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This interactive map of the world allows for so much exploration! Click anywhere on the map and it will give you the climate, landforms, rock types, and even land cover for the particular area. I find this resource to be very helpful especially when comparing biomes. Teachers could easily come up with activities to use the map. For example you could have students compare and contrast 5 different countries based on their climate, landforms, rock type, and land cover. Then have students make predictions about what would live in that area or what would even grow there. Overall I think that teachers could use this map many ways in the classroom and I think students would find it very interesting.

In this lesson you go over 6 different habitats in the world. The list contains grasslands (or savanna), temperate forest, tropical rain forest, desert, polar ice, tidepools. You separate your class into six groups and assign each group a habitat. Each habitat has its own assigned question that the students need to find the answer to through research of their habitat using a computer. For example the grassland group has to explain why speed is such a good thing for animals who live there, while the temperate forests are going to explain what tree leaves have to do with frozen water available in their climate. When the assignment is done students have to present their work to the class and teach each other what they learned through their own research. The lesson is basically about adaptations and how they come in handy in certain parts of the world but not others. This link also has web links embedded in it to help students look for their answers. I think this is great for a unit on adaptations and habitats. I would have loved to do this in my upper elementary classes. i feel like i would have learned and remembered so much more. It definitely fosters more constructive learning. I don't tell you about adaptations and then ask questions, you are sent to find the info on your own.

This is a K-2 lesson comparing the qualities of rocks which I think is a great activity for that age group. The students are to compare different groups of rocks, noting their qualitative differences. We all probably did something similar when we were this age, and it remains a quality sensory activity for the students. The lesson is fully laid out in what is essentially a lesson plan, and it was written by a teacher. I highly recommend giving it a look.

This is a brief explanation on why the sky is blue followed by an activity. I chose this source because I have always wanted to know the definitive answer to the question: Why is the sky blue? I would use this in an older elementary classroom as a lesson followed by a lab activity.

This is an activity illustrating how the tiny particles of the ringed planets can be seen so far away despite their small size. I chose this activity because I liked it, and because I liked that it had a discussion after its completion. I imagine my class will complete this activity and then we will discuss our findings as a whole group.

After learning about Pangea and the different continents, this activity can help the students review and determine where the different continents once were. Using the computers to enhance learning is what this generation needs in order to remain stimulated.

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL is filled with many hands on activities for all kinds of science. Why does a tornado spin? Why does a wave break? Why does a flame burn? Why does lightning strike? Our questions about the world begin almost as soon as we're aware of it. I have been to this museum but it has been a long time. After trying to think of an interesting place to go and looking at several, this museum seems to be filled with many hands on science experiences and that is why I chose this museum. Also, for field trips, chaperons and students get into the museum for free but there are small fees for the omnimax and certain special exhibits. I also loved that there were labs you could rent, online resources, and they also include worksheets for activities they do in the museum. For the labs they also include standards on their website, including the next generation standards! Many exhibits interest me but this one on Science Storms would be great to take your students after doing a lesson on weather in science. This would give students an insight to mother nature, it's strength in an up close view. There are so many more to include though. So you could even do an end of the year field trip, or maybe an 8th grade trip and include an educational engaging experience for the children.

In this game, students are separated into teams. Each team is given a block of Legos. Students must then take turns crab-walking from one side of the room to the other. Once the student reaches the other side, they are to break off one Lego from their block, set it on the floor, then pass the remaining piece to the next classmate in line. This game is a fun and easy way of explaining the process of the weathering away of a rock through the effects of erosion and deposition. I chose this resource because I thought it was a great way for students to become actively involved in the process of erosion, while allowing them to be active and work with their classmates. I would use this game in my classroom as a conclusion to a lesson on weathering, erosion, and deposition.

Because observation, prediction, and communication are all very important science skills, this project works perfectly to help students improve in all of those areas! As a teacher, I would use this activity to tie in with telling time and with our Solar System unit. This project would ideally be used in a third grade class and be a good hands on project. I thought that it would be fun to keep a classroom sun dial outside so we could keep a chart about how accurate it worked or even use it as some kind of experiment. I think it's a very unique lesson and project. It's something that you wouldn't see every day in a Science class with that age group.

Remove "science" tag and add something more specific, like "earth science." To keep words together, use " " around the word. For example, remove the tags "sun" and "dial" and add one that is "sun dial". Grade level tags should be k-2, 3-5, 6-8, and/or 9-12 to be consistent among all the resources.

