Group items tagged

This website is an interactive website that looks at climate through videos, games and articles. It focuses on how climate and weather affect land, water, and animals. I chose this website because there were a lot of cool pictures and activities I thought would be fun for my students. It also has a section that helps educators build lesson plans that align with NGSS, which I think is a valuable asset. It stated that it was geared toward upper elementary, but while looking through it I felt any student, Kindergarten and up, would benefit.

This experiment, designed by ZOOM, is centered around density. Students will use everyday materials such as coins, grapes, and Legos, in an experiment to find out which is more dense. This experiment could get a little messy, because students will be placing the objects into syrup, oil, and water, to find density. I think this is an awesome activity to incorporate in the classroom. I think it is great when students are using everyday objects in experiments. I believe it sets them up to think scientifically outside of the science classroom.

This is a fun activity that will show students the process of rain. They will take a glass of water, place shaving cream on top to represent the clouds, and drop food coloring through the "clouds" to depict rain. The lesson is also partnered with a book about clouds that describes each different type of cloud. I chose this resource because it will be something the students can get excited about while also being able to watch exactly what it looks like when rain comes out of the clouds. I would use this resource when introducing photosynthesis.

This a simple experiment that can be used for younger students to show them how sunlight refracts when it passes through water. Children are often amazed by rainbows, so why not let them make their own rainbow while learning how and why they appear.

This is an experiment for younger students to help get an understanding of how and why it rains. In this experiment, by using a glass jar, hot water, a bowl with holes, and ice, students will be able to visually see the process of rain. I chose this experiment because students will be able to form their own ideas by watching the "rain" before we have a whole group discussion. I will use this in the classroom while teaching the students about weather, specifically rain.

This flyer shows you how to grow a plant in your classroom. This a great idea to help younger students understand the life cycle of a plant. I remember planting something in our second grade classroom one time. We took turns watering it, which was always fun and allowed us to play a part in the plants growth. I would do the same for my students.

This resource categorizes and separates all of the types of habitats (arctic, rainforest, desert, salt water, etc.) and has sections you can click on to find out plants and animals that live in which categories. I really like that there are sections where you can find out how plants/animals survive in each type of habitat, as well as interesting facts about that specific habitat. This is a website that each student could go to and simply explore as an add on to a lesson. I selected this source because it aligns with 2-LS4-1.

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 video I found on YouTube featuring an experiment that shows how light can be "bent" using water and reflection. I selected it because it goes well with the Next Generation Science Standard that I was given (1-PS4-3). I feel that it lends itself well to explaining to students the reflective properties of light, and I would use the video along with my own version of the activity to explain this. I tagged both K-3 as well as 4-8, though I feel that the activity could be used at any grade level. The video itself uses more advanced language and vocabulary, but I feel that by using grade-appropriate terminology, it could be useful for younger students as well.

This is a link to the US Geological Service's website. The education portion is really neat. Since i have met my boyfriend, he is a miner, I have become more and more interested in rocks and the earth. This webpage makes it easy to find what you need. Their resources are broken down into categories (K-6, 7-12, and undergraduate). The best part about this is there is a place to look at 3-D pictures of major landmarks. You would need your own glasses, but I think if these were projected on a smartboard, it would be a great way to show students what Mother Nature can accomplish.

Water, ice, steam: Three states of matter. In this animated movie, you'll learn about the tiny atoms and molecules that make up matter and how changes in temperature and pressure cause these particles to gain or lose energy, thereby changing a material's physical properties! This video provides students with a lesson on the different states of matter. It explains why the matter change to different states and what they are made up of. I believe that this can help student understand what the different states of matter are as well as provide the student with extra knowledge.

This website includes lesson plans and activities to use in conjunction with Weather Channel's classroom program "Elementary Weather". Specifically, it includes weather concepts, scientific method, climate, weather terms, and the water cycle. It gives five lessons with background information, objectives, procedures, outcomes, prep time, materials, and standards. I chose this resource for a number of reasons. It's cross-curricular in at least one other area, provides handouts, has extension and modification plans, includes hands-on lessons, assessment tools, and a long-term project. I see myself using this in the classroom because there are many different directions each lesson can take. Modifications and extensions are important in our districts to meet the needs of diverse learners. I put a $ in the tags in case purchase of the videos is necessary.

This pdf file provides many different lessons on weather for many different grade levels. The pdf file assist the students in understanding the meaning behind the weather as a whole and gives great insight into what students need to do during these weather conditions. I believe that these lesson while give students great insight into how weather works as well as provide the teacher with many different ways to teach the lesson or grade level.

I chose this as an activity resource. This would be a great activity to do with students near the end of the school year after they have gotten the hang of creating their own solutions and putting them to the test to see if they work out well. This particular activity treats a water balloon as a brain and students construct a "skull" made out of different objects to keep the brain safe and secure when it's dropped from a certain height. I would use this with many different materials for students to use so we could study the outcome of all of the materials and then complete some kind of chart or graph to show our findings.

There are five large oceans on Earth: the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian, the Arctic and the Southern (or Antarctic) Oceans. They are really one 'world ocean' a continuous expanse of water with the continents of the world like big islands of land in this. This is a perfect website to have as a resource when teaching about the oceans and seas. The website is packed with very rich information and great visuals over ocean currents, layers, and waves! Besides talking about the usual oceans topics like ocean life or level of the ocean floor, it covers topics that are less discussed in the classroom. Example from the website includes mapping the ocean floor, threats to oceans, and even fisheries. Another great feature about this website is that it includes an experience over ocean currents. Overall, the website can defiantly be a great source to add to the curriculum! Ways to implement this website into the classroom would be by doing the ocean current experiment with the class. Also, I know that the ocean is still one of the main mysteries to scientist to this day, so I think there is plenty of opportunities for students to use their creative minds. Examples of projects would be have students create what they think animals and plants look like that are undiscovered. The topic of oceans and seas is very broad and fascinating!

Remove "science" tag and re-tag as "earth science" to be more specific. Is this a lesson, activity, background information, field trip, etc.? Tag accordingly.

The Touch of Nature environmental program offers both land-based activities and water-based activities for students. The best way to experience Touch of Nature is to spend three-five days in their camp program. Students are set up in cabins for the night while during the day they can go on field trips to the local lake, ponds, or night trips looking for owls. This extended field trip is more specified to students grades 6 to 12. It gives students the opportunity to learn about their surrounding environment and how they can use ways to conserve it. "Your Touch of Nature experience can be designed to supplement and enrich classroom curricula or enhance youth group experiences. With nature as your classroom, it can provide insight to groups of all ages and backgrounds. You are encouraged to request a program that serves your specific needs (SIU Touch of Nature)

This hands-on activity allows students to get a better understanding of why a tree's leaves change colors. By doing this activity, we will be able to see how a leaves colors stay hidden in the leaf all year long. Students will collect leaves prior to doing this experiment, and will place them in small jars filled slightly with rubbing alcohol. Those leaves will be chopped up into tiny pieces and left in the jar which will be covered with a lid or plastic wrap. The jars will soak in water for about a half an hour. Students will then use a strip of coffee filter paper to see the colors from the leaves bleed. They will see different shades of green, orange, red, and maybe some yellow depending on the type of leaf. I chose this experiment because it allows the students to understand chromatography, chlorophyll, and different pigments found in leaves. By doing a hands-on activity, students are more engaged and anxious to find out what is going to happen. I envision this experiment being used at the end of a plant lesson in science. We would have been discussing different types of plants, trees, flowers, and why they are all different colors. There will also be many important vocabulary words that the students will need to understand, which will be present in this activity. We will conduct this experiment in small groups so that students are able to participate and see what is going on.

What I love about this science activity is that students are able to make their own bio domes from household items. By using, 3 two- liter soda bottles, a soda cap, soil, and something to plant, students will be able to grow their own plant. Along the way they will learn about the water cycle and how this infrastructure helps promote the grow of an organism. For an activity I would sort students into groups of three. Each group will bring their own supplies. In class they will construct their bio domes and plant a specimen that I will provide them. Once the construction aspect is completed we will set each labeled bio dome aside. Throughout the weeks to come each group, ever student, will keep record of how much their plant is growing. In their records they will summarize what they observe and what they think is going to happen.

This is a great way to bring something visual to a concept that is mostly invisible: evaporation. It gets the students outside and moving a little.

This is the information for an activity that mimics the idea of launching a rocket. Instead of an actual rocket, however, this experiment uses water and Alka-Seltzer. I think this is a great resource to have because it allows me in have a rocket launch activity with my students at a younger age than what they would typically get to do it. This experiment does not require students to glue, cut, or assemble a rocket. However, they still get the joy of watching one climb into the air. I will definitely use this activity in my future classroom, regardless of the age group. I think this activity is just one of many examples of all the cool things you can do with science. This activity is a great way to get my students interested in science and the suggested questions at the end can persuade them to search farther for questions.

This resource is an activity that simulates the process of producing precipitation (rain). Although this site is very simplistic, I like it because it allows the students to visually how rain forms. I would use this in my classroom to demonstrate and help reinforce the concept of the water cycle and rain to those students that are struggling with it.