Resources for Teaching Science

I liked this experiment because it involved an upcoming holiday, which students also seem to really enjoy (you could also do this experiment without involving Valentines Day.) This experiment is similar to the classic baking soda and vinegar. When you put a balloon on top of a water bottle that contains aka seltzer and water, the reaction bubbles form, they have nowhere to go and it fills up the balloon with carbon dioxide gas, inflating the balloon and showing the heart message. To use this in a classroom, I would have my students write down what they think is going to happen to the balloon and to the reaction. We could also try this experiment with a different type of liquid like sprite and see what happens.

"Experience strange natural phenomena at this mysterious tourist attraction located in Santa Cruz, CA. " The "Mystery Spot" would be a great place to take a field trip. The "spot" is a circular area in the Redwood Forrest where gravity doesn't seem to exist. Balls roll uphill, and students can stand at a 45 degree angle and not fall down! This experience would be great for students if you had just finished a lesson on the laws of gravity. After experiencing the "mystery spot" you could have them think of reasons why this phenomena happens here. I think this trip would be interesting for all elementary students.

Once you figure out how to use this app it is incredible. The technology in this app allows you to see a functioning heart and human body in 4D. You can highlight different organ systems: skeleton, muscular or respiratory and see how they work. This app is super interactive and allows students to explore the human anatomy in real life spacial relationships. This app would be great to use as an engagement tool to have students explore the heart or human body in 4D then write down things that they see but aren't sure what they are or how they work.

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.

This website is more for the experiment that you might do after teaching a lesson. This particular experiment is the old fashion "making a volcano". I believe that students can learn from this experiment. There is an objective on the understanding of volcanoes and guiding questions at the end. I would probably do this experiment in the middle of the week for lessons on volcanoes. I would definitely give my students background knowledge on what volcanoes are, how they are formed, and what happens when they erupt. I would then have them do this experiment. After, the website gave a great idea for a homework assignment such as, looking into the volcanoes we have on earth and possibly writing a paper on them. I enjoy experiments, especially in science so I believe this would be great for any lesson involving volcanoes.

What a fun lesson on paleontology. In this lesson, the teacher will see that it can be cut into three class sessions. You have to make sure to have a good discussion about modelling prior to this lesson. On this page you will find the complete lesson on how to go about introducing fossils to your students. Their are awesome guiding questions and good ideas for how to display this lesson in and to the class. The activity sounds pretty cool as well. Students get to bring in everyday items or things they have at home and use them to mold into a fossil. This will start conversation between them on how each others look and how different items make different fossils.

This video is SO COOL! This would be a great start into a lesson on gravity. It starts with some prior knowledge that students should have. Then it goes into teaching about gravity with the example of an apple falling from the tree. To keep students accountable, I would have them write down words that they may not understand or have them write a short paragraph on what they learned about gravity after this video. If they write down words they don't know, we could go through them as a class before getting in depth to our gravity lesson which could include more videos or an activity later on.

This link takes you into the formation of crystals. It gives you an introduction for your students and gives you guiding questions. This lesson also explains how crystals form, what they are, and ask students where you might find them. Crystals are cool, so I have no doubt that students will love this lesson. Also, at the end there are some hands on activities. I would scroll and click on make bath crystals for the activity because looking into that one, it seems like something the students can do and enjoy in class. After this lesson, I believe students will know more about crystals, where to find them in their everyday objects, and enjoy learning how to make them.

Photo Credit: Clipart.com To observe and document similarities and differences between parts of plants. While ideas of ecology, biology, horticulture, etc., are far too abstract for K-2 students, young children are curious about their living environment and are ready to be introduced to the idea that they live on this earth along with plants and animals. I love this lesson. Plants are something that can easily be brought into the classroom for observation and exploration. This lesson provides a way for students to explore and identify the different parts of the plant, while also being able to see the parts on an actual plant and not just from a picture. I would definitely use this type of lesson in my future classroom, even if I were teaching older children I would just alter and make the content more in depth.

This lesson gets students to not only observe and classify, but it will also help further students science skills and help them become a more detailed thinking. I like this lesson because it is hands on for young students. This lesson takes the students on a scavenger hunt to find similar parts of plants and then the teacher will bring them back together and act as a facilitator when asking them questions about what they think of their findings. They will then document their findings and how the parts of the plant may be similar or different.

I enjoy this lesson because it is another hands on activity for students. Students will get to compare and contrast what they know about the seasons. The students will get to place pictures in the correct poster for what season that picture may be related to. This lesson also involves reading books to the children to expand their knowledge on each of the seasons.

This is the type of lesson I would do with my students before we take a field trip to the zoo. I would have them describe different animals. Do they have two or four feet, do they fly, and do they prefer cold or warm weather. I would have my students have group discussions and write down our thoughts. After our field trip, we would come back to the thoughts we wrote down and compare them to what we thought. We can then go deeper into the study and find if certain animals are carnivores or herbivores and where animals such as a zebra or giraffe might be found.

