Resources for Teaching Science

This activity starts with students each coloring the various pieces of a tadpole/frog (from the printout in the link). Then the teacher takes them through the process of metamorphosis. The tadpole puppet starts out with a tail, but then legs are added and the tail is removed, revealing the complete frog! This is a fun hand-on activity that allows students to visualize the metamorphosis process with their own tadpole/frog puppets. This is a simple but effective activity that I would definitely use in my class.

This site is interactive. Students click on the different planets in our solar system and learn interesting facts about each. This is an interesting activity using technology in the classroom. Students can also explore the site for even more interesting space facts. I like this website because there is so much on it for students to explore. I also feel it would be a good supplement to class discussions about space.

This is a webquest that students can complete over the ocean floor. It is divided into 10 days but could be completed quicker if needed. The webquest teaches students about the continental shelf, continental slope, and deep ocean floor. You will use the ocean floor diagram provided by the teacher to correctly label each part of the ocean floor. The is also a quiz and websites for students to use and explore.

This website is a complete unit on plate tectonics for 6th grades. There is a planning guide, scope and sequence, activities, pre and post assessments, and formative assessments. All free and easy to download in as a PDF. The unit has been aligned with the science standards and would provides detailed instructions throughout. By the end of the unit students would know plate tectonics accounts for important features of the Earth's surface and major geological events, the location of earthquakes, mid-ocean ridges, and distribution of fossils, rock types, and ancient climatic zones.

Let's eat our way through the layers of the Earth! This lab activity allows to students to use food to create the layers of the Earth and then enjoy the results. The activity takes for 45 minutes-1 hour. After passing out each item the teacher explains that layer of the Earth. A gum ball is the core, cool whip dyed red is the mantle, chocolate chip and raisins are for the bedrock, graham crackers represent the clay layer, and crushed Oreos to represent the topsoil. This hands-on activity with help students learn the layers of the Earth!

This foldable could be used to help understand the layers of the Earth. There is a template for students to cut and paste onto construction paper. The layers of the Earth are already made so students only need to cut them out and correctly place onto the layer. The foldable comes with step-by-step instruction for students to follow. What a great way for students to visually see the layers of the Earth!

This lessons discusses the four layers of the Earth. This website also shows the ocean floor, oceanic and continental crust, lithosphere, and asthenosphere. It also explains tectonic plates and continental shelves and shapes. I choose this website as a supplemental resource to teach about Earth's systems. This website is easy for students to read and understand. It also provides great images to help students understand these concepts.

This is an activity to teach students about ocean trenches, how to locate the Marina Trench on a map, identify the depth, length and width of the Trench, and identify the country that has jurisdiction over the Marina Trench. The website also gives you a step-by-step lesson and how to teach the activity. There is vocabulary and additional activities included to use with your students. I could also integrate geography and mapping with this activity. The video is really great because it is an animated fly through that I think students would really enjoy!

This website is an interactive website that looks at climate through videos, games and articles. It focuses on how climate and weather affect land, water, and animals. I chose this website because there were a lot of cool pictures and activities I thought would be fun for my students. It also has a section that helps educators build lesson plans that align with NGSS, which I think is a valuable asset. It stated that it was geared toward upper elementary, but while looking through it I felt any student, Kindergarten and up, would benefit.

This unit on weather includes three days worth of lesson plans. Each day corresponds with a specific book about weather. One of the books it includes is "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". Assuming most children saw the movie, I would ask questions to access what they may already know about weather and if the movie is comparable to the weather we experience. These lessons also include weather observation and opportunities to write about their observations. I chose these lessons because they include extensions, assignments, and assessments. I can see myself using this in the classroom with my students because I feel that using literature makes a lesson stronger. It draws the kids in, and enables me to ask questions to access prior knowledge.

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.

