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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.

This activity is designed for lower level elementary students. It helps the students to realize and categorize the different parts of plants by sorting various veggies.

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.

The Field Museum is a science centered museum located in Chicago, IL. This specific tour allows students to investigate how DNA analysis has changed our understanding of the relatedness of life on Earth through hands on activities. The students will be able to extract DNA in a lab and interview scientists. This field trip supports NGSS MS-LS4-2. I chose this location for a field trip because it engages students' learning and furthers their knowledge of DNA through hands on activity. I would take the students to participate in this DNA extraction after we finished our lesson on DNA. This way, they would be able to be even further engaged with questioning and answering with the scientists and apply our textbook knowledge to the activity.

This activity, designed by ZOOM, allows students to help the environment by cutting down their paper garbage, and recycling it themselves into a new piece of paper. The instructor must gather the materials for the students, and must be available to help the students throughout the process. The students must follow step-by-step instructions on how to transform their original piece of garbage paper, into a brand new piece of paper. I am a strong advocate of recycling. I can see myself using this activity in my future classroom to show students that anyone can save our planet, and have fun in the process.

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 lesson plan all about DNA. The students will use a banana and extract DNA from it and observe it under a microscope. I think that this is a cool and fun, interactive way for students to obtain a better understanding of DNA.

DNA is so abstract that I think it would be better recommended for 6-12 than K-12.

In this activity, Students will try extracting DNA from a banana by following the simple instructions and can take the activity further with the use of a microscope. It is a fun, interactive way to get the students thinking about structure. I would consider incorporating this activity into my classroom because it involves very little cost (1 banana would provide enough DNA for a classroom-wide experiment). Also, the experiment is totally sanitary--you are not working with human/animal DNA, you're working with food. Finally, anytime you bring food into a classroom, healthy or not, the students are interested. It's a win-win-win-win. This is a great lesson because it can be easily modified and adapted based upon the grade level and needs of the students. I believe this lesson would provide a nice introduction of DNA to a Middle School science classroom. However, if the instructor would like to increase difficulty for an older grade, it is easy to do. The students could compare and contrast DNA from different fruits, research in-depth, etc.

This website provides teachers with a way to integrate bug collections into a lesson about observation, questioning, and critical thinking. Students are able to identify and find bugs around the school yard and learn at the same time.

At this time, technology is a huge thing that should be incorporated in each classroom. For this site, I would take the children to the computer lab and allow them to have their own computers. They love when they feel as if they have the power. This site has recycling facts, a T/F questionnaire, "magic," and even a few games. Of course, I would allow them to play around, but the main idea would be to do the T/F and read over the facts.

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.

The website includes directions for a great kinesthetic approach to teaching constellations. This project consists of star cookies which the students configure into different constellations. I selected this resource to use during my stars lesson plan. After seeing the stars in the distances I feel this project will bring the idea of constellations down to earth.

I was surprised to find this website to be written in French! It would require some calculation to convert the recipe from grams to our more standard measurements, or at least a kitchen scale. This recipe isn't essential to the star shape, though, which could be achieved with regular sugar cookie dough and a small star cutter.I do love the idea of placing the cookies in a pattern and connecting with chalk or crayon to either "create" new constellations (for which students could also write related myths or stories) or review and recreate the existing constellations under study.

STUDY JAMS! A website sponsored by Scholastic books. This page includes a 3 minute video, sing-a-long, vocabulary lesson, and quiz. In addition, this sight includes a link for a matter lesson plan and teachers guide

Love the video, which could be used as a good review, or in segments along with instruction and experiments on the individual phases of matter. Very kid-relevant and scientifically correct, including temperature and molecule movement, using the analogy of "teams" of molecules.

This website provides a hand on activity for students. They will all grow their own sunflowers, under different conditions. This website gives you all the different variables. It also provides extensions to the project. I found this website to be useful when talking about the life of plants and what they need to grow.

This website is full of different hands on activities for teaching biology to high school or middle school students. All of the activities that are provided are closely linked to biological concepts. The reason why I selected this resource is because I feel that students will truly understand and be able to apply a biological concept if they are able to engage said concept in a hands on activity. It is important that the kinesthetic mode of learning is addressed in class. This resource is valuable because I truly believe that the more hands-on activities that I have in my classroom, the more effective of a science classroom it will be. I will undoubtedly use some of these activities in my own class.  

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 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 link is to the College Board's website. They set the regulations for AP classes and exams. This specific site describes the requirements for the AP Chemistry course curriculum along with what the yearly audit entails. On this site, teachers and students can also access practice tests and sample questions to prepare for the AP exam, which students must take if they want the course to count as college credit. I know schools who offer these courses are encouraging their students to take advantage of this opportunity. I will utilize this resource in the future to prepare a detailed syllabus that will allow my curriculum to meet state and national standards and help my students succeed.

This resource gives a lab (activity) that deal with vibrations. You need to have a large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap- a rubber band will hold the plastic wrap in place. You then place large sugar crystals on top of the plastic wrap and let students get close and talk into the bowl. The students will be able to watch the sugar crystals "jump" because of the vibrations. I chose this resource because it sounded very interesting and it makes me want to actually test it out to see if it works. I think that my students would enjoy doing this and it would help them understand that sound travels and bounces off objects creating vibrations. I would use this resource in correlation to a lesson about vibrations and sound; It would be a follow up activity for students to do.

This website could be useful to both the teacher and the student. For the teacher it as graphic organizers to guide the students through lesson and also has simulations to watch. The website also has games and practice quizzes for the students.

Empty the entire bottle of school glue into the large mixing bowl. Add water to the empty glue bottle, tighten the lid, and shake it up. Pour the water and glue solution from the bottle into the bowl. Add some iron filings to the mixture of water and glue before stirring the entire mixture. Who wouldn't wanna play with slime?! This weblink houses a great science experiment when learning about magnets. The actually experiment is making a magnetic slime in which is attracted to magnets. It is super easy to follow and is very engaging! The experiment gives the instruction on how to prepare the slime, along with a great explanation on how it works. This resource can be very effective when teaching students about magnets, magnetic attraction, magnetic poles, etc. The experiment would work great from a junior high class! It allows for students to predict what will happen when a magnet is placed over the slime, also students could predict what other objects the slime might be attracted to. I think this resource is valuable because it would be a great way to gain the attention of the class and get them engaged.