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All three of these websites are great things for the younger children to view and get a better understanding for life cycles, hibernation, etc. I think these are great because we concentrate so much on explaining these ideas to children, but they rarely get to observe and take data on these types of things in the classroom, but these websites allow us to do just that! It would be neat for all grades to take a look at these, but for the purpose of my research I would show this to Pre K- 1st Grade. The standards that all three of these websites would fall under are: C.4.2 Use the science content being learned to ask questions, plan investigations, make observations, make predictions, and offer explanations C.4.5 Use data they have collected to develop explanations and answer questions generated by investigations C.4.6 Communicate the results of their investigations in ways their audiences will understand by using charts, graphs, drawings, written descriptions, and various other means, to display their answers C.4.7 Support their conclusions with logical arguments C.4.8 Ask additional questions that might help focus or further an investigation F.4.1 Discover* how each organism meets its basic needs for water, nutrients, protection, and energy* in order to survive F.4.3 Illustrate* the different ways that organisms grow through life stages and survive to produce new members of their type For some integration I would use a ton of math and Social Studies in these activities. The student will have to make predictions about the animals they see and relate it to other things in the environment. We will also keep a class chart of how many times we see the mother hummingbird fly away, measure how big the hummingbirds are. We will keep track of how many days it takes for the hummingbirds to hatch, and how many days it takes them to fly away. And we will also keep track of how many days the bears are in their den, and observe their unusual movement. We will also take th

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)

Katie- I was trained in JASON for several years. As a teacher I purchased 6 or 7 years of modules.

The Jason Project is a wonderful resource for teachers. There are lesson plans made for mineral studies, energy studies, ecosystem studies, and weather studies. For this reason, the science strands include: physical science, earth and space science, life and environmental science, and science applications. This website and the accompanying lessons are directed towards older-aged middle school students, about 8th graders. The information that is covered is covered in depth and is dependent upon students having a relatively vast prior understanding. For example, for the resilient planet lesson, students must know what an herbivore and carnivore are and how the food web works before they can begin the unit. For the energy lesson, students must be able to work with complex mathematical equations to calculate energy changes. The lessons each connect with standards in multiple ways but following are some examples of how each lesson could connect to one standard (and there are many more that the lessons do connect to!): Mineral studies: E.8.1 Using the science themes, explain and predict changes in major features of land, water, and atmospheric systems. Energy studies: D.8.9 Explain the behaviors of various forms of energy by using the models of energy transmission, both in the laboratory and in real-life situations in the outside world. Ecosystem studies: F.8.8 Show through investigations how organisms both depend on and contribute to the balance or imbalance of populations and/or ecosystems, which in turn contribute to the total system of life on the planet. Weather studies: E.8.3 Using the science themes during the process of investigation, describe climate, weather, ocean currents, soil movements and changes in the forces acting on the earth. The lessons can be used as part of a math lesson as many of the projects involve calculating energies, measuring and recording observations and calculating changes in measurements over time, and converting measurements.

Jill-This is awesome. I've done this with my kids before. Great resource!

Google Earth can be used for so many different things in the classroom. I think you would be able to find good projects and lessons for most grade levels. With the younger kids you can explore the surface of the moon as a class. Older students can look up specific volcanoes and study the effect the volcanoes had on surrounding areas. The opportunities are endless! In terms of earth and space science, students can use Google Earth to explore the many features that exist on earth's surface (mountains, valleys, rivers, etc.) You can choose to look at all the major volcanoes on the surface of the Earth, or study the fault-lines and areas at risk for earthquakes. Google Earth also has a sky feature, in which users can explore the stars and constellations in the sky. You can also explore Mars and the Moon. Just a couple earth science standards that are met are: Science, Standard E: Earth and Space Science, 4th Grade: E.4.4 Identify celestial objects (stars, sun, moon, planets) in the sky, noting changes in patterns of those objects over time E.4.6 Using the science themes, find patterns and cycles in the earth's daily, yearly, and long-term changes Another really cool thing about Google Earth is the ability to watch an area over a span of time. This could definitely be used in the social studies classroom. Students can what the surface of the earth looked like during the time of the ancient Romans, and then can explore ancient Rome in 3D. You can also practice your piloting skills by trying out the flight simulator. Google Earth can be downloaded in several different languages. If you have a classroom with a large majority of Spanish-speakers, it would be a good idea to have Google Earth in Spanish on the computers, as well as in English. Also, students can work together in groups to explore Google Earth. If one student has more experience working with computers, he/she can help a different student with less experien

This is also cool. It is an online community for teachers, and includes lesson plans, tutorials, and tips all regarding how to use Google Earth in the classroom. http://sitescontent.google.com/google-earth-for-educators/Home

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