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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).

Modern Biology Inc. supplements teaching biology laboratories. On the website they have free access to over one hundred experiments that correspond to many different concepts that are being taught in high school biology labs today. There is also the option to search by the class you are teaching for experiments. While access to their experiments is free, some of the experiments require equipment or additional materials that would more than likely need to be bought and Modern Biology, Inc. sells any piece of equipment or material that their labs mention. I selected this resource because labs are a critical part of any science classroom, and lab equipment and materials will inevitably need to be purchased. This is a good resource where all labs can be accessed and materials can be purchased in the same location. I will probably use some of the lab exercises from this website, and it is possible that I would need to purchase equipment and materials from this website as well. 

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 page follows the textbook, Modern Biology, providing PowerPoint presentations, review sheets, and activities. I selected this resource because this is the text that is used in the class I am observing. This page has helped me create my own presentations and has given me ideas when creating lessons to go along with the topics the class is covering.

This app allows students to overview the cell as a whole, as well as the individual structures and their functions. I selected this resource because it can act as an interactive diagram and quiz on the cell. Having just created a lesson over the cell, I thought this would be a great tool if the class had iPads.

This website is interactive and explains how sexual reproduction is different than asexual reproduction. Through the use of flashcards students are able to quiz themselves over descriptions of each form or reproduction. I selected this resource as a tool for my students to help them learn the material as well as quiz themselves. This website also allowed students to hear description of each type of reproduction, do flash cards, play games, type in answers to their questions, and do an online test. I would use this website to see if my students really know the material and have it as tool for studying.

This website explains what the PTC gene is and why some people taste bitter flavors. It explains what the PTC gene is useful for in nature and how natural selection works. It also stated that PTC gene carriers were less likely to be smokers. I choose this resource to go in to depth more about why some people are carriers of this gene and other people are not. It helps explain why it is important in nature, which I thought was cool. I would use this website as tool for myself after giving my students the paper to test for this trait. Then I would explain the benefits of having this gene.

The St. Louis Zoo provides 8 lesson plans on conservation, populations and ecosystems, and characteristics of living organisms. I have used one in the past and adapted it to fit a higher grade level than listed. I selected this resource because I love connecting material to the zoo. It is valuable that students know that zoos are not only for people to go look at animals, but they are put in place to help repopulate endangered species as well. These resources can be used as is or adapted to fit other classroom needs.

This is a link to the Missouri Botanical Garden website which makes for a great field trip. At the Missouri Botanical Garden, students explore plants from around the world and go into greenhouses. There is also a Children's Garden geared specifically toward younger students. I selected this resource because I have experience with the Missouri Botanical Garden. Kids really enjoy exploring and learning about the plants. A field trip to the gardens could be used to bolster units involving plant life, photosynthesis, and changing seasons.  I could use this resource at any grade level because the Garden does a good job at having activities for kids of various ages.

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.

This website is interactive and allows children to work together. In this activity students pair up and see what their children's eyes would look like if they had a child together. I selected this website because I thought it would reinforce some of the Punnett Squares and other genetic content covered. Also, I thought it would be fun and engaging for students to pair up and work together. I would use this resource as an activity to go along with a lesson that I taught. Students would work together to see how genetics play a role in their child.

This website was designed by a teacher that has taught biology and chemistry to middle school and high school students for 37 years. This is the culmination of materials and resources that she has created, modified, and gathered over the years. She provides a multitude of various links to different activities, worksheets, labs, demos, test reviews, etc. She even provides her email information so you can be in contact with her and discuss the material on the website and other teaching strategies. I selected this resource because there are so many different activities that can be used by middle and high school biology and chemistry instructors. It is particularly valuable to me because I will more than likely use many of the materials and resources provided from this website in my own classroom. Personally I find it challenging to create really fun and yet beneficial, educational activities for students on my own, so it is very useful to have some ideas available for me to start with. 

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 provides several resources for teachers. There are several science experiment lesson plans along with supplemental materials. There is also a JustAsk section that addresses classroom issues such as bullying.

This site has a lot of neat experiments where you can choose the grade level and content. For my unit plan I would select "Earth and Space Science" in order to get ideas on different activities and experiments to do in class with my students. I picked this site because the activities are ones where the students could use their creativity to come up with something unique. For instance, they could make a homemade planetarium, make a spaceship using old CD's, or even make a solar system of students. I would use this site in the classroom to get ideas on how to get the students out of their seats, but yet keep them interested. The activities from this site are ones that the students would definately enjoy.

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 website is an interactive too for my students to learn about genetics. In this simulation students are given an alien and based on what side the coin lands on in the experiment, and then a particular trait is given. I selected this resource because students might find it engaging, while learning how genetics determines what traits people are given. I might use this activity after I would teach a lesson about recessive and dominant genes, but before I teach Punnett Squares.

This resource explains how to make a tornado in a plastic bottle using only water and dish soap. I selected this resource because I thought it would be a good way to introduce weather patterns that can produce natural disasters. It's fun and interactive and is sure to grab my student's attention. After creating the tornado, I would use it to talk about wind and other weather patterns that can create tornadoes.

This activity will help students identify what is magnetic by testing different objects. Students will work in small groups for this activity, and be provided the necessary materials. They will use magnets to test each item to determine whether or not it is magnetic. Once they have made their decision, they will record it on their worksheet. I selected this resource because it is a great hands-on activity for the students to work together on. The free downloadable printable makes it valuable to me as a teacher because I do not have to take the time to create my own worksheet. I envision this resource being used for a science center. I will provide the objects to the students in a small bucket, and have them use their coloring materials to record their data.

I like the idea of the blank worksheet, so students could gather up their own collection of items to test, or you could provide some, and then have them select others they would like to try.

I love the Science Court video series! I saw them once while in an observation and really enjoyed the humor and interactive aspects of each video. This particular video is on living things and could go well in conjunction with a field trip or exploration of the human body. I selected the resource because of my prior knowledge and experience with it, and believe that when used correctly it could be beneficial in introducing broad concepts and getting students engaged and questioning the world around them. I envision this particular resource being used simultaneously with a series of hands on and instructional activities. I think with this sort of video series it can be easy to fall into a sort of pattern where there is little moving around and discussion, but this video series in particular has the potential to be used in much more full and enjoyable ways.

This field trip has an array of educational experiences, including sensory activities and visual real life connections to both their own bodies and the biological processes they experience on a daily basis. I selected the You Exhibit from the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry for multiple reasons; because of the overarching relevance of the concept in multiple grade levels (many grades could attend together), the independence and personality that can be found within the exhibit that encourages students to look at how they're own actions affect they're biological home, and the "Google Field Trip Days" opportunities that allow a school with 51% reduced lunch to attend the museum for free ( including transportation, lunch, and museum entry.) Assuming this may be the status of the school I teach at, this could create a relatively inexpensive to free field trip opportunity for my class/school.