This is the webpage for Mrs. Sharp's 4th Grade classroom at Friendsville Elementary School. This activity is similar to a field trip because the students get to leave the classroom and investigate, but they do not actually leave the school grounds. The students get to go outside and walk around their school to find signs of erosion. They will keep a notebook with them to record their findings. I chose this activity because it is a fun interactive way for students to learn. They get to get out of their seats and learn through a hands on activity. I would use this activity to wrap up the erosion unit and to show students that erosion is everywhere. We would end the activity by coming back into the classroom and discussing the findings.

This is a great website that has tons of free lesson plans, videos, and quizzes. It covers a wide range of topics including, life science, physical science, the human body, and space. It includes content for grades K-12. It even includes interactive diagrams for students to complete. I think this resource could be used in the classroom in multiple ways. The activities could be used for instruction or reinforcement.

Very easy to search, by grade level or content area. The lessons I found were good foundations for particular content, but needed some sparking up, especially in terms of an engaging introduction.

This lesson is used to teach young students the importance of nature. Many students don't realize many manufactured items come from nature. Bring in everyday items from home and ask the children where they think the item came from (paper and books from trees, glass from sand, etc). Have different colored dots and walk around the classroom and label items with colors from what the item might have came from (green=trees, red=animals), this requires the students to think critically. It's important for children to respect nature and understand most everything we interact with on a daily basis is from nature. As a teacher I can use this to teach children respect of nature and each other because everything must work together.

I think that kids fun science is a great website to use in the classroom. It includes many activities that can be used in the classroom. I think the activities would be very engaging for students. For example: To demonstrate sedimentary layers there is an activity where they use graham crackers, and peanut butter and jelly. The website also includes many experiments that can be done in the classroom. It also includes how to host a science fair and the steps that students should take. I feel like this would be a resource that I would use in my classroom to help me teach science.

Glad to see some of the science behind these fun activities explained.

This looked like a great free app that can be used on an ipad or iphone. You can look at the sky in a 3D or 2D form. It shows the star consolations in relation to the planets. This would be a great app to use when learning about the solar system and the stars. The app is free and it gets great reviews. This would be a good way to integrate technology into the curriculum.

I have the star walk App, which is not free. This looks Iike a good free alternative, with perhaps fewer ways to get "lost" in space with zooming in on objects, a good thing for younger students!

Students will examine and sketch various trace fossils from an unknown creature and then construct an image of the creature that they believe produced these fossils. This activity will let the students make an educated guess of the creature based on the available information. This can be used to explain portions of the scientific method and examine how scientist can use little bits of information to build towards a bigger solution.

This resource contains a multiple day lesson plan for a third grade class. The lesson is about composting. It involves instruction by use of a Power Point, an outdoor exploration, and even an assessment. I selected this resource because it fits the standard to- obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment (5-ESS3-1). This standard will be the focus of my lesson in this course. Although this standard is for fifth graders, I believe this resource will still be useful. In order to make the resource at a fifth grade level only a few things need to be tweaked. The lesson plan in this resource could serve as an outline for the lesson plan I will be creating in this course.

This website is a complete unit on plate tectonics for 6th grades. There is a planning guide, scope and sequence, activities, pre and post assessments, and formative assessments. All free and easy to download in as a PDF. The unit has been aligned with the science standards and would provides detailed instructions throughout. By the end of the unit students would know plate tectonics accounts for important features of the Earth's surface and major geological events, the location of earthquakes, mid-ocean ridges, and distribution of fossils, rock types, and ancient climatic zones.

When teaching a lesson about natural disasters, making a vinegar volcano is a great way to keep the students interested and active in the lesson. This experiment would be really great to try with all of my students after a science unit on volcanoes. Using baking soda and Vinegar, the students will also be learning about chemical reactions and how baking soda ( a base) and vinegar (an acid) react to each other and cause frizzing. This lesson would allow my students to get creative in making their own volcano, while learning about what a volcano is, and the cause and effects of the volcano.

remove "science" tag and add something more specific, such as "earth science." The grade level tag should be K-2, 3-5, 5-8, and/or 9-12 to be consistent with other tags. Specify whether this is a lesson, activity, field trip, etc. in the tags.

Students will make their own weather station, consisting of several home-made versions of real weather measurement equipment and use that equipment to make observations about the local weather. This is activity is good for the students to gather data and use that data to reach a conclusion.

This page contains a few worksheets and a powerpoint. There are also printable pictures and text. All of these can be used to help supplement a lesson on the water cycle.