This lesson is cool because it involves what students can see everyday outside. It is something they can experience on their way to school, on their way home, or on a summer day at the park. The study of songbirds will help students with some vocabulary words they should be exposed to and learn about why some birds are song birds. Plus, this lesson has an awesome in class activity at the end that allows students to make their own bird sounds and compare their sounds to actual birds.

This is sort of a short game, but I feel that you could do it as a class or in learning centers after you had taught the lesson. This online game will get students to realize how much food, water, sleep and exercise you need to stay healthy. It also asks question such as "what will happen if he doesn't get enough water". That is probably when I will have the students answer those questions in their notebooks as an assessment of what they had learned from the lesson prior to this activity. I enjoyed playing this game and fighting to keep Ben healthy.

Why are bowling lanes oiled with more oil placed at the start of the lane and less at the end? What is the advantage of throwing a "hook" ball? Students participate in activities to learn about the members of their team and how to work together in order to be successful. There are several reasons I like this idea for a field trip. For one, it's an unconventional type of science field trip. Most students wouldn't think there is a lot to consider when bowling; they just toss the ball down the lane. Before the field trip, I would spend a day or two allowing the students to formulate and hypothesize ideas for how to best knock down the pins with a bowling ball. They would have to consider things like speed, angle, bowling ball weight, where the ball should hit the pins, and whether the ball should be hooked or thrown straight. This field trip allows the students to not only question and hypothesize, but to actually test their predictions. After the field trip we could delve deeper into some of the physics concepts at play (which the webpage has links for) as well as watch a professional bowler bowl.

Creative "spin" on a science field-trip! :) Get it!?

Three Lessons About Energy I designed these three little lessons a long time ago to support a third-grade science curriculum (the particular textbook is now lost to us--or in other words I can't remember the name of it), but they could be used with any elementary students who are studying energy in science class. I like this lesson because it allows the kids to get up, move around, and become a part of the lesson. I would have the students start by slowly walking around the room, making sure to be careful not to run into anyone or anything. If I told them I was adding energy, they would speed up a little bit, and if I told them I was removing energy, they would slow down a bit. If I told them I was removing a lot of energy I would tell them that they need to stop and hold hands with anyone near them. At first the students wouldn't know exactly what they were supposed to be demonstrating. I would later reveal to them that they were water molecules and the energy I was adding and removing was heat. When they were moving slowly they were a liquid, fast they were a gas, and stopping they were a solid. This is a great example of learning by doing.

Holding your nose while tasting the potato and apple makes it hard to tell the difference between the two. Your nose and mouth are connected through the same airway which means that you taste and smell foods at the same time. Smell is often considered the least important of our five senses, and I'm sure many students would agree. I would start by taking a poll which hopefully results in a consensus that smell is the least important sense. The following activity involves giving students small pieces of apple and potato and having a partner mix up the pieces while the other student's eyes are closed. The students will then eat the pieces with their eyes closed and try to see if they can guess which food it was. The students should begin to see for themselves how important smell is for tasting foods. This activity involves very few supplies and has an easy clean up. Afterwards, I would have a class discussion about their findings.

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!

Let one of our knowledgeable Garden Guides be your class's guide to the Garden! Garden-guided school group tours are available weekday mornings from September through December, and February through May. Choose our popular 'Discover the Missouri Botanical Garden' tour to introduce your class to the Missouri Botanical Garden, learn its history and see our featured gardens and conservatories. ________ The Botanical Garden offers many field trip opportunities for students of all ages. Field trips include tours of the gardens which include, the Sensational Seed Hunt, Plants from Top to Bottom, Tropical Rain Forest, Foodology, Asian Gardens Tour, Discover the Botanical Garden, and Green is Here for Good. Each field trip is aligned to standards which explore concepts in botany, ecology and natural science. The field trip I am concentrating on is Tropical Rain Forest. During this tour, students are able to explore the rainforest which is named the Climatron at the Botanical Gardens. The tour allows students to view waterfalls, lush lowlands, approximately 1,500 different types of plants, and tropical birds. Since we don't have access to a real rainforest (and most students never will), I think it would be a great idea to allow my students to explore the Climatron. I would take my students to visit this location at the end of our unit on rain forests to make sure they are able to understand the tropics at their fullest! Taking students at the beginning of the unit would be a great way to introduce them to the topic, however, I feel they will have a better grasp and appreciation on the subject after they have already learned about it.

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 an entire unit on wetlands and it is completely free. There are five lessons on wetlands that each build on one another. I really like how the first lesson relies solely on the student's senses to experience wetlands. There are activities for each of the five senses that really get children engaged and in tune to what a wetland is. The second lesson teaches about different types of wetlands and includes a game to help learn them. Lesson three is great because it pairs this ecology lesson on wetlands with an English lesson on metaphors. It even includes objectives with measurable verbs, There are also great extension activities included! Each lesson in this unit plan has at least one video paired with it. I really like when there are videos provided, because teachers don'e have to use them, but they may if they choose. I would certainly use some of the videos that I thought would help better explain the context of the lesson, so visual and auditory learners would be able to better grasp the content. I could certainly see myself using this lesson in my future classroom. Especially since it is for upper elementary and middle school which are my ideal age group.