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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.

The Three Gorges Dam in China has been completed and is considerably larger than the Hoover Dam here in the United States. With this lesson plan students will learn how a dam is constructed, it's purpose, and the dangers associated with dams. I would add some videos to this lesson to show the students how large or small dams can be and I would show a video of a dam breaking and the damage it can cause (Johnstown, Pa - 1889).

This is an android app, there is a free trial but then you do have to pay about $3 for the rest of the experiments. The app opens with an experiment using batteries, tape, paper, two alligator clips, and a pencil led. The isea is to build a simple circuit. The whole experiment is guided on what ever device you use. After the experiment is conducted it is even explained. The guide even tells you why pencil led was used, graphite contains carbon and carbon can carry electricity. I would use this app in a young classroom to introduce electricity, or the flow of energy. I might even use this as an opener so everyone can do it. Then we might discuss what exactly we learned, or what else we would like to know. I would also set up at least one real experiment to show the students up close. I wouldn't let them do a real one on their own unless they were 3rd grade and up. I think this is an amassing way to introduce electricity and show students how circuits work. Electricity is a real world thing that they use every day.

This is an education application for iPad that offers both a free and a paid version. The app is an interactive way for students to learn about the size and history of the solar system. I chose this resource because I liked that it utilized the technology of the iPads as a way to teach science to children. I imagine this resource being used in a small group setting in my classroom.

This website provides procedures for creating static electricity using a variety of materials. The lesson also provides objectives and suggestions for "gearing up." The procedures are geared towards 6th and 8th graders but I can do the challenging demonstrations and just have my students observe. I like this lesson because it provides a variety of activities to show students how static electricity is made. There are activities provided in this lesson that would be appropriate for elementary students, and I will modify this lesson for my elementary students accordingly.

This site provides everything from objectives to assessment strategies and also lists related books and links for more information.

Skip Discover Education Main Navigation Skip Discover Education Main Navigation Students will: 1. Understand the relationship of the nine planets in our solar system to the sun by creating a three-dimensional representation. 2. Understand the planets' relative distance from the sun and their approximate size in relation to the Earth. I like this lesson because students need to understand our solar system and earth's relation to other planets. I would keep the completed solar system on display in the classroom to ensure students retain the material and can reference it if needed. I like how this lesson plan has adaptations and ways to extend the lesson.

This is an interactive site that provides a range of information and resources for students and teachers. The site includes videos, lesson plans, quizzes, games, projects and other resources. I chose this specific topic about animals because it can be used to teach students about the food chain. Students can interact with animals and other living things like plants and learn the process of how the food chain works.

This is a great website that has tons of free mini-lessons. I think this would be a great tool to use in the classroom if you did not have time for a complete science lesson that day. You could find one that applys to the topic that you are covering and present that mini-lesson to the class. The lessons cover many different topics. I looked through the lessons and many of them I believe would keep the students actively engaged. Even if you did not completely follow the mini-lessons, you could use them as a reference.

Some of these seem a bit advanced for k-5.

This website is a teaching resource providing lesson plans, worksheets, and activities for upper elementary and middle school science teachers. All resources on this site are copyright protected but are free to distribute to students in the classroom. Included are links to other websites offering lesson plans, worksheets and activities. Access to literally hundreds of thousands of teaching materials. Broken down into four major categories of life, space, earth and physical sciences.

A lot of worksheets and crossword puzzles related to science content. A few lessons, but my favorite is the collection of different styles of periodic tables (black and white, color, etc.) available for downloading.

This website can be used for children K-5. It is very interactive, and gives a lot of information about the solar system, different planets, etc. It is very kid-friendly in that aspect. I can definitely see myself using this website for students in my future classroom! I like how it includes a YouTube video on the main page. I would use this as an introduction to the lesson, or something similar to get my students engaged and ready to learn about astronomy! The best part of all is that this website is FREE!

When you breathe in, your diaphragm - the muscle at the base of your lungs, contracts. This expands your chest cavity, lowering the air pressure of the cavity below the air pressure outside, and inflating the lungs. You can see this same principle at work in this 'homemade lung'. This activity will definitely keep students interested. It's all hands-on and will allow them to be able to visualize an action, breathing, that is constantly occurring within their own bodies. I chose this activity because I think so many don't actually understand what is happening within their own bodies, and by being able to visualize this action I think makes it easier to understand. This activity has the students making a "homemade lung" out of simple supplies and then observing how our chest cavities contract and our lungs inflate. I could see myself using this activity when discussing the human body, in particular lungs. It is so important that the students understand how the body functions and I think that this activity does a great job in illustrating that.

June 19, 2015 Anatomy 4D is an excellent iPad app for science teachers and students. It provides an interactive 4D experience of the human anatomy using augmented reality technology. Anatomy 4D offers an easy to use 3-dimensional learning environment ideal for classroom use. This is resource is awesome. It is another technology based resource. To use the technology the students will have to download it to a classroom iPad, but from there they are free to explore the many areas of the human body and do so in great detail. It can pinpoint a specific organ that the student wishes to learn about or that is being discussed in class and they will be able to view that organ while learning more facts; it also allows for the example to switch between male and female letting the student notice any differences or similarities. I personally navigated through this to see just what it was about and I could see so many opportunities to incorporate this application within the classroom. For example, it could be reinforcement to a teachers' lesson when discussing human anatomy and the functions of the main organs. I think it's a great tool that should be used within the class, especially since it is interactive after guided learning the student could explore on their own.

