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Short and sweet videos on science concepts by a student. Could be used to solidify a concept or as an example for a similar assignment for students to make videos on concepts from class. DNA extraction demo is so simple and would be easy for students to replicate in class.

This article will help me prepare for teaching elementary students a lesson on static electricity. It explains the difference between static charge and static shock.

This article will help me prepare for teaching elementary students a lesson on static electricity. It explains the difference between static charge and static shock.

* This lesson is focused on the identification of structures and functions that plants and need to survive. It lets the students think about what job each part of the plant has to survive along with how important it is for each plant part to do its job or else the plant will not. I selected this resource because I thought it would make for a great introduction lesson for teaching students about plants and how their internal and external structures help them to support survival, growth, behavior, and overall reproduction (4-LS1-1). The structure and processes of plants and animals is my main focus of this lesson, but I feel that this lesson would benefit the teaching of plants.

This is an interactive game the students can play either as a center in the classroom or even at home. It shows the students how important it is for plants to grow with a certain amount of sunlight and a certain amount of water. I would use this is a K-3 setting just because it is a very simple game, but also keeps them on their toes as to when the plant needs water and sunlight as well as how long it takes for plants to grow on a weekly scale. I would use this is my classroom as a center game or a resource for them to play at home to keep their minds going in science.

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 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.

What I liked about this website was the fact that it has a section for teachers and parents, and also an interactive website for the young ones. It teaches the students about the importance of the environment, and how important it is to take care of it. There are games, videos, and create your own "EekoCreature". In the teacher section, it includes lesson plans for K-4. Each lesson plan includes an overview, objectives, subject area, other internet links, background, steps, several activities, and standards. I also liked the fact that it comes from a PBS website.

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.

Videos can be a good tool to use in the classroom. Students just need a break from the teachers' voice and hear things in a new and different way. This is a resource with links to all sorts of free videos for lecture.

Most of these seem like upper level, maybe even college/adult videos. Be sure to preview before you show any videos in class to avoid surprises!

This is a great lesson plan series that teaches 5th graders about the ecosystem. It goes into great detail about all the things that are necessary for it. It has things you can do for your more gifted students. It is a challenging lesson that pushes your students to critically think.

If it is for fifth grade, tag should say so, rather than K-5. 5-8 would be a better fit.

This is a super simple science experiment for the classroom, involving how seeds grow. It does not take much preparation, and it will not take much time doing the experiment in the classroom. Despite the little time going into the setup of the experiment, students will be able to observe their seeds for weeks and record their data. I would most definitely consider using this in the classroom. It doesn't take much prep, it's not very costly, and the unit could last several weeks. In addition, this experiment is perfect for getting the students to think scientifically, and learning to record observations.

The St. Louis Science Center is a great place for children of all places to explore. It has free general admission with lots of science to explore. There are also on-site science demonstrations that cost anywhere from $40 per participant to $50-250 per 100 person group. This is a great field trip that can be free for all students or one that can become more exciting with demonstrations for a fee. In my classroom I would utilize the St. Louis Science Center as a hands on resource to cover different aspects of science taught throughout the school year. This would be an end of the year field trip. Depending on funding I would use the free aspects and have my students participate in one of the demonstrations.

This activity shows students how strong the hollow bones of birds are. Students roll computer paper into a hollow tube (3 of them), tape a paper plate to the top of the rolls (which are standing up), then add pennies to the plate to see how strong the "bones" are. This is a great activity to help explain to students that birds' bones are hollow in order to allow them less weight for flight and hollow bones require less food for the bird. But their bones are still strong! I like this activity because it's hands on and I think it would be engaging for children learning about birds and their bones. It's also an easy activity to put together.

This site is interactive. Students click on the different planets in our solar system and learn interesting facts about each. This is an interesting activity using technology in the classroom. Students can also explore the site for even more interesting space facts. I like this website because there is so much on it for students to explore. I also feel it would be a good supplement to class discussions about space.

This website lists multiple activities for children to use while exploring the concept of butterflies. Several of these activities could be adapted to be used in a unit on insects. The activities are all designed for kindergarten or first grade. I especially like the use of the K-W-L chart. The students were asked at the beginning of the unit what they think they know about butterflies and then revisited this list once the unit was completed. I would maybe take it a step further and ask the students what they want to know about butterflies. I also liked the use of the mural as an educational tool.

As plants grow, they move up toward the light. But what is a plant's favorite color? Do plants move toward some colors more than others? Problem: Do plants bend toward certain colors of light? This experiment would be great for a 4th or 5th grade classroom for the students to see different plant behavior. I would definitely use this resource within my classroom as a project for the class to do throughout a period of time. I personally like this experiment because it will get the kids excited and interested because they have no idea what to expect or to even think a plant will grow more towards a certain color than another.

This is a really cool activity that could be used in a unit about weather. The students create a "cloud" inside a mason jar and watch as the food coloring "rains" down through the cloud. I could see myself creating a lesson very similar to the lesson depicted on this page. The students read a story about clouds and rain and then did this activity following the reading. Although this activity was done with pre-school children, I think it would be appropriate for first through third grade. I might use this at the beginning of a unit on weather. This could also be a cool center activity for a center day. All the centers could have a weather theme. Or I could also see this activity being useful when discussing the water cycle. Students would be able to see how the "cloud" holds the water for a short time but then releases it. I really can't wait to use this one!

This interactive map of the world allows for so much exploration! Click anywhere on the map and it will give you the climate, landforms, rock types, and even land cover for the particular area. I find this resource to be very helpful especially when comparing biomes. Teachers could easily come up with activities to use the map. For example you could have students compare and contrast 5 different countries based on their climate, landforms, rock type, and land cover. Then have students make predictions about what would live in that area or what would even grow there. Overall I think that teachers could use this map many ways in the classroom and I think students would find it very interesting.

Introducing Discovery Channel's "How Big is My Universe." This Discovery Channel school video was created to show students the many different parts of our galaxy along with the properties of its elements. This is not only a great introductory resource for my Solar System unit, but it also encompasses a program overview that includes a lesson guide. This extra resource includes discussion questions, teacher activities, related resources, and important vocabulary words. As the video guide suggests, " What better way to answer the eternal question about size than to bring the solar system down to earth?"

This is such a cool concept that I really wanted to find the video available online. I'm surprised I can't find it! I did, however, locate it as a DVD available as DVD from software express (swexpress.com) for 31.95. Steep price. Maybe libraries have it?

This website has a great variety of lessons and activities for children in relation to astronomy. I like the Earth, Sun and Moon link under the Games section. There are also quizzes, facts, videos and much more to explore!