Resources for Teaching Science

This site was created by NASA's Planetary Science Division. Their hardworking robots explore the planets and more on the wild frontiers of our solar system. NASA keeps their websites up to date and are user friendly. I would utilize this website in conjunction with a lesson on the solar system. I would pair students up and the group would use the website to explore their planet and then they would create a travel brochure using publisher. Incorporating technology into the classroom is important and this allows me to do that.

This video helps students remember the three states of matter. I would use this in my class as an introduction to science each day. I like how it includes examples that the students readily encounter on a daily basis in the song. This is a great way to introduce students to a concept they have experience with, but are going to learn more about the specifics.

This project allows students a concrete example to include in their science journals. I like how the students place stickers on the examples to show the molecules. We would do this as a class, while exploring the dynamics of the three states of matter.

This is a great environmental field trip! I would use this in conjunction with a unit on the environmental impact and/or the various plants/animals present in our local communities. This is a beautiful nature preserve. I chose this resource because I have spent time on this preserve and it is remarkable. You feel like you are in your own little world and there is so many possibilities to explore. Students could be partnered up and sent on a photo scavenger hunt. They would journal their findings and upon returning to school we would discuss the many things they encountered.

I think I would take three days to go through the scientific method from testable question to conclusion with my students and in the process we would do the experiment. Testable Question: Do Skittles dissolve faster in warm water or cool water?On the first day, I would introduce the question, hypothesis, plan, variables, and materials. Then on day two we would perform the experiment the students created while recording our findings in our science journals. On the third day we would improve our experiment and address any inaccuracies that developed. I like this resource because it gives clear directions and it is an affordable experiment to introduce students to a difficult process. The ability to make it hands-on makes it more memorable.

Students will use oreos to create the phases of the moon. Each student needs 4 oreos and a paper plate. After the students know the phases of the moon and the significance of waxing and waning we would create the phases using the oreos. After they create their phases they may consume their creations while creating a foldable that they will place in their science journals. I am not a huge fan of this resource, but it was one of the better ones I was able to find.

This collection is meant to be of the best resources we can find. If you don't love this one, please remove it from the collection. Also, please note that the moon phases are incorrectly represented in the oreo image included here.

After learning about Pangea and the different continents, this activity can help the students review and determine where the different continents once were. Using the computers to enhance learning is what this generation needs in order to remain stimulated.

This is a game for kids to play about plants. In the game, the kids have to balance water and sun just right for the plant to grow or else it dies. This game is extremely beneficial for students to learn that plants need an equal balance of sun/water to stay allive. I would use this during the first part of my lesson.

This website gives the teacher a free printable booklet for students. In the activity, the students have to put in order (sequence) the life cycle of plants. This is exactly what the lesson as a whole is about so I feel that this would be perfect for them to make just as an enforcer. If the student would ever forget or be confused, they could look at their booklet as a refresher.

This website has a printable journal for the student's to record their observations of a plant. For my lesson plan, I am going to have the students plant seeds and record their growth. This journal is more for first grade than just a plain piece of paper to write on. It additionally has a box in the daily journal pages to draw what the plant looks like. It is perfect for the students to see the changes in the plant day by day as well.

This would be a perfect field trip to incorporate with my lesson abou plants. In the Children's Garden, the students would get a tour of the garden, learn about germination through three different stations and get to experience plants in real life. This would be so fun!

This is a website from a first grade teacher's blog. I am using the pictures for a craft idea that I would use for my lesson plan. To understand the life cycle of a plant, the students would need to have a visual of all the parts of the plant. This is also great becuase they would label all of the parts and the elements of what a plant needs to survive. It is so cute, I love it!

The Delta Dental Winter Zoo program focuses on winter and the animals that live in winter specific habitats. For example, the event focuses on penguins for parts of the event. This field trip would allow the students to see animals of all different kinds. We would easily be able to focus on the winter aspect of the seasons, but we would also be able to tie in the other seasons. We would be able to discuss the other animals at the zoo and what season their normal habitat would be. We could then talk about why certain animals live in certain seasons.

This site would be used as a project resource. The class would be split up into groups or partners and they would present on one specific season. This site would allow for them to easily get information on one season. This site offered facts about winter, but also the history of winter and it's characteristics.

This site had facts specific to spring. I would also use this site as a project resource. The students could be separated into groups and present on a specific season and this site would allow for the students to easily get information on one specific season.

This site would be a great resource for a project. I could have the students break up into groups and then present on a specific season. This site would allow students to get information specifically on summer. This site offered facts about summer as well as some historical facts.

This site had information and facts all about autumn. There were historical facts of how autumn has evolved through the years as well as certain characteristics that are specific to autumn. I would use this site as a project resource for the students. I could have the class split up into partners or groups and each group would have to present on one of the seasons. They could make a poster or write a story about their season. This site would be a great resource for this project because it is season specific.

This is a video/interactive game on BrainPOP Jr. about plant adaptions. It gives an overview of what a plant needs to survive and show different kinds of plants adapt to areas that don't have the necessary elements to live. The school needs a subscription to use this website. Given that the school would have it, I would use this in my lesson. This is different than just the regular lesson on the life cycle; it gives the students a different view of plants that they may have never seen before.

This is a video from teacher tube about the parts of plants and what they need. I would show this video on the day that the students would make their chart craft of the parts of plants. I feel like this would flow with the craft project perfectly.

This website is great because it is set up in a simple format with some pictures, and neat facts about mammals. It would be fairly easy for a 1st grader to navigate. It also relates to the standard 12.B.1a- Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship to their environments. It relates because it tells how mammals live in a variety of places, and gives examples of where they live (i.e. camels live in hot areas, with picture of camel).