Group items tagged

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 site has a ton of neat ideas about space, the sun, earth, the complete solar system, technology used, and a site for parents and teachers. This is a site that kids could get on in the classroom during free time because it is kid friendly and would keep their attention. The different activities are labeled by "Explore" which contains facts, videos, and pictures, "Do" which has activities, books, and coloring pages, and "Play" that has a vast amount of games, puzzles, and quizzes all revolving around space. I think that students would stay engaged with this site and want to keep playing. Not only would they be playing games, but also learning about space

In this set of activities adaptable for grades K-2, parents and educators will find ideas for teaching about pushes and pulls. Of these activities, my favorite and one I could see myself using in my future classroom is the Push Pull Hunt. The teacher needs to have multiple objects in the classroom that need to be pushed or pulled or both. The teacher then breaks the students down into groups and gives them a sheet of paper containing objects they need to find on their scavenger hunt. The students then describe where they found the object and if it needs to be pushed, pulled, or both. For example, the students would need to find a door that could be pushed open. I chose this activity because I thought it would be a fun way for students to apply what they have been learning in class. I would use this activity for the day after learning about pulls and pushes. Right before the activity we would review what a push and a pull is and then I would break the students into groups to begin the scavenger hunt.

I found this field trip idea from a mom who homeschool's her children and like to take them out and about to explore and learn. She was giving this as an idea for other homeschool moms, but I think that it would be awesome to do even with classroom students. The students would learn all about how science is everywhere! Especially relating to trees and how some of my kids may not realize that we get syrup from them! It may or may not just blow their minds! We would study up on it in the classroom but then we would take a field trip to go see how the sap is collected from the tree and turned into syrup. I would use this in a third, fourth, or fifth grade classroom. I would love to take a field trip to expose my students to the visuals and hands on experience. I just think this is something that is outside of the box and not a typical science lesson or trip. I think it could really help encourage some of my students who aren't fans of science. It will just be a way to spark their interest and help them have fun with science.

I participated in a LL&W workshop several years ago and found it both educational and inspirational. I think taking high school students to one of their student workshops would be a great learning opportunity!

Geocaching is a great way to get kids outside and observing the world around them. Geocaching give you a set of coordinates and your job is to find the hidden object. It is usually a small box containing small trinkets like children's toys, CDs, coins from around the world, etc. When you find the box, you take something and leave something and you can track where your items go across the globe. They are literally all over the world. They can be found in oceans, on mountains, at gas stations, in the woods, etc. It would be a great field trip to take the kids out to a local bike trail (there can be more than 15 Geocaches on 1 trail) and take some time to be outside, talk about nature and try to find something cool! As a teacher, you can even make a Geocache for your class and check out who is finding it online. My husband and I have a Geocache of our own and go out geocaching often. It helps keep you active and allows you to enjoy the outdoors. Older students can also benefit from learning about coordinates.

This site is an accompaniment to a children's show on PBS called Zoom. The webpage provides tons of science projects for kids, some of them in printable form for educators to use in class, that ask students to consider their discoveries without flat out telling them what they're supposed to be learning. There's a link for parents and educators as well. Free, and fantastic supplemental materials for elementary school kids.

Lots of fun stuff here! You could refer parents to these for weekend supplemental science activities for elementary students.

This website includes the instructions for a kinesthetic approach to teaching the layers of the earth. The project consist of layering different color Playdoughs on top of eachother to simulate the earths layers. After completing their mini earth sculptures, students will be able to cut the earth in half and visual see the different layers through the different color Playdough. This project is going to be a great addition to my "The Place I Call Home" lesson as it not only consists of a kinesthetic approach to learning, but it also includes the visual approach.

This is an interactive place to learn about agriculture in a fun way. Initially it could be used for the teacher and the students together. It has videos, pictures, and shows processes of how food gets from the farm to the plate. However, there is a section that helps teachers integrate it into their classroom.

This resource describes an event that will be going on at the St. Louis Children's Museum where visitors get to learn about weather, weather prediction, and measurement in an environment focused around The Magic School Bus. I like this resource because it's the Magic School Bus, which kids LOVE. It's exciting and engaging. This is a field trip I would love to take my students on.