This field trip opportunity takes us to the St. Louis Science Center! Students will be engaged in a live science (weather) demonstration given by Ira and Judy Gall. After enjoying the demonstration, students can explore the rest of the science center and all it has to offer. Other opportunities to learn about weather include an erosion table and tornado formation exhibit. I chose this as a field trip because the Science Center has so much to offer. It's definitely an opportunity to expand upon what we have learned in the classroom.

This is a quick and easy science experiment on what happens when it rains. This would be a good experiment to do after a lesson or two on rain or clouds. It shows how the "clouds" (shaving cream) get heavy with water and causes "rain" (blue food coloring) to fall. I would use this in my classroom because it's cheap, quick, and easy. Shaving cream is always a big hit in the elementary classroom!!

This video/song on YouTube is about the different choices in weather. It explores sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, and snowy. Set to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle I believe it would capture the attention of students and be a song they could sing daily. I could play this video during our calendar time as a fun way to introduce the weather each morning. I selected it because it provides a different way of learning, it's colorful, and catchy. It also includes some words with the music. These words could easily be integrated into my word wall.

This dairy farm is located in Trenton, IL and would be an excellent learning experience for children. You can set up a tour with the dairy by calling the number listed on the website. I envision taking this field trip during a unit on the food groups. It could also be used as a single, more specific, lesson about the process of creating yogurt, cheese, and milk. Students would also have the opportunity to taste a free sample of the yogurt after the tour. I can remember going on a field trip similar to this one when I was in the second or third grade. I would probably also use it for that grade level. It does not say the cost of the tour on the website but I was told that it is inexpensive.

I found this and thought it would pair well with the Clouds in Jars I posted earlier. Both these activities could be used as part of a center day during a unit about weather. This page includes two experiments on how to create lightning. The first one sounds kind of involved and from what I read it did not have great results. I would probably used the second one. All the students would need would be a balloon and a metal spoon and, depending on the age of the students, they would only need minimal supervision. The students would be creating static electricity by rubbing the balloon on their hair and then touching the spoon to the balloon. This is really cool and really simple. This could also serve as a filler activity on a day when you need something quick to fill up some time. I could also see this activity being used during a unit on electricity as well. I would probably use this activity with students between kindergarten and third grade.

This is a really cool activity that could be used in a unit about weather. The students create a "cloud" inside a mason jar and watch as the food coloring "rains" down through the cloud. I could see myself creating a lesson very similar to the lesson depicted on this page. The students read a story about clouds and rain and then did this activity following the reading. Although this activity was done with pre-school children, I think it would be appropriate for first through third grade. I might use this at the beginning of a unit on weather. This could also be a cool center activity for a center day. All the centers could have a weather theme. Or I could also see this activity being useful when discussing the water cycle. Students would be able to see how the "cloud" holds the water for a short time but then releases it. I really can't wait to use this one!

This is a fun activity that includes math, science, and fine art. I envisioned using this as a fun filler activity maybe on a Friday afternoon or on a half day of school. I would provide the children with several bags of M&Ms. I would ask them to try and predict how many of each color M&M would be in their bag. They would then divide the colors up into different containers. Students would then be asked which containers held the most M&Ms. You could also ask the students to count out how many of each color and then graph the results as well depending on the grade level. After discussing the data they found, we would then add water to the M&Ms. I would ask the students to predict what would happen to the M&Ms when the water was added. I would jot down the predictions on the board and revisit them after the experiment to see if we came to the right conclusions. Once the M&Ms have mixed with the water and created the paint like effect I would let the students have some painting time. I feel this could be used from kindergarten up through second grade.

Summary Why I chose this/what makes this an awesome resource How I might incorporate this resource in the classroom

This resource is a recycling activity and learning guide for educators and students. The guide was created by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. It contains recycling and waste facts about Wisconsin and also lessons based on protecting the Earth's resources and environment. I chose this resource because it fits the standard to- obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment (5-ESS3-1). This standard will be the focus of my lesson in this course. The guide provides information for the fifth graders to learn how Wisconsin uses science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment. I could also use a lesson from this guide as an outline for my lesson in the course.

This guide contains a TON of information on a variety of environmental topics.