Resources for Teaching Science

This resource contains an insect activity that must be downloaded. Once downloaded, the PDF includes a chart with two columns (insect, not an insect). There is also a page of 14 animals that can be colored, cut, and pasted into the two columns. This resource also contains a follow up worksheet about insects. I selected this resource because I feel like it is an engaging activity for the lower elementary grades. I can see myself using this as a science center activity some day in my future classroom.

This resource contains a song about weather. It is a video that asks if the weather is sunny, rainy, cloudy, or snowy. I selected this resource because I could see myself using the video every morning as a teacher. I would use it to gather my class to discuss the weather and the calendar. I wouldn't necessarily play the entire video every day, but the first 35 seconds covers plenty of information.

This resource contains instructions on how to bend water. The object is to bend the water by using static electricity. The materials needed are a plastic comb or inflated balloon, a narrow steam of water from a faucet, and dry hair. I selected this resource because I believe the lower elementary grades would really enjoy the experiment. Someday, I would love to teach kindergarten and I can see myself making a lesson out of this resource.

This is an activity resource I found about a robot arm activity for students. The information for the activity along with the full pdf file and the student worksheet are free to download. I liked all the information that the page offered, as well as the complete list of items for each group of students to use to create their robot arm. I think that this is another great way for students to see the many different sides of engineering. It's not all just about space or building skyscrapers. The goal of the project itself is for the robot arm each group creates to be able to grab and carry a foam cup. It's not too much of a daunting task and the goal is clear and is easily viewed when it comes to assessment.

This is a video that introduces sound, specifically vibration, and teaches a song to students. I chose this video because I know how much young children love music and learning songs. It has a lot of good information about sound and vibration in the short time the song plays. I would use this song to introduce a lesson on sound, or possibly conclude a lesson and review what students have learned.

A free application to see if dinosaur fossils have been found near your home. I selected this app because I thought it would be a fun way to bring studying dinosaur fossils a little closer to home. I would use it in the classroom in conjunction with studying evolution and diversity (3-LS4).

"Chemistry isn't just incredible ... sometimes it's edible, too! These crystal lollipops are a delicious introduction to some very lick-able chemistry concepts. Teach your child about saturation, evaporation, and crystallization with a simple kitchen concoction that will leave her hungry for more chemistry." Who doesn't love food? I know kids do! This website outlines the materials and process necessary to make crystallized lollipops. This allows for the students to understand concepts of boiling water, dissolving, super saturation, evaporation, etc. Science concepts can even be explained using something as fun as food-and the lesson can end with a yummy treat!

A free animated video presentation to show students how dinosaur bones become fossils. I liked this video because it really enhances the teaching of how bones eventually become fossils and will help students gain a better understanding of the long process and natural forces at work. It would be a great resource to use in conjunction with teaching students biological evolution (3-LS4).

This worksheet is a follow up worksheet for a Bill Nye video. This worksheet has questions in which the children would have to fill out during or after they have watched the video. All of these questions are taken from the video. I selected this worksheet because it is based on a science video which children would be interested in. Since this worksheet is based around a video, the children will have to pay attention to find the answers. I would use the video and worksheet to engage the children and then go into more detail throughout the lesson.

This video is about how light bends or bounces due to objects being placed in front of it. I selected this video because Bill Nye uses a fun interesting way of teaching science with certain topics. I would use this as the lesson, and then would follow it up with a worksheet for the class

This resource is an interactive introduction to sound. I would use this resource in a lesson on sound and vibrations, and show the website on a smartboard for my students and I to explore together. This interactive resource has multiple pages of images with sounds and animations that allow students to pluck rubber bands to notice sound and compare the speed of sound with the speed of other familiar vehicles. Another page of animations also shows students the speed of sound in the air in relation to thunder and lightning, something all students should be familiar with. I like this resource but I think teacher involvement would be required. It is not something young students could explore or read on their own.

Free streaming video that shows the actual fossils from an ancient sea in the middle of Indiana. Put the mouse on highlighted sections of the rocks and a depiction of the fossil comes to life along with a brief summarization of what kind of fossil it is and how it lived. I really liked this program because it shows how different our world was millions of years ago, and the fact that the program animates whichever fossil you choose, brings the past to life. It would be a great resource to use when teaching biological evolution (3-LS4).

I found this lesson and was immediately intrigued by the different activities. For a young group of students, I would set the different activities up in a stations format and let them explore the sounds and vibrations. This lesson also asks a lot of questions that encourage students to expand on their knowledge of sound. I chose this as a resource because I love the lab stations. I would use the lab stations