Group items tagged

Students work in groups to write research reports and create visuals about countries, put on a culture fair, and use PowerPoint to present their information. I would put my students into groups of two. I would then walk around the room and have them draw out of a hat countries name. Whatever country they pull out they have to do research on the computer about that country and put information on a Powerpoint to share with the class. This is a great way for the students to learn how to work cooperatively, how to do research, and they will all learn about how each country is different and how they are not all like the United States.

Online 3D simulation of the Solar System and night sky in real time - the Sun, planets, dwarf planets, comets, stars and constellations ______________________________________________________________________ This website provides a 3D simulation of the Solar System including everything from the plants to comets and stars. Students can use this simulation to learn everything they want to know about the Solar System. This simulation allows students to click on each individual planet to learn more information and also allows students to locate the major stars and constellations found in our solar system. Students can also watch the planets orbit around the sun (in real time) and go to any day of any year to see where each planet was at that time. All for free! I selected this resource because I think it will really benefit visual and hands-on learners. Giving students the opportunity to research the Solar System on their own gives them a feeling of independence, even while they are learning. I think this resource is very valuable in the classroom because it provides a lot of information about everything there is in the Solar System. This resource could be used during a lesson about the Solar System. Students could each be given an individual planet, star, or constellation to research, and students could create a poster with information on their individual planet, star, or constellation. This resource would benefit in their researching.

Direct link to the Journal Archives of The Association for Science Education, the British equivalent of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) in the US. The ASE publishes four journals, which are all archived here. Some articles are available for free, but others are locked. Articles feature classroom and research-based ideas for teaching science at a variety of levels.

A great collection for K-8 teachers of free resources for experiments, lesson ideas and supplemental information. I would use this as a starting block to research different ideas to supplement my lesson plan...it really is the "trunk of the tree"...so many links to get you to what you're looking for.

This is another lesson I found that would be great for a 5th grade astrology lesson.  This is a complete lesson that has students do research no computers do gather information on the solar system, after they have been through guided discussions.

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 WebQuest teaches the states of matter through the use of research, activities, music, and games. The site allows chances to go back and forth between tasks, and is very user friendly and easy to navigate. The students will examine solids, liquids, and gasses in an interactive and fun way that will keep them focused. I like this webquest because it allows the students to learn about the states of matter in multiple different ways. This gives each student a chance to excel at some part of the program, and makes it fun for everyone. I enjoy how many different pieces there is to the site, and it has tons of useful information that is shown in an interactive way. The students also get the chance to use technology independently and are able to do some research. I would introduce this web quest after an introduction day to the stages of matter, and have the class work on a few tasks each day to keep them motivated and wanting to keep going.

This website contains activities for all grade levels and covers many different topics including how new medicines are found in the ocean, climate/weather, lesson sets addressing ocean littering/pollution, make your own weather station, and more. It includes basic fact sheets or interactive projects and games for students to work on. NOAA also heads up a Teach at Sea program where kindergarden through college educators can spend a given amount of time on a boat with scientists, researchers, and the boating crew to gain new experiences about human impact on the ocean, marine life, weather, etc and bring that new knowledge back to the classroom. I have also included a link to the Teach At Sea Program below. http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/

This activity would be a great way to get the students more involved with being outside, and would be a fun way to study nature! Take a nature walk in your backyard or local park to find one object for every letter of the alphabet. Then put them together in this handy nature book. In the notebook, I would have the students tape or glue the object in their book, and research information about the object and write a description about it. When the nature book was due, I would have my students share with the class what they found. This lesson would work on their science, reading, communication, and writing skills.

This is a news story about a genetic disorder caused throughout the generations of a family. Due to marrying within the family, family member's generations later have a genetic disorder. Members of this family have a blue pigment to their skin. I selected this source because I think it is important for students to see that genetics is still present in the news and world today. I would use this resource to engage students in genetic disorders. Then I would have my students do a research presentation on other types of genetic disorders.

