Resources for Teaching Science

This website contains a video about an ocean food chain. It is kid friendly and somewhat humorous. I chose this website because young students would enjoy watching this video and still gain knowledge of food chains. It only covers an ocean food chain, failing to touch on other environments. However, I would still use this in my classroom because I think young students would enjoy it. I would allow them to watch it after they finish an assignment early.

This website explains what the PTC gene is and why some people taste bitter flavors. It explains what the PTC gene is useful for in nature and how natural selection works. It also stated that PTC gene carriers were less likely to be smokers. I choose this resource to go in to depth more about why some people are carriers of this gene and other people are not. It helps explain why it is important in nature, which I thought was cool. I would use this website as tool for myself after giving my students the paper to test for this trait. Then I would explain the benefits of having this gene.

This is a website that contains information about food chains and the classifications of animals based on their eating. It also contains worksheets for the students to do. I chose this website because it contains worksheets for students to do. I would use this website as a resource in my future classroom because it contains worksheets. As a teacher I would assign my students to complete one of the worksheets as an activity during the lesson on food chains.

This is a news story about a genetic disorder caused throughout the generations of a family. Due to marrying within the family, family member's generations later have a genetic disorder. Members of this family have a blue pigment to their skin. I selected this source because I think it is important for students to see that genetics is still present in the news and world today. I would use this resource to engage students in genetic disorders. Then I would have my students do a research presentation on other types of genetic disorders.

This is the St. Louis Zoo's website. It contains all the events it holds along with information about some of the animals. I chose this website as a source for a field trip. It is a good place to take students to because it is fun, but they are also learning about animals. I would take my students to the zoo after the lesson on food chains. They would have knowledge about what animals eat in terms of other animals. I would have them create their own food chains on the animals they saw at the zoo.

This is a resource for a field trip to the St. Louis Zoo. I selected this resource because it fit right in to my standard, 2-LS4-1 because the students will be able to make observations about the plants and animals that they see at the zoo as well as make observations about the types of habitats that the animals are in. I would use this resource to take my students on a field trip to the zoo to show them all of the different types of animals and most of the different types of plants.

This website is interactive and gives students real life situations where Punnett Squares are useful, such as breading. Also, it shows students how to create Punnett Squares and then allows students to try it on there on. I like how this website gives students feedback right away and it is making Punnett Squares applicable to the real world. Also, I like how it asked students to answer the chance for an offspring to have a certain characteristic. I would use this resource to help teach Punnett squares. It would be a tool for me to show students that this activity is relatable outside of the class, but it would be engaging at the same time.

This website shows an activity using Styrofoam cups. It gives teachers an idea on an activity for students. I found this website on Pinterest and I really like the idea. I chose this website because it is a clever activity that many teachers can use in their classroom. It is also inexpensive. I would create this activity for different environments and have my students stack the animals in the correct order, to create a food chain. After a lesson on food chains, I would have my students complete this activity.

LOVE this! Would like even better if the cups weren't styrofoam.

This website explains how zoologists have to make "survival plans" for the species at the zoo. In this survival plan zoologists must consider which animal breeds with what. This is because they are often concerned about keeping genetic vigor. I I would use this website to plan a field trip to the St. Louis Zoo. At the zoo students will learn about why some zoologists pick certain mates over others.

I really like the butterfly life cycle coloring page on this site, especially for younger elementary students. The information presented about the butterfly life cycle is also very good along with the videos. I especially like the link to purchase live butterfly kits and would definitely want to do this in my classroom.

This site provides information about butterflies along with coloring pages, teaching tools, and specific information about butterflies local to your area.

This site has a lot of resources for lesson plans and worksheets on a variety of topics. For a butterfly unit, I would use the "Introduction to Bugs - What is an Insect?" lesson plan on this page to introduce the unit by explaining that a butterfly is an insect.

I really like how this site gives basic information about butterflies including area, habitat, food, size, and life cycle in a fun and coloful format. It also includes links to games and activity ideas.

This site gives a variety of ideas for caterpillar, butterfly, and butterfly life cycle art projects.

This site is a great resource for teachers planning a caterpillar/butterfly unit. It's actually two units and it breaks each unit down into parts. It also contains links to supplemental material to use during the lesson, including a slideshow, images, and student sheets.

This site is great! It gives a very cute animated lesson about butterfly life cycles and then allows you to play games to practive what you've learned! This would be great for a kindergarten or early elementary classroom and could be done individually or on a SmartBoard as a class as well.

This would be a great field trip to take at the end of the caterpillar/butterfly unit! This link goes directly to the field trip options for the Missouri Botanical Garden. I also noticed that there is a Teacher Professional Development link as well! This would be great for Science teachers!

This website is interactive and explains how sexual reproduction is different than asexual reproduction. Through the use of flashcards students are able to quiz themselves over descriptions of each form or reproduction. I selected this resource as a tool for my students to help them learn the material as well as quiz themselves. This website also allowed students to hear description of each type of reproduction, do flash cards, play games, type in answers to their questions, and do an online test. I would use this website to see if my students really know the material and have it as tool for studying.

This site includes games, lesson plans, worksheets and activities, and more. This website would be useful to gather information and plan lessons and activities for students. It also has the grade level expectations.