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You've now reached the outer edges of our own solar system It would take you about 23 million years of continuous scrolling on this scale to get to the farthest regions of the observable universe, another 435,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kmor 46 billion light years away. We think we'll stop here. Hands down this is one of the most engaging sites I've ever visited. It is jam packed with fun facts, information, and references about outer space! I find it totally awesome how they created the site to be like a virtual rocket ride through space. You literally scroll the rocket down to get to different regions of space, along the way you get facts about the atmosphere, planets, meteors, and so much more! This site is so engaging that I thinks students will fall in love with it! It is whimsical and very colorful! Teachers could easily incorporate this site when teaching about the solar system. You could have students go on the site and find 5 facts that they found most interesting and have them share with the class. Or as a class you could scroll through space and learn about so many things! I think this site is just fascinating and could be very valuable, especially since there is so much information on space it makes for a great timeline/distance line since it can get confusing! I think every teacher should use this website because its awesome and very engaging and I think students will find it captivating.

This experiment is used to decipher which of the three types of erosion causes the greatest change. After setting up dirt or soil on one side of three separate pans, designate one pan for water erosion, one pan for wind erosion, and one pan for glacial erosion. Then, once a day for three days, spray the water five times on the dirt in the water pan, use a straw to blow on the dirt in the wind pan five times, and slide a piece of ice on the dirt in the glacial pan five times. Have students keep a daily record of their observations and predictions. I chose this experiment because I thought it would be a great way to bring the "real world" into my classroom. It is also an excellent opportunity for students to use their scientific skills by recording their theories. I would use this experiment during a unit on erosion and Earth Systems.

In this lesson, you are asking the students to compare the ways in which animals move: which body parts they use, how quickly, etc. The students then compare as a class and in small groups. The lesson asks you to take them outside or to bring animals into your classroom to observe them, but that is not necessarily an option, so I would alter the lesson by pulling up videos of animals for them. If multiple computers are available, one could have a different animal video going at different spots around the room for the different groups to go to. This lesson could be very fun for the students. I really think they'd enjoy actually seeing the animals move as opposed to simply talking about it.

This activity shows students how certain animals stay warm in the winter by providing a life-like representation of the effects blubber. A zip-lock baggy containing Crisco is placed into a bucket of ice water. Students then place their hand into the baggy and note the temperature. I chose this activity because it provides an actual representation of how animals stay warm in the winter that students would likely remember in the future. If the lesson is properly constructed, this activity also encourages critical thinking, making predictions, and discussing observations. When using this activity in my classroom, I would first discuss various polar animals with my students, making sure to ask them their opinion on how the animals manage to stay warm. This would then lead to a discussion on how humans stay warm. After creating a list of various ways in which humans adapt to cold weather, I would conduct the "blubber" activity. I would then explain to students that polar animals have an extra layer of fat, called blubber, to keep them warm. As a class, we would then discuss how certain human adaptations mimic the polar animals' survival techniques.

I have used this activity many times along with adaptations for survival. Very clear and concrete experience for students.

When you breathe in, your diaphragm - the muscle at the base of your lungs, contracts. This expands your chest cavity, lowering the air pressure of the cavity below the air pressure outside, and inflating the lungs. You can see this same principle at work in this 'homemade lung'. This activity will definitely keep students interested. It's all hands-on and will allow them to be able to visualize an action, breathing, that is constantly occurring within their own bodies. I chose this activity because I think so many don't actually understand what is happening within their own bodies, and by being able to visualize this action I think makes it easier to understand. This activity has the students making a "homemade lung" out of simple supplies and then observing how our chest cavities contract and our lungs inflate. I could see myself using this activity when discussing the human body, in particular lungs. It is so important that the students understand how the body functions and I think that this activity does a great job in illustrating that.

