Here's a great Science lesson for students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. This lesson helps students learn about magnets. Storytelling, journaling and teaching from the heart all play a part to make this an effective Science lesson. _____________________________________________________________________ This lesson is taught by Mr. Rutherford. This lesson discusses magnets and allows students to participate in hands-on learning. Students create a journal allowing them to follow what they are learning as well as keep track of the data they are finding. I chose this resource because not only does it give a good idea on an effective science lesson, but it also encourages teachers to be effective as well. I think this lesson is effective because it allows students to become engaged in their own learning. Mr. Rutherford allowed his students to be in charge of their learning, which helps keep all students involved in the lesson. I would definitely teach this lesson in my class. All the students seemed to stay focused on the activity. I would use this lesson to help students learn more about magnetism and how think can effect the magnetism of an object.

Early learners are sure to love these introductory videos on the concept of the solar system. This series features high quality music and animation that will instantly engage kids, and which teachers will enjoy watching as well. Each video states facts about its subject in a catchy song to aid kids in retaining the information and exciting them to discover more. _____________________________________________________________________ I love these videos! This website provides many Storybots videos that all relate to the solar system. These videos are fun to watch and get students engaged. They provide information on everything in the solar system (planets, sun, Earth, stars). Each video provides a catchy song that draws students in, while also teaching them different things about the solar system. I chose this resource because I personally love all the videos. I think they provide a lot of information on the solar system, but in a fun way. I think students will really enjoy these videos, and I think they'll also learn a lot as well. I watched the sun video a couple times and I was already beginning to learn some of the lyrics! I think this resource could be used as a hook for any lesson about the solar system. These videos could be used as an introduction and will help get the students engaged in the material. Students will want to learn more once they watch these videos!

The concept of metamorphosis is fascinating to children of all ages. Help your child's creativity take flight as she makes her very own butterfly life cycle. _____________________________________________________________________ I think this is a really cute activity/craft to use when learning about life cycles. This activity allows students to create their own butterfly life cycle with just a paper plate, dry pasta, and crayons. Students use different types of dry pasta to represent the different phases of a butterfly's life cycle. I chose this resource because I think it provides a really good visual for what each stage of the butterfly life cycle looks like. It's important for students to not only learn the material, but understand the material. I think this activity allows students to understand the butterfly life cycle better and visualize what each stage looks like. This resource could be used during a lesson about life cycles. The butterfly life cycle is short and easy for students to learn, so it would be a good life cycle to teach to students. This resource would be a good hands-on activity to add to the lesson.

A popular St. Louis destination since 1954, Grant's Farm is the 281-acre ancestral home of the Busch family, named for Ulysses S. Grant who once lived on the land. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Everyone from the St. Louis area has probably visited Grant's Farm. Grant's Farm is very educational and fun for kids. Not only are students learning about the different animals at Grant's Farm, they are also able to interact with some of the animals. This allows the students to be more engaged in what they're learning. Grant's Farm has many opportunities for students to learn, starting from the second they board the tram. I chose Grant's Farm for my field-trip opportunity because I know that I loved going there as a kid, and I also learned a lot when I went. The hows they have allow students to learn a lot while also having fun. I think this would be a good field-trip for any school near the St. Louis Area. If I were to take my students to Grant's Farm for a field-trip, I would discuss some of the animals that are seen at Grant's Farm and certain aspects about each animal. If I were teaching older students, I would assign each group an animal. After the field trip, I would have each group present to the class information they learned about their animal.

Learn More & Get Involved The Lower River Cam, located in Katmai National Park and Brooks Camp, Alaska, is where the Brooks River meets Naknek Lake. It is a favorite place of mothers and their young cubs, females and young adults until September when as many as 100 bears descend on the area to feast over a two month period. ______________________________________________________________________________ This is a GREAT website! This website allows viewers to observe animals in their natural habitats (my favorite are the elephants). Some of the animals include elephants, bears, sharks, penguins, and many more. These animals are found everywhere around the world, and cameras are put in their habitats (both in zoos and in the wild) so viewers can observe the way these animals act in their natural habitats. I chose this resource simply because I absolutely love it. I've heard nothing but good things about this website. My brother has used this website in his kindergarten classroom and his students really enjoyed observing the different animals. I also like how the website provides a wide range of animals, which helps peak every students' interest. This resource could be used during any science lesson about animals. If students are learning about animals and their habitats, this website would be very resourceful and would be a great visual to show the different habitats animals live in. Overall, I think this resource gets students interested in animals and can be used at any grade level to peak students' interest.

Plastic Bottle Scrooge is being haunted! Follow Scrooge as he learns about plastic, where it comes from, how it litters the land and oceans, and what can be done to stop pollution. _____________________________________________________________________ As cheesy as this app sounds, it's actually really cute! Earth Day Carol is an app that provides a story (based on The Christmas Carol) that follows a little character who is plastic, and he learns all about himself and pollution. This app is awesome because not only does it provide a cute story line for kids to follow and be engaged with, it also has some interactive components. This app allows students to tap on the screen, providing pop up facts about pollution and our Earth. I chose this resource because I think it's really helpful in teaching young students the importance of a clean environment. In today's society, phones are becoming more and more prevalent. Students will automatically become engaged knowing that they're going to be learning through a phone/Ipad. This resource would be good to use around Earth Day. It adds a bit of a twist to the typical "board and marker" learning. Students can be in groups of two or three, and if Ipads are available in the classroom, students can listen to the story and take turns with the interaction parts. Once each student is done, a group discussion can follow to discuss what each student has learned.

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.

Students will Learn and understand the term habitat. Discover that forests, deserts, wetlands, and grasslands are unique and separate habitats. Identify animals that live in four different environments. _______________________________________________________________________________________ In this lesson, students are learning about four different habitats: forests, deserts, wetlands, and grasslands. Students learn about the different environments of each habitat, as well as the different animals that live in each habitat. To show their understanding, students will create a drawing of the habitat they would most like to visit, including the different animals and plants that live there. I selected this resource because I think it's important for students to understand that there are many different habitats around the world. Students (as well as adults) often forget that there is a world outside of where they live, and I think it's important for students to learn about and understand these other habitats. Also, many students are interested in animals, and incorporating animals into this lesson will make it easier for the students to be engaged. I would follow the lesson the way it is written, and incorporate what we learn into a discussion about the type of environment we live in. Students would be able to compare where we live to other kinds of habitats. To add to this lesson, I would have each corner of the room decorated with a different kind of habitat (ex: forest corner: trees, monkeys, etc). Each student would make their own drawing, and go to their desired corner to share with their group first and then share their drawing to the whole class.