This page is interactive. The students can learn more about the weather topics they would like to know more about. It is user friendly and colorful.

Learn about Newton's three laws that describe the properties of motion with this Science Channel interactive. Students must make sure to go through all laws, the bio section and glossary in order to do well on the quiz portion. This could easily turn into a lesson when each student is given a section to learn and present to the rest of the class before all taking the quiz. This would show comprehension on a personal level from self teaching as well as listening from peers.

This resource gives a thorough description how clouds are formed and gives details and pictures about the many different kinds there are. I chose this resource because it is colorful and attentive as well as using appropriate vocabulary, which makes it valuable. I envision using this resource as the basis for an online scavenger hunt where students would learn more about clouds.

The St. Louis Science Center is a great place for students to go to learn all about science. For all of the terrific things the Science Center has to offer, the students will be able to leave with a better understanding of everything around them that involves science. From the planetarium to the discovery room inside the Science Center, students will never get bored and there definitely will never be a dull moment. This is a great resource to use for any type of science related field trip. It also includes different information about the Science Center such as; student discounts, group discounts, and other activities that go on at the Science Center every day.

This is a field trip resource to the St. Louis Science Center, which allows students to see science in real life and go through simulations. I chose this resource because I think that all children enjoy going to the Science Center, and they would be having fun while learning about the content. I would use this as a field trip opportunity.

This is a lesson that teaches kids about the phases of the moon by using Oreos. It's originally for Kindergarten students according to the website that I found it on, however, one of my college professors used this activity in my Physical Science class and it's still the reason how I know the moon phases. I would definitely use this in my classroom at any grade level because no matter how old you are, Oreos are always a great tool for learning! I could see myself using this in my classroom after a presentation of this unit and after they are introduced to other pictures, I would set up stations or something for them to identify what moon they're trying to make, and then replicate that with their Oreo. This was one of my favorite activities as a young adult, so I'm sure any student and any age could really learn a lot with this as well as having fun with science! Who knows, maybe one little Oreo activity could birth the passion of a future astronomer in my classroom!

While some of us stand out in a crowd others tend to blend in and it's the same in the animal kingdom. This animal camouflage lesson plan explains some of the concepts and offers a fun activity to help kids understand how camouflage works. This lesson involves learning about adaptations of animals in their environment. Specifically, we would be discussing camouflage. In the activity that goes with the lesson, students would make cardboard cut-outs of animals, color them, and try to hide them around the room in areas where their camouflage would benefit them most. Students would also learn how some animals prefer to stand out in their environment as a warning to others. For extensions of this lesson, we could discuss how hunters and soldiers use man-made camouflage. I could also take the kids outside and have them find somewhere that they would blend in the best based on their clothing.

This would be a perfect field trip to incorporate with my lesson abou plants. In the Children's Garden, the students would get a tour of the garden, learn about germination through three different stations and get to experience plants in real life. This would be so fun!

This lesson/activity introduces students to interesting new topics such as the ecosystem, the Artic peninsula, and the food chain. All of these topics come together through the discussion of animals from the Arctic sea and how they live and thrive based off of each other. First the general animal life of the Arctic sea is discussed, then a broken down description of each animal in that particular food chain is provided. The students are able to cut out and color these pictures, and make their own mobiles to help them remember the food chain in the ecosystem. I chose this lesson/activity because I think it had a good mixture of knowledge and activity which allows the students to learn without even realizing it. Animals eating each other tend to be exciting to younger students, and by explaining these topics they will be able to understand wildlife a bit better. This is a great source to use during an ecosystem unit, that will make the class interested in learning the new material and excited about the project at the end.

This resource provides a thorough description of weather symbols and what they represent. I like this resource because it is comprehensive and has all of the symbols together. I would like to use this in the classroom by having students learn about the symbols and then watch a taped clip of the Weather Channel and see how many of the symbols they see.

This is such a neat tool for teaching weather. The students get to create their own weather, but it must follow certain weather patterns or rules. I would definitely use this in a classroom as a game to reinforce what the students had already learned.