Weather is a science game for students in grades 4-9 to learn how to calculate front movement, trace patterns, make observations, create weather maps using symbols, and predict weather three days into the future. _______________________________ This is a link to an interactive game for students studying weather. Students can play this game while they predict and report weather. This type of activity is important because students can learn about weather while using technology and having fun. If I used this game in my classroom, I would use it as a learning center. I would divide my class into groups, have about 4 hands on activities taking place, and give each group a certain time amount at each center. This learning center lesson would be used after the weather unit as a review day. I also like this website because it includes resources for teachers such as a list of vocabulary words and a pre/post test on the topic.

Looks good!

Yeah, you read that right, a naked egg. What the heck? What's a naked egg, you ask. Well read on because if you have kids and if they like science at all (or doing cool things) they will love this one! First I'll tell you how to do it and then I'll explain how it ... ______ This is a neat demo that uses vinegar to strip an eggs shell. I have never seen this done before, and it caught my eye as I was searching the web. This would be great to use in a classroom when discussing chemical reactions. I would probably use only one egg and one jar to demo for the whole class to see and observe. The lesson can also lead into discussions of biology in terms of membranes and nucleus.

This is a book about sheep who take a drive down the country side in a jeep. There are many mishaps along the way. The jeep slows down at the top of the hill and the sheep jump out to push the jeep down the hill. When the jeep gets to the bottom, it gets stuck in some mud and the sheep have to pull the jeep out. I chose this book because of its introduction to pushes and pulls. Students can observe in an interactive way things that have to be pushed or pulled in real life. I could also ask what other things need to be pushed and pulled while I am reading. Although the idea is free, getting the book would cost money but it is only $6.00. I would use this book as an introduction to my lesson on pushes and pulls. This would be a great way for students to acclimated to the vocabulary and how it is used. I could even make the book more interactive by having students do the motion of pushing and pulling in their seat whenever a push or a pull happens.

This is a full lesson and activity provided by TeachersPayTeachers and it costs $3.00. The lesson and activity is aligned with NGSS-2-LS2-1. First the lesson will be taught to explain the importance of sunlight and water to plants. After the lesson is taught, the class will conduct an experiment to test what we just learned. I will have 3 plants. One will receive water and sun everyday. One will be in the closet and only receive water. The last one will just be in the window receiving sunlight. Since purchasing the lesson from TeachesPayTeachers you will also receive a lab journal for students to be able to write their predictions and record their observations. I chose lesson/activity because I thought it went well together. I like that is starts with the lesson then has a follow up activity for students to do. The science journal is something they can do throughout the week, also. I would use this lesson to introduce the topic of "Do plants need water and sunlight to grow" and have the activity has a follow up and something that could expand their knowledge throughout the week.

This source has a collection of questions and observations students can make while visiting the Botanical Garden. A field trip to the garden is very realistic in the St. Louis area since there is one in the city. The questions could be previewed in class before the day of the trip, so the students are alert and focused on those topics. This is a great lesson to improve the field trip experience and to get students thinking about the fascinating world of plants. Going on a trip like this is great, because many students will not get a chance to see a wide variety of plant life otherwise.

Composting is the oldest form of recycling. It provides an opportunity for students to observe the decomposition process and energy cycle at work; produces a valuable soil supplement; and reduces the amount of organic material requiring a landfill or incineration. This is a neat hands on lesson that can last up to the whole year! The students get to understand the process of composting and will learn that there we can use other methods of eliminating our trash. My favorite part is that they get to physically see what is happening in the soil. I would start this activity towards the beginning of the year. The students can volunteer to bring in items from the materials list to help feel involved in the prep. I would have the students keep a journal about the chances they see when we check on the compost bin.

This is a good activity to do in the winter when students spend a lot of time indoors. It shows how easily viruses like the common cold can be passed. The activity involves students having glitter on their hands and touching different objects. This shows how germs can easily spread. I like that this is an interactive activity that shows how germs can spread better than I could explaining it. The students must also record their observations. It will be messy though because the glitter will be all over.

