mostly former teachers, put together "Surf Reports" which are collections of effective web sites on different subject areas. Climate Wisconsin is a new project with short (4 min) videos sharing stories of life in Wisconsin tied to our natural resources. It allows middle and high school students to stop and think "what would happen if the climate changed?" WiStem.org provides a link to another ECB web site that supports Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/comets/lesson/lab.html (the link to the lesson I studied further) The resource I chose to explore and research focuses on the subject of Astronomy. The website is appropriate for a range of ages but I focused on comets specifically and which is appropriate for grades 6-8. It covers standard E and C. Specifically, performance standards E.4.4; C.4.1., and C.4.2. Integration: This website can be integrated into many different subject areas. The facts, myths, and legends can easily be worked into a history lesson in social studies. It could also be used to accompany an English lesson if the students are reading material that involves different myths in our history and how we can sort through different narratives through time. There is also a chemistry portion in the website which can be used in that area of science or incorporated into a math lesson. Differentiation: I would pick out key vocabulary terms that I want the students to know and make large posters with the term, a short description and a visual. I would post these at the front of the classroom so they were easily accessible for all students. I could also do this activity as a group or partner activity and pair the students that I think would work to help one another.

Check out this compilation of lesson plans and resources to use water as a topic for study in your classroom. 

Free video streaming, lesson plans, and other resources from ECB and PBS. Use this web site to find video resources and lessons to support your big ideas. For all grade levels and all science strands.

This web site (sponsored by a text-book company) provides links to a variety of resources about teaching methods and science sites. - Click on Science to go directly to those links.

A collection of amazing resources for teachers.

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This collection is meant to be utilized by teachers state-wide. Resources (activity guides, picture books, trade books, videos) can be checked out through a simple request and sent to teachers through the South Central Library System. Books are checked out for a month but are very easy to renew. Resources for all ages.

EEK! is managed by the Wisconsin DNR and supports mostly environmental education and some life and environmental science. The site is an environmental education resource for elementary and middle-school students. Content is written in an accessible format for students and is available in both English and Spanish. This resource could be used to integrate math (population, size), social studies/geography (mapping) and reading.

Using best practices from Community Problem Solving (CmPS) instructional methods, EcoInvestigators is designed to get students in grades 3-5 engaged, excited, and prepared to take on and solve environmental problems in their community and beyond. With funding from International Paper, we have developed this program to help teachers use a variety of rich media resources to teach earth system science, explore global environmental problems and challenge your students to take steps to using data to help solve local environmental problems. This curriculum is in the beta phase and PBS welcomes feedback on the resources and activities provided on the site. http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ecoinvestigators/. If you have suggestions or comments, please send them to djblubaugh@pbs.org.

This website is great to help create a lesson or a whole unit. It has tons of worksheets, tests, individual activities, arts and crafts and classroom activities that can be used for any subject and topic you decide. It covers grades K-12. As a teacher or a student doing a lesson plan you can go on the website choose your subject and content you want to cover and it gives you all sorts of ideas to help you out. I really liked how each subject has tests offered and activities for students to do to make it fun and hands on and games that can be played. This is a resource for all subjects but for this class I will stick to the science section. I choose to do a lesson on butterflies. I looked up the butterflies section on the website. All the information was there. Posters that students can create labeling butterfly parts, worksheets they can fill out on the process a caterpillar goes through in order to become a butterfly, quizzes and games students can do to check for understanding. I love that the website is not only interactive itself but it also has tons of printouts for the kids to use in the classroom. C.4.5 Use data they have collected to develop explanations and answer questions generated by investigations LIFE CYCLES OF ORGANISMS F.4.3 Illustrate* the different ways that organisms grow through life stages and survive to produce new members of their type B.4.1 Use encyclopedias, source books, texts, computers, teachers, parents, other adults, journals, popular press, and various other sources, to help answer science-related questions and plan investigations Integration: This website integrates all other subjects for the many different lessons you can choose from. For my butterfly lesson I can integrate reading and we as a class can read the very hungry caterpillar. We can integrate history and writing by writing research papers on the different kinds of butterflies, each student choosing their own butterfly to research. Differentiation: I can have the

Academic Standards that I think would be useful for lessons related to this site and that could easily be applied to various age groups for differentiation include: Core Science Content and Performance Standards Standard B: Nature of Science B. 4.1 Use encyclopedias, source books, texts, computers, teachers, parents, other adults, journals, popular press, and various other sources, to help answer science-related questions and plan investigations. Standard H: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives H. 4.4 Develop a list of issues citizens must make decisions about and describe a strategy for becoming informed about the science around these issues. H. 8.2 Present a scientific solution to a problem involving the earth and space, life and environment, or physical sciences and participate in a consensus-building discussion to arrive at a group decision. Environmental Education Standards Standard B: Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems B. 8.10 Explain and cite examples of how humans shape the environment. Standard D: Decision and Action Skills D. 4.3 Identify 2 or more ways to take positive environmental action. D. 4.6 Develop a plan, either individually or in a group, to preserve the local environment. Standard E: Personal and Civic Responsibility E. 4.2 Understand how their personal actions impact their civic responsibilities toward the environment. E. 8.1 Formulate a personal plan for environmental stewardship.

There are various levels and interdisciplinary options for curriculum on this website. Recommended videos include but are not limited to: High Line History (4:19) & High Line Design Video (4:45) Lesson plans are available for grades 2-7 on topics such as: forces, community activism, park design, and machine aesthetic. Curriculum areas include: science, social studies, English language arts, math and arts. To access lesson plans: click on "Schools Program" listed under the main heading "About" and then click on links to download free lessons. Additionally, the picture book The Curious Garden is a great resource about the High Line for younger students in Kindergarten through second grade. I would use this website for a unit of study on stewardship and local environmental activism. The New York High Line project is an inspiring example of urban planning and could be used to encourage students to get involved in land use issues in their own communities. Comparisons could be made to local community gardens or prairie restoration projects and students could be challenged to design or preserve a green space. For example, it could be a yearly class activity to contribute to the design and function of the school yard or another community space. Students could be required to evaluate community needs, research environmental issues and plants specific to the area, locate reusable resources, and participate in class discussions to make democratic decisions. Schools could get all grades involved in brainstorming and voting on sustainable ways to contribute to their community.

I stumbled across this web site. Very interesting articles to check out.

A collection of resources - created for use in the classroom - on environmental education. Check out all of the Surf Reports!