Resources for Teaching Science

This is a great website for science lesson plans. I really like how it gives you all of the worksheets you need to use during the lesson. It also shows you different links that are related to the lesson that might be good to supplement your lesson with. There is also plenty of teacher resources such as articles, tips, themes, and printables. I would use this for lesson plan ideas along with supplemental materials.

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.

This app allows students to overview the cell as a whole, as well as the individual structures and their functions. I selected this resource because it can act as an interactive diagram and quiz on the cell. Having just created a lesson over the cell, I thought this would be a great tool if the class had iPads.

This website has videos that hit on the main points of many different science lessons. These videos are not long and even have a short quiz at the end. My cooperating teacher used these at the end of her lessons because the students looked forward to watching a movie. Some of these videos are free, but to view all of them you must have an account.

This site provides a multitude of lesson plans for many different grade levels of science. Teacher notes, student copies, and examples are all given in the lesson guidelines. I have used Arkive in the past for projects and have found it very helpful. I imagine using these lessons as supplemental activities for the lessons I teach in biology.

The St. Louis Science Center often provides preview days for educators to come check out the new exhibit featured. This preview allowed the educator to see the exhibit and the movie along with receiving some resources on how to lead the students through the exhibit. I think it is important that teachers be able to view exhibits and have a lesson ready before taking their students on a trip. I think that any teacher would benefit from such a workshop even though the material offered would be suitable for grades 3-8.

As technology in schools continues to advance, teachers must be on the lookout for ways to integrate new technology into the classroom. This website overviews 30 science apps for IPad covering topics such as physics, chemistry, anatomy, geology, weather and the solar system among many others. Most are free, but some charge a small fee and would be suited to many grade levels, at least grades 3-12. I would use to introduce or supplement a lesson, but could also see this as a treat for kids ready to work ahead.

Modern Biology Inc. supplements teaching biology laboratories. On the website they have free access to over one hundred experiments that correspond to many different concepts that are being taught in high school biology labs today. There is also the option to search by the class you are teaching for experiments. While access to their experiments is free, some of the experiments require equipment or additional materials that would more than likely need to be bought and Modern Biology, Inc. sells any piece of equipment or material that their labs mention. I selected this resource because labs are a critical part of any science classroom, and lab equipment and materials will inevitably need to be purchased. This is a good resource where all labs can be accessed and materials can be purchased in the same location. I will probably use some of the lab exercises from this website, and it is possible that I would need to purchase equipment and materials from this website as well. 

This website is full of different hands on activities for teaching biology to high school or middle school students. All of the activities that are provided are closely linked to biological concepts. The reason why I selected this resource is because I feel that students will truly understand and be able to apply a biological concept if they are able to engage said concept in a hands on activity. It is important that the kinesthetic mode of learning is addressed in class. This resource is valuable because I truly believe that the more hands-on activities that I have in my classroom, the more effective of a science classroom it will be. I will undoubtedly use some of these activities in my own class.  

This website was designed by a teacher that has taught biology and chemistry to middle school and high school students for 37 years. This is the culmination of materials and resources that she has created, modified, and gathered over the years. She provides a multitude of various links to different activities, worksheets, labs, demos, test reviews, etc. She even provides her email information so you can be in contact with her and discuss the material on the website and other teaching strategies. I selected this resource because there are so many different activities that can be used by middle and high school biology and chemistry instructors. It is particularly valuable to me because I will more than likely use many of the materials and resources provided from this website in my own classroom. Personally I find it challenging to create really fun and yet beneficial, educational activities for students on my own, so it is very useful to have some ideas available for me to start with. 

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 site has activiites and lesson plan supplements, including interactive games that students can play. There are kid-friendly articles, in English and Spanish, and also a resource library for teachers. This website is free and the activities are geared toward grades 4-8. I would definitely look here for fun extras to supplement my lesson plans.

A great collection for K-8 teachers of free resources for experiments, lesson ideas and supplemental information. I would use this as a starting block to research different ideas to supplement my lesson plan...it really is the "trunk of the tree"...so many links to get you to what you're looking for.

The Molecular Workbench provides an exciting opportunity for teachers and students. Students can choose which science they are interested in and then complete modules, which illustrate concepts through demos and asking questions to check for comprehension. Some of the questions are multiple choice and some are open ended, which will allow for curriculum differentiation. Teachers will be able to see not only if the students remember specific facts but also how deep their understanding goes. Plus, the demos and animations are interesting for the students!

This website provides a resource for students to learn Chemistry through playing interactive computer games. A teacher can register the class or the students can just login as a guest. Videos and songs are also posted to make Chemistry more interesting. Additionally, the site offers links to resources for getting tutoring help as well as safety rules and lab experiment suggestions for teachers. This website seems like a useful tool in the classroom and to refer students and parents to if they have questions or need additional information.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, or IUPAC, is a council made up of chemists from countries around the world. They have developed a system of naming elements and compounds. This website offers a variety of links to click on explaining the different rules. This website could provide a useful tool for teachers who need a refresher on some of the rules or for students who need additional clarification. Additionally, the site offers some suggestions about how to make the Chemistry curriculum more relevant to students by providing a more hands-on approach that requires a higher level of thinking and questioning.

Loads of good info on this free Library of Congress website, including a page on how to get girls interested in science. There are books, activities and internet resources attached to this page, and I think educators could find this useful at all grade levels to get girls excited about science.

Located in Makanda, Illinois, Touch of Nature has an Environmental Education program that, "offers exciting outdoor learning experiences in natural resource education, nature interpretation and resource management. Courses are designed to increase environment awareness, appreciation and stewardship. The do offer lodging (for a fee) to take older students for a fun learning experience. I don't think it's ever too early to get kids thinking about how they effect the environment so if I were in a school close to Makanda, I would take students as early as 3rd grade, however this would be an extremely cool field trip for grades 8 and up.

The St. Louis Zoo provides 8 lesson plans on conservation, populations and ecosystems, and characteristics of living organisms. I have used one in the past and adapted it to fit a higher grade level than listed. I selected this resource because I love connecting material to the zoo. It is valuable that students know that zoos are not only for people to go look at animals, but they are put in place to help repopulate endangered species as well. These resources can be used as is or adapted to fit other classroom needs.

Since I plan on moving to Oahu for my teaching career, I found a website that has a bunch of fieldtrip options for the island. These locations could help teach topics such as biomes, ecosystems, plants, animals, etc.