Group items tagged

I found this while I was looking for a suitable experiment that might involve snacks. This activity has students constructing a "solar oven" out of an old pizza box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and newspaper. The idea behind this is that students can harness the ultraviolet energy provided by the sun to make an oven that will cook food. The experiment had the students cook s'mores, but it is also possible to cook a hot dog. I selected this resource because I was looking for a fun but relevant activity that would include snacks; this way, students can learn a lesson about the sun and the energy it provides while staying engaged with the promise of a snack afterward. I would use this as part of a lesson on the sun and energy, and would probably use it closer to the end of the school year, as the weather warms up and students are looking forward to summer activities.

This is a fun science activity that helps students discover the physics of air flow by building a "hovercraft" out of a balloon and an old compact disc. I chose this resource because I feel that the explanation can help students think about how some things are powered using air as the primary resource, and I would use this activity in a lesson that focuses on air as a force.

This lesson actually contains quite a few good activities and gives a good chance to give lesson segments a try. It gives students a great chance to realize how powerful the sun actually is and how using solar panels can fix situations like flooding and the way that water is flowing. There is also fun options that involve melting crayons and sunscreen to show the impact that the sun has on our earth.

Our eyes are using light to see various objects all the time, but when this light travels through different mediums (such as water & air) it changes direction slightly. Light refracts (or bends) when it passes from water to air. I selected this resource because I could not quite find a good field trip. I feel like this is an easy way to show the young children how objects bend when looking through other material. This is a very easy lab and experiment for young grades. I would use this lab when showing my class how objects may appear and look different when seen through different objects.

In this 2 part lesson, students learn about oil spills and the damage that they can cause. Then students work together to come up with ways to prevent this kind of damage. In the second part of the lesson, the students get to explore different ways to clean up an oil spill if it were to happen. I think that this is a great lesson for younger kids. Its fun, and they get to explore and play. But they also are learning about something that can have a very large impact and is very important to the environment.

This is a free 5-minute animated video that explains how animals adapt to changes in their environment for survival.The video also touches on the topic of natural selection by explaining that the traits suited for survival are then passed on from one generation to the next. I like this video because it's fun and would appeal to third graders but it's still teaching them the concepts that are introduced when teaching about biological evolution (3-LS4). I would show the video before delving into the variation among species and survival of the fittest topics where introduced. I think it's helpful when teaching concepts to make them relevant to the students, and this video shows how animals that the students are familiar with, such as tigers, obtained and use their camouflage.

This video is about how light bends or bounces due to objects being placed in front of it. I selected this video because Bill Nye uses a fun interesting way of teaching science with certain topics. I would use this as the lesson, and then would follow it up with a worksheet for the class

A free application to see if dinosaur fossils have been found near your home. I selected this app because I thought it would be a fun way to bring studying dinosaur fossils a little closer to home. I would use it in the classroom in conjunction with studying evolution and diversity (3-LS4).

Free Whiteboard ready game in which students put the various parts of a dinosaur together to create a dinosaur that really existed or students can create their own. I really liked this game because it's fun while learning for the whole class. It not only teaches students about the variety of dinosaurs but also shows the similarities and differences in their structures. This would be a useful game to play when teaching about biological evolution (3-LS4), I would introduce it after the students had learned about the wide variety of dinosaurs that roamed the earth.

This is a fun science activity that allows students to see how erosion works, and how it affects the world around them. It also has a video to go along with the lesson so that after students see how it works, they can see a huge example of it in the Grand Canyon.

This resource gives the children an opportunity to get up to the smart board and work on fun but still very educational material. I selected this resource because there is also a host of games that allow the children to showcase some different types of animals into their own animal and also make their own habitats. I would use this resource by first teaching the students what they need to know about the biodiversity of plants and animals and the different habitats and then I would have the students go to the smart board and work with the interactive activities. After this, I would have the students make and explain an animal and also habitat.

I found this while searching for field trip ideas. The author of this summary visited the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, which features many "hands-on" exhibits. He speaks mainly of the "Newton's Alley" exhibit, where he spoke of the ability to lift himself using pulleys. However, of particular note to me was the fourth paragraph, where he talked about playing the "harp with invisible strings," which was actually powered by laser technology. I selected this resource both out of a desire to find a fun and relevant field trip as well as my own healthy respect for Isaac Newton and his discoveries. I would use this as a basis for planning a field trip to the actual Maryland Science Center facility.

This resource is an exercise in perception with a small nod to biology. Essentially, the activity requires a student to stand astride a 2x3-feet mirror and then, with the leg that is against the reflective side of the mirror, bend at the knee and move it back and forth. This will create the illusion of flight. The idea behind this is not only the reflection of light using a mirror, but it also ties in to basic biology and anatomy by proving that the human body is symmetrical. I chose this out of a desire to find fun light and reflection-based activities that are relatable to younger (K-3) students. I would use this in the classroom as part of a lesson about light and reflection, making sure to give the hat tip to the biology element as well.

This is an awesome lesson plan that can connect most students to something that they enjoy watching on TV and playing with - robots! This lesson allows children to understand the basics of robots and how they work, but also give them the chance to make their own robots. In giving them a chance to build their own robots, they would have to ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. (K-2-ETS1-1) I would use this whole lesson plan as a fun way to understand what team work actually is and engineering at a younger level.

This resource contains an interactive program of various materials that demonstrate sound and vibrations that make sound. The program allows students to change materials, pitch, and force. I chose this resource because it fits well with the standard (1-PS4): Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make a sound and that sound can make materials vibrate. During my lesson, I will focus on this standard, and this program would serve as a fun activity for students. In my lesson, I would use this program as an introduction. This activity would expose students to a variety of sounds and materials while introducing vibrations.

This is a lesson where the students get to make observation about snails. The students are given a live snail and told to name characteristics and at the end they get to race the snails. I think this activity is a good way to introduce make observations. This is a very simply and directed lesson. The teacher is given specific question so the students know what they are looking for. I think this resource will be fun for students and it will help them develop the skills needed to make good observations about other animals.

This is a video of a "weather rap" that reviews weather for kids by asking a question and pausing for students to come up with the answer. The answer then pops up on the screen so students know if they were correct or not. I would use this in my classroom as a review before a test for a fun way to help the students remember.

This is an interactive game that allows the students to decide what items need to go in what bin. There are different bins that the items are able to go in, and the student must reach a goal to move on to the next level. I believe that this is a fun, interactive game that is also able to help teach the students about recycling.

This fun game for elementary students shows the students how different kinds of animals or insects go through their different life cycles. It would be very good for kids who need to review how the life cycle works.

This is an interactive games that challenges students to think about how weightlessness would affect the way Earth-based games would be played in space. i chose this source because I liked the idea of playing a game in the classroom, and this seemed like a really fun and educational game to try. I imagine this game will be played in the classroom.