Resources for Teaching Science

In this motions and mass lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades 1-4, students use a free online science game to explore the principles of physics, mass, force, and motion. Interactive whiteboard Computers with internet access for BrainPOP This lesson plan uses a free online game called SpaceForce.

This site provides videos about energy, light, sound, and heat. Students can click on a link and watch a cartoon video that explains what each one of the above subjects are and how they work. After the video is complete, students can take a quick test to test their knowledge of the subject. I would use this source in class as a pretesting measure or as an exit ticket to see if students truly understand the subjects or if they need further explanations.

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 a simple experiment that can be used for younger students to show them how sunlight refracts when it passes through water. Children are often amazed by rainbows, so why not let them make their own rainbow while learning how and why they appear.

This is an interactive site that provides a range of information and resources for students and teachers. The site includes videos, lesson plans, quizzes, games, projects and other resources. I chose this specific topic about animals because it can be used to teach students about the food chain. Students can interact with animals and other living things like plants and learn the process of how the food chain works.

This is a simple and fun experiment that is compatible for elementary school students. It teaches them about basic chemistry. This is a lab activity that can be conducted inside of the regular classroom. The students will be conducting experiments with apple slices, water, lemon juice, and oxygen to see the effects of what turns a sliced apple brown and what can prevent a sliced apple from turning brown. I would use this lab activity in my classroom when teaching students about chemistry because it is safe for younger students and is inexpensive.

The St. Louis Science Center is a great place for children of all places to explore. It has free general admission with lots of science to explore. There are also on-site science demonstrations that cost anywhere from $40 per participant to $50-250 per 100 person group. This is a great field trip that can be free for all students or one that can become more exciting with demonstrations for a fee. In my classroom I would utilize the St. Louis Science Center as a hands on resource to cover different aspects of science taught throughout the school year. This would be an end of the year field trip. Depending on funding I would use the free aspects and have my students participate in one of the demonstrations.

BrainPop Jr. is an interactive website that is aligned with the Common Core Standards. It includes lesson plans, games, movies, quizzes, and other types of learning activities. The site also includes away for teachers to keep up with the progress of their students. There are different ways to purchase membership. The membership categories include, parents, home school, single classroom, school, district, or virtual school. There are also ways to receive funding. I would use this site as an alternative way to keep the students involved. I would only utilize this site in class only because all students do not have internet and computer access outside of school.

This lesson shows the process of the water cycle. Water is placed in a small cup in the corner of a plastic zip lock bag. With a marker, show the stages of a water cycle in a circular direction. Place the bag on the window so that the sun causes the water to heat, thus starting the water cycle. I thought this would be a good activity to lead into a lesson on water accumulation, condensation, precipitation and evaporation. If a teacher was fortunate enough to live close to a local newscast, they could have a meteorologist come to talk to the class one day during the lesson on the water cycle.

This is an activity in which students use slices of bread to create replicas of various landforms. After introducing the varying types of landforms to the class, the teacher will provide students with slices of bread with which they can create different land types (such as islands, peninsulas, gulfs, straits, and isthmuses) in a hands-on, memorable manner. After the students have created the landforms, they can glue them to a piece of paper, or simply eat them as a snack! This activity caught my eye because I feel as though it would be engaging for the entire class. I also thought it was cost-effective and simple to execute. This activity would be an excellent way to introduce a unit on landforms because it gives the students a chance to become acquainted with the topic in an appealing, memorable way.

A foundation in geography begins with an understanding of the terms geographers use to describe the features of Earth. Help students grow their vocabulary and learn to recognize common landforms such as islands, lakes, peninsulas, gulfs, straits, and isthmuses in a hands-on lesson using soft and squishy slices of bread! I love this because the students get to visually make the landforms when learning about them. It keeps the students involved in the lesson. I would use it when first learning about the landforms to help the students better remember them.

This zoo passport activity will not only be worked on in the classroom, but also during our fieldtrip to the zoo. Students will assemble their passports during class time, and I will assist them. While at the zoo, students will mark off what animals they see, and add any other animals by drawing them on the blank pages at the back of the book. I selected this resource because zoo fieldtrips are very popular in first grade, which is the grade I would like to teach. I think it is a great way to make the zoo fieldtrip even more exciting by having them search for certain animals. This is valuable to me because there is a free downloadable printable that I will use instead of having to create my own.

This activity allows students to work with genetics that effect human and animal traits. They will use the worksheets to determine which genes will pass on traits to offspring. Punnett squares are used in the activity to aid the students in finding the answers and understanding the difference between recessive and dominant genes. Students can easily work in groups to complete the science activity and use reasoning techniques to understand how their answers are formed. Along with learning about inheritance and genetics, the students will also be working with probability. This lesson can double as a science and mathematics lesson.