This is a fantastic site for science projects, as well as guides for teachers on topics such as how to use a microscope. This site also offers products for sale for your science classroom, but the project ideas and printables are free. It is very user friendly, broken down by age group (students k-12 are covered), and discipline (Life Science, Physics, etc.). I would use this to begin researching something I haven't taught before to look for inspiration and supplemental material.

This resource allows students to interact with weather online by experimenting with meteorology tools, conduct research about weather, and create their own weather forecast. I like this tool because it's interactive and the students can have fun feeling like they control the weather.

This lesson helps the students understand and explore what technology is and how it's so much more than "computers." It will also give them the chance to study the history throughout America's past time. I think this lesson would be awesome to have a history tie-in simply because they can possibly make a timeline as a class, each student receiving an item and having to research the inventor and how it changed how people operated certain things. i.e. light bulb, electricity, cars, computers, phones, etc. They will use computers and tablets for their research. This way they're using technology to learn about technology.

No practising GP would consider it their job to analyse the results from dozens of different experiments before making a "professional judgement" on the treatment for their patient. They rely on meta-studies, drug testing regimes etc. Teachers need the same level of reliable advice.

This source gives the history of space exploration. From the first astronomers to the first shuttle launch. This website will be useful by informing the students on how humans have contributed to the solar system with knowledge and technology. I selected this website because it will be a good source for information on the history of outer space. I like this resource because I can set up groups to explore one of the four websites and report back to class. This hands on experience will help students realize it was a long and difficult journey to get to where we are in space, knowledge and technology. I could use this in not only science by history class by relating to dates of other situations in history as well as showing how Americans have progresses throughout the years in science and technology.

I really like the timelines for different periods of history as well as the depictions of insignia for the different missions to space by NASA. Great informational site for student research!

This is a lesson plan for a pre kindergarten classroom learning about recycling. They are not only learning about recycling, they are also learning social skills. Since they are working in groups and then they speak to the class as a whole. I like this website because there are many other lesson plans as well, and they are easy for teachers as well.

I'm going to argue with the categorization of this as Pre-K, even though that is what the website itself says. 3 & 4 year-olds do not know the reasoning behind recyclable/non-recyclable items. Older students could research this or design tests to find out about decomposition, etc.

This lesson plan starts out with the students comparing the size of the planets in the solar system and relating them to sizes of objects that they see everyday. After having a discussion about the solar system with the class, the teacher groups the students and assigns each group a planet. The students then research the planet and come up with a few sentences about the properties of the planet as well as some interesting facts about the planet. I like that this lesson incorporates writing skills and encourages the students to use their words to describe the planets.

This website gives a list of famous astronauts and their biography. I would use this in a classroom and give each students an astronaut and have them research the astronaut and give us (the class) a short presentation on their findings. You could use this website in multiple ways.

DiscoveryKids.com offers many videos about sharks. The videos show sharks in and out of their natural habit and everyday life. The videos show how sharks eat and survive, how sharks look, and the different types of sharks that exist. I would combine these videos with Shark Week as a fun learning experience for the students. The videos would be used in numerous ways. I would have the students write in their science journals, take quizzes about a particular shark, draw pictures, complete a research paper, and complete other activities during that week about sharks.

This website is great. It was created by a meteorologist specifically with children in mind. She wanted them to be able to learn more about "the fascinating world of weather." I couldn't pick just one link, as I feel the entire website is incredible educational.

This website was designed by meteorologist Crystal Wicker. She designed it with kids in mind, but it's also an excellent resource for teachers. It answers questions about tornadoes, lightening, clouds, volcanoes, and much more. It also provides games, flashcards, jokes, photos, and experiments. I chose this site because I think it is a great, quick reference for early elementary teachers. It would also be and asset for a middle elementary student doing research. I would use this in my classroom as a resource to questions being asked by my students, or questions I need answered. I would also pull some of the weather experiments and use them when applicable.