Students will Learn and understand the term habitat. Discover that forests, deserts, wetlands, and grasslands are unique and separate habitats. Identify animals that live in four different environments. _______________________________________________________________________________________ In this lesson, students are learning about four different habitats: forests, deserts, wetlands, and grasslands. Students learn about the different environments of each habitat, as well as the different animals that live in each habitat. To show their understanding, students will create a drawing of the habitat they would most like to visit, including the different animals and plants that live there. I selected this resource because I think it's important for students to understand that there are many different habitats around the world. Students (as well as adults) often forget that there is a world outside of where they live, and I think it's important for students to learn about and understand these other habitats. Also, many students are interested in animals, and incorporating animals into this lesson will make it easier for the students to be engaged. I would follow the lesson the way it is written, and incorporate what we learn into a discussion about the type of environment we live in. Students would be able to compare where we live to other kinds of habitats. To add to this lesson, I would have each corner of the room decorated with a different kind of habitat (ex: forest corner: trees, monkeys, etc). Each student would make their own drawing, and go to their desired corner to share with their group first and then share their drawing to the whole class.

Looks good!

This is an entire unit on wetlands and it is completely free. There are five lessons on wetlands that each build on one another. I really like how the first lesson relies solely on the student's senses to experience wetlands. There are activities for each of the five senses that really get children engaged and in tune to what a wetland is. The second lesson teaches about different types of wetlands and includes a game to help learn them. Lesson three is great because it pairs this ecology lesson on wetlands with an English lesson on metaphors. It even includes objectives with measurable verbs, There are also great extension activities included! Each lesson in this unit plan has at least one video paired with it. I really like when there are videos provided, because teachers don'e have to use them, but they may if they choose. I would certainly use some of the videos that I thought would help better explain the context of the lesson, so visual and auditory learners would be able to better grasp the content. I could certainly see myself using this lesson in my future classroom. Especially since it is for upper elementary and middle school which are my ideal age group.

This lesson helps the students understand and explore what technology is and how it's so much more than "computers." It will also give them the chance to study the history throughout America's past time. I think this lesson would be awesome to have a history tie-in simply because they can possibly make a timeline as a class, each student receiving an item and having to research the inventor and how it changed how people operated certain things. i.e. light bulb, electricity, cars, computers, phones, etc. They will use computers and tablets for their research. This way they're using technology to learn about technology.

This zoo passport activity will not only be worked on in the classroom, but also during our fieldtrip to the zoo. Students will assemble their passports during class time, and I will assist them. While at the zoo, students will mark off what animals they see, and add any other animals by drawing them on the blank pages at the back of the book. I selected this resource because zoo fieldtrips are very popular in first grade, which is the grade I would like to teach. I think it is a great way to make the zoo fieldtrip even more exciting by having them search for certain animals. This is valuable to me because there is a free downloadable printable that I will use instead of having to create my own.

This activity will help students identify what is magnetic by testing different objects. Students will work in small groups for this activity, and be provided the necessary materials. They will use magnets to test each item to determine whether or not it is magnetic. Once they have made their decision, they will record it on their worksheet. I selected this resource because it is a great hands-on activity for the students to work together on. The free downloadable printable makes it valuable to me as a teacher because I do not have to take the time to create my own worksheet. I envision this resource being used for a science center. I will provide the objects to the students in a small bucket, and have them use their coloring materials to record their data.

I like the idea of the blank worksheet, so students could gather up their own collection of items to test, or you could provide some, and then have them select others they would like to try.

StudyJams is a website sponsored by Scholastic that has a plethora of math and science (not to mention free) activities. Most topics have a video or slide show to present the information as well as a test so that the student (or teacher, if formatively assessing) can see how well they have retained the information. My cooperating teacher during my second block introduced me to StudyJams. The reason I selected this resource is because I have seen this site in action and it really does engage the students. I do not see this site being as frequently visited as it was in my cooperating teacher's classroom (which was about everyday). However, I think the short videos and review tests are great ways to grab the interests of my students.

Is there a particular science topic on StudyJams you would recommend?

This activity allows the students to get a better understanding of the water cycle while creating a fun art project. Students will color the printable water cycle stages and then paste them on the cloud template in order. The finished projects can be hung from the ceiling to display your class's work and make your classroom cute and colorful! Because the project is 3-D, it can be spun around which shows that the water cycle is constant and repeats itself. This activity will be done at the end of our water cycle unit in science. It will be one of the many activities done to make sure students understand the process of the cycle. I selected this resource because it is an exciting way to order the stages of the water cycle. Instead of just putting different pieces of paper in order, students can color, cut, and paste their stages on a giant cloud. The free downloadable printable also makes it valuable to me.

This website is more for the experiment that you might do after teaching a lesson. This particular experiment is the old fashion "making a volcano". I believe that students can learn from this experiment. There is an objective on the understanding of volcanoes and guiding questions at the end. I would probably do this experiment in the middle of the week for lessons on volcanoes. I would definitely give my students background knowledge on what volcanoes are, how they are formed, and what happens when they erupt. I would then have them do this experiment. After, the website gave a great idea for a homework assignment such as, looking into the volcanoes we have on earth and possibly writing a paper on them. I enjoy experiments, especially in science so I believe this would be great for any lesson involving volcanoes.