This hands-on activity allows students to get a better understanding of why a tree's leaves change colors. By doing this activity, we will be able to see how a leaves colors stay hidden in the leaf all year long. Students will collect leaves prior to doing this experiment, and will place them in small jars filled slightly with rubbing alcohol. Those leaves will be chopped up into tiny pieces and left in the jar which will be covered with a lid or plastic wrap. The jars will soak in water for about a half an hour. Students will then use a strip of coffee filter paper to see the colors from the leaves bleed. They will see different shades of green, orange, red, and maybe some yellow depending on the type of leaf. I chose this experiment because it allows the students to understand chromatography, chlorophyll, and different pigments found in leaves. By doing a hands-on activity, students are more engaged and anxious to find out what is going to happen. I envision this experiment being used at the end of a plant lesson in science. We would have been discussing different types of plants, trees, flowers, and why they are all different colors. There will also be many important vocabulary words that the students will need to understand, which will be present in this activity. We will conduct this experiment in small groups so that students are able to participate and see what is going on.

This experiment is used to decipher which of the three types of erosion causes the greatest change. After setting up dirt or soil on one side of three separate pans, designate one pan for water erosion, one pan for wind erosion, and one pan for glacial erosion. Then, once a day for three days, spray the water five times on the dirt in the water pan, use a straw to blow on the dirt in the wind pan five times, and slide a piece of ice on the dirt in the glacial pan five times. Have students keep a daily record of their observations and predictions. I chose this experiment because I thought it would be a great way to bring the "real world" into my classroom. It is also an excellent opportunity for students to use their scientific skills by recording their theories. I would use this experiment during a unit on erosion and Earth Systems.

This activity is used in conjunction with a field trip to the zoo. Before going on the trip, students are given a clipboard with pictures of different animals on them. Once arriving at the zoo, the students are responsible for locating each animal on the list. I chose this activity because I believe that all field trips should be executed with a specific purpose in mind. This scavenger hunt provides structure and classroom connection to the trip. I also chose it because it can be modified depending on the grade level. For older students, the pictures can be replaced with specific animal facts or attributes. I would use this activity when going on a field trip to the zoo or aquarium, making sure that the animals presented on the list were ones that had been previously studied in class.

This activity shows students how certain animals stay warm in the winter by providing a life-like representation of the effects blubber. A zip-lock baggy containing Crisco is placed into a bucket of ice water. Students then place their hand into the baggy and note the temperature. I chose this activity because it provides an actual representation of how animals stay warm in the winter that students would likely remember in the future. If the lesson is properly constructed, this activity also encourages critical thinking, making predictions, and discussing observations. When using this activity in my classroom, I would first discuss various polar animals with my students, making sure to ask them their opinion on how the animals manage to stay warm. This would then lead to a discussion on how humans stay warm. After creating a list of various ways in which humans adapt to cold weather, I would conduct the "blubber" activity. I would then explain to students that polar animals have an extra layer of fat, called blubber, to keep them warm. As a class, we would then discuss how certain human adaptations mimic the polar animals' survival techniques.

I have used this activity many times along with adaptations for survival. Very clear and concrete experience for students.

This lesson involves using balloons to explain the difference between a solid, liquid, and gas. Before beginning the lesson, the teacher needs to have three identical balloons--one filled with a gas, one filled with a liquid, and one filled with a solid. Students would then be allowed to explore and compare certain traits of the different balloons such as weight, texture, and fragility. After exploring these many differences with students, the teacher could then explain to them the properties of a solid, a liquid, and a gas. This activity caught my attention because it was a cheap, easy, hands-on way for students to actively explore the differences between a solid, liquid, and gas. I would use this activity as a catchy introduction to a lesson on matter. (Although the creator of this activity used it for his/her preschool-aged children, I believe that it can be a great tool for the elementary classroom as well.)

"Monster Physics" is an app that allows the user to create and test his/her own machine using a variety of devices such as wheels, propellers, ropes, etc. After the user invents a machine, he/she is able to test it to see if it works. So, not only does this app allow students to create their own system, but it allows them to evaluate the effectiveness of their creation as well. I chose this app because it looks child-friendly and can easily be used for students to explore different mechanisms that I may not have readily available. Also, this app lets them create a device which may require too much time or space if attempted within the classroom. I would allow students to use this app during a rotation time or if they finish their assignment early in order to further their knowledge of mechanical systems as well as enhance their critical thinking skills.

In this game, students are separated into teams. Each team is given a block of Legos. Students must then take turns crab-walking from one side of the room to the other. Once the student reaches the other side, they are to break off one Lego from their block, set it on the floor, then pass the remaining piece to the next classmate in line. This game is a fun and easy way of explaining the process of the weathering away of a rock through the effects of erosion and deposition. I chose this resource because I thought it was a great way for students to become actively involved in the process of erosion, while allowing them to be active and work with their classmates. I would use this game in my classroom as a conclusion to a lesson on weathering, erosion, and deposition.

In this activity, students are put into small groups to construct 3D candy landform maps. To begin, students are given a blank outline of the United States on a large piece of paper and a landform map. Students must then map out where all of the major rivers, deserts, mountain ranges, plains, and oceans are. Next, students are given various candy, yarn, and paint with which to construct their map and key. I chose this activity for three main reasons. For one, it allows students to work with their peers to create a product. It also provides them with a link between social studies and science. Finally, students are very likely to be engaged in the project because both candy and painting are involved. I could see myself using this project in my classroom as a conclusion to a unit on landforms because it is a culmination of many different types of landforms as well as an application of what has been studied to an actual map of the United States, thus making a real-world connection.