Group items tagged

This is a technology-based tool in which students can build a DNA molecule. Based on your rate of construction it calculates how long you would have to work in order to successfully transcribe the DNA in one human cell (my rate was 50 years day and night). Underneath this graphic tool there is also a large amount of material on the structure of DNA. I selected this resource because it is a great interactive tool for students to use, and I think it will help them in conceptualizing DNA related material. This tool can be used to help students understand and appreciate how rapidly and accurately DNA processes, such as transcription, occur within a cell. 

I love the fact that this tool will help students understand how rapidly this process really works. It is mind boggling that these things happen and we aren't even conscious of it. Having students perform activities like this opens their eyes to the wonders of the human body, and to some may even motivate them to ask more questions!

This resource gives students the opportunity to explore buildings and how objects are supported and how they stand. Students have a twenty minute lesson, and then they get to build and create supports. I think it would be a good idea to take the students around the school and show them, if there are any, supports to give them a visual of what they are learning and building.

In this activity, students completely build a habitat. They choose the weather, who lives there, vegetation, etc. The game has a compatibility meter that tells them how close they are to building the perfect habitat. I chose this resource because the game tells the student when they are doing well, or if the conditions are not working together. I would use this as a part of a lesson about biology and wildlife.

Off the Rail is an exciting app that let's kids build and enjoy their very own roller coasters in a virtual environment. The fun is in the on the fly building while they are riding the coaster. With varying difficulty levels and extras to add lots of interest to each coaster, this app is one that will have little creative minds going for hours. I like this app because it will get my students creative minds thinking! It really encourages the students to use STEM! This app could be used when students finish their work early or it could even be used as a center.

This application allows for students to build their own roller coaster in a virtual reality. I really like the idea of students creating and constructing things. This application lets students create whatever their mind wants to. I believe that creativity is an easy way for students to become engaged in a lesson or activity. I would personally use this app to supplement a lesson focusing on force.

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.

Free downloadable program in which students can build a dam in a virtual ecosystem and see how the animals and plants living there adapt. It shows students what happens to plants and animals when a change is introduced to their environment, some adapt and live while some die. I liked this program because students can place the dam in different places thus having different effects. I would use this program while studying biological evolution to visually demonstrate how a single change in the environment can have a drastic effect on the surrounding plant and animal life (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.

Astronomy facts of the day present by the Saint Louis Science Center is a great way to introduce the topic of Astronomy, as well as, to build my students knowledge of the topic. Not only does this website include facts, but it also includes occurances that happen on that specific day in the sky which students may be able to witness. This resource could be used daily during my planet and constellation lesson plans, in addition to randomly the rest of the year after the students learn about the topic.

Great resource! SO interesting.

This is an activity resource I found about a robot arm activity for students. The information for the activity along with the full pdf file and the student worksheet are free to download. I liked all the information that the page offered, as well as the complete list of items for each group of students to use to create their robot arm. I think that this is another great way for students to see the many different sides of engineering. It's not all just about space or building skyscrapers. The goal of the project itself is for the robot arm each group creates to be able to grab and carry a foam cup. It's not too much of a daunting task and the goal is clear and is easily viewed when it comes to assessment.

This activity could be used at the end of a unit on rocks, minerals and the layers of the earth. Students build their own structures made out of mini marshmallows and toothpicks. The students then place their structure on top of the jello that's sitting in an aluminum pan. The students then shake the pan to see what structures survive the "earthquake". I chose this activity because I thought it would be a great hands on experiment for students to see the damaging effects of what can happen to buildings after an earthquake. Another plus to this activity, is possibly sparking the interest of future architects.

An engineering design challenge!

Here is an in-depth introduction to the Solar System and the planets that are in it. From the sun to why poor Pluto is no longer considered a planet, come along for a ride across the Solar System. FreeSchool is great for kids! I like this video for a number of reasons. One thing I really like about this video is how it gives the students an accurate perspective of the size of the different bodies in our solar system. It's also jam packed with a lot of great information about the solar system and builds on possible vocabulary words such as matter and mass. The narrator also has a soothing voice, which is a plus. I would use this video after spending a little time defining the necessary vocabulary of our solar system. We could follow up the video by making our own solar system that we could hang in the hallway.

Good resource. Try tagging using K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and/or 9-12 as grade level options. For this one, for example, K-2 AND 3-5 rather than K-5. Thanks!

Kohl Children's Museum of Greater Chicago strives to be equally available to guests with any level of physical, visual, auditory, or cognitive challenge. This museum allows students to explore, design, build and test musical instruments to discover how sound is created through vibration. I selected this resource because it sounds like it would be an interesting place to visit on a field trip especially for younger students and it fits well with my standard 1-PS4-1 which talks about vibrating materials creating sounds. I would use this resource by taking a field trip here one day and having students explore the different instruments and the vibrations that they make. This field trip would occur after a unit of learning about sounds and vibrations.

While I didn't really understand what this lesson was trying to accomplish, it did help me come up with a great idea to connect a science lesson to "The Three Little Pigs." After we read the story, my class could discuss different types of houses that they could build, from material to shape/size. This would be a great activity to think of how the pigs could have stayed safe from the Big Bad Wolf from the beginning.

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 provides a lesson plan that will help students build an understanding of the concepts of sound (vibration, pitch) through participation in a variety of hands-on experiments. By observing, predicting, and analyzing results, students can actively investigate the science of sound. It says the required time is two weeks but I don't think that much time is necessary to spend on this. It has many activities for students to do that are all hands on and even includes an assessment for the students. I chose this because it fits well with my standard- 1-PS4-1: plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make a sound and that sound can make materials vibrate. I would use this resource in my future classroom by having the students break up into groups and each group would have a different activity to complete and write down their observations.

This is good lesson that covers the different kinds of rocks and would be a good basic tool to use. This would be a great building block to grow upon in a lesson about rocks.

The world is an interesting place, but it's fascinating up close. Through the lens of a microscope you can find details that you would otherwise never notice. But now you can. This instructable will show you how to build a stand for about $10 that will transform your smartphone into a powerful digital microscope.

This activity is a great way to stretch your student's imagination and creativity and build up those all-important critical thinking skills by bringing the fascinating world of archeology right into your own backyard. This activity begins with the teacher taking everyday household items and burying them in an area outside. Then the teacher sets up the area as a "dig site" with string and using different tools, the kids dig for the items and then clean them off, inspect them, and record their findings in their notebooks. This is an excellent activity for letting your students BECOME archeologists! I can't wait to use this activity with my class. I can set it up in an area on school grounds and let my "archaeologists" dig around.

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 website contains an interactive game on food chains. Users are to place the animals in the correct order they would appear in the food chain. It allows you to choose between two different food chains. I chose this website because it includes this fun game, but also challenges students to understand food chains. I also think the game is engaging for students. One thing I really liked about this game is the ability to tell the user if they have chosen the correct order. I would allow my students to play this game in their own time, after they have finished their work, or during computer time.