In Gro Flowers children learn about the important role bees play in the pollination of flowers and the production of honey. Through age-appropriate activities children will design flowers, manipulate bees in the pollination process, avoid pesticides and collect honey. I would have this app on the iPad in my room (in hopes that I have one). I chose this app because it fits perfectly with the previous lesson I posted about the importance of insects pollinating flowers. This would also be good to use before the field trip so students can visual what they need to observe. I would then use this app for centers. I would break my class down into 4 groups and have 4 different centers. I will first teach and review the lesson, then break my students down into the centers. Everyday the groups will switch so everyone has an opportunity at each center. Adding an app to my center is a great way to add technology into my teaching and what student does not love to play on an iPad.

The purpose of the lesson is for students to understand and sequence the life cycle of a frog, beginning with the frogspawn and ending with the frog. The website also says that this lesson is designed for kindergartners. The students will make observations of a tadpole and then read the story, Life Cycle of a Frog by Angela Royston. The students will then complete a graphic organizer of the story. I like that this lesson requires the students to determine important information in the story and then complete a graphic organizer using that information.

This is an interactive exploratory app for kids to learn about the human body. Instead of offering lectures, this app allows kids to go into different parts of the human body, explore, play and observe. It offers many different activities that teach children how each of the different parts in the body work and it explains some of the functions and processes that take place within the human body. One of the activities included is the exploration of a working model of the body, as every part is interactive: the heart beats, guts gurgle, lungs breathe, the skin feels, and eyes see. I think this would be a fun interactive online activity to do in the classroom with the students. It would be interesting to have a class discussion over how the students believe each body part functions and what they think it is used for. Then we could explore the human body through this app and find out more about it. I think creating a KWL chart would work perfectly when using this app in the classroom. Although this would be a great app to use in the classroom, it would also serve as a great resource to use at home as it is designed for kids to discover what we're made of and how we work!

"How do you get your food? How would your eating habits change if you didn't have a microwave? Would it change if you had to grow and prepare all your own food? Why?" I think this is a wonderful idea for a field trip as it would get students involved and excited to learn more about animals and their habitats. A trip to the zoo may seem like a simple class field trip, but many kids have not had the opportunity to go to a zoo and see the many different kinds of animals. I think this would be a great learning experience for students as they are able to observe the animals first-hand and take notes on what they notice about the animals in their habitats.

This activity combines science with visual arts as the students learn about animal habitats and then construct their own model of an animal habitat. The students will be assigned and given an animal (a small beanie baby), a shoebox to use as the habitat, and other materials to use to build the habitat. I believe that this would serve as a great extension activity to the zoo field trip I previously mentioned. This activity requires the students to use both their background knowledge and what they have learned or observed about these animals and their habitats. I feel that students would enjoy this assignment as it allows them to use their creativity.

In this inquisitive and hands-on lesson the students get to learn about heredity visually. Mini "creatures" are made out of craft supplies of different colors, and on the first day students observe and take note of their characteristics. Upon opening the creatures (plastic eggs) up the students find seeds/babies. The next morning when class begins the students go to their creatures and notice the seeds have turned into mini monsters and resemble their parents in many ways. Day three even digs into survival characteristics. I love this lesson, and personally think it would be fun for many different ages. Heredity is often confusing for young students, and by giving them a visual representation that they can see and feel the class can become engaged. I like how this lesson can be easily spread over a three day period, and it would help enhance the heredity/genetics unit as a whole. I would go to the activity at the beginning of each period and let the children explore the new changes as an intro into science for the day.

I loved this 3 day lesson/unit on heredity. This lesson breaks down a complicated concept by using different colored easter eggs and google eyes to create a "species." Students notice similarities and differences over three generations of the species and are introduced to the idea of "traits." What I loved most about this source was that it linked this lesson to three different STEM standards. This way, students are having fun with science and you are still assessing them on the correct skills! -After reading some of the comments on the post, people did bring up the fact that some students could be adopted and not look like the rest of their family. If this is the case for one of my students, I would use that as an opportunity to talk about what makes us all different and special, and how that student is going to pass on a special set of traits.