Resources for Teaching Science

This is a website for the Magic House in St. Louis. It gives all of the information to plan a school field trip. It even breaks it out according to age group (grade level). This is a great resource for teachers looking for a field trip idea! The website has tons of information that any elementary educator would find very useful.

This is a link to the Magic House website. I chose this because I thought it was be a really fun and educational field trip for students. There are so many things to explore at the Magic House. A field trip to the Magic House would fit in with the sound and vibration standard I have because there is a Classic Tour for elementary grades that explores sound.

This is an interactive 3D Brain application for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. This application allows individuals to use touch screens to navigate 29 interactive structures of the brain. It allows individuals to learn haw brain regions operate, what happens if they are damage, how it is linked to certain mental illnesses, etc. This is a valuable resource because I have heard of schools already using iPads in the classroom, so different biology based applications can be incredibly useful if this type of technology is available to you. If I had iPads available to be utilized by my class, this would be a great way for my students to really visualize and explore the brain if I was covering brain structure and function in my classroom. 

WOW! I love this because a large amount of students are very fluent in their technology. Having these types of apps available for students to use at all times is fantastic. Now even though it does cost, some students do have the option to purchase it at home. In classrooms with apple products, it can be used all the time for every student. This is going to be something of the future. It beats still images and allows students to interact as if a brain is right in front of them.

This is a technology-based tool in which students can build a DNA molecule. Based on your rate of construction it calculates how long you would have to work in order to successfully transcribe the DNA in one human cell (my rate was 50 years day and night). Underneath this graphic tool there is also a large amount of material on the structure of DNA. I selected this resource because it is a great interactive tool for students to use, and I think it will help them in conceptualizing DNA related material. This tool can be used to help students understand and appreciate how rapidly and accurately DNA processes, such as transcription, occur within a cell. 

I love the fact that this tool will help students understand how rapidly this process really works. It is mind boggling that these things happen and we aren't even conscious of it. Having students perform activities like this opens their eyes to the wonders of the human body, and to some may even motivate them to ask more questions!

This page follows the textbook, Modern Biology, providing PowerPoint presentations, review sheets, and activities. I selected this resource because this is the text that is used in the class I am observing. This page has helped me create my own presentations and has given me ideas when creating lessons to go along with the topics the class is covering.

Sophia is a free social teaching and learning network in which teachers are able to post their own tutorials and short quizzes over a certain concept. The reason why I selected this resource is because it gives a multitude of different ways in which students can learn a single concept; including, demos, lessons, videos, etc. This resource is valuable for a science teacher because many different ideas from this website can be utilized to ensure that you are teaching concepts in enough ways to address all types of learning in your classroom. I will use this resource to come up with ideas for my own classroom. Not only this but you can accumulate "quiz points" on the website from different concepts, so I could use these points and incorporate them into some type of assessment or extra credit opportunity in my classroom. 

This website contains a video about food chains and food webs. It explains what producers, consumers, scavengers, decomposers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, etc. are. It is very kid friendly because of the colors and easy accessibility. I like this website because it is interactive for young students. I would use this as a resource in my classroom to introduce the topic of food chains because it is a fun video the students will enjoy.

This website has activities, videos, and games directly related to food chains. I would use this site for resources and ideas for activities. I would also use it for the videos to show the students to better understand the concept of food chains.

Search engine to student appropriate websites and reading lists on a variety of topics

Bullfrog Films produces environmental and social justice films. This one, Chasing Water, is an 18 minute tour down the Colorado River, and addresses the issue of water use. It's length and recency make it a good starter for discussions related to water conservation at the high school level. Preview of film is free, and lasts about 2 and a half minutes

Visual depicting geological time. Good visual for a review or to pinpoint a particular period of time under study withing historical perspective.

Beautiful depiction of the history of space travel. May be used to show trends in technological advances and the history of space exploration.

"Underskin" Metro map in the style of the London Tube provides a visual of 8 body systems. Useful in showing anatomy in a simplified and unique way that may "hook" some students more than the usual body system diagrams. Also useful in the way it "maps" the different systems on the same body.

QR codes for each element lead to a video related to each element on the periodic table. Print out for each student to generate an interactive table for students to use with smart phones

Pinterest is a wonderful blog site for almost anything, including future teachers. This is a weather experiment that has students understand how rain comes through a cloud. Fill the cup with water. Put shaving cream on top for a cloud. Explain that when clouds get really heavy with water, it rains! Then put blue food coloring on top of the cloud, and watch it rain. Students would enjoy this hands-on experiment and help them to raise questions about weather.

This online activity gives students an opportunity to use riddle descriptions to match to an animal. The website also allows students to take a virtual hike and discusses the idea of preserving our national parks, seashores, and preserves. Teachers could use this to review a lesson on animals or open a lesson to students who want to know more about animal habitats.

So excited about the virtual hike option!! I love it! Would be good for relating to concepts of biome as well.

I choose this website because it is interactive and fun for younger students. It also covers a lot of information that is useful in studying the solar system. For use in the classroom, I would have my students use this website as a resource in creating a project on the patterns in the solar system.

I choose this website because it is colorful and informational. Also this website is fun! Students are able to learn about different stars' properties (color, size, temperature) and understand that not all of the stars that humans see are still shinning. I would integrate this website into the classroom by using this resource for students to create a diorama of the different types of stars and properties of each.

This website is an interactive too for my students to learn about genetics. In this simulation students are given an alien and based on what side the coin lands on in the experiment, and then a particular trait is given. I selected this resource because students might find it engaging, while learning how genetics determines what traits people are given. I might use this activity after I would teach a lesson about recessive and dominant genes, but before I teach Punnett Squares.

This website explains what carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, and decomposers are. It is very colorful, making it kid friendly. I choose this website as a resource because it is simple for young students to understand. The information is right to the point, creating a clear understanding of the material. I would use this resource in my classroom to teach my students how animals are classified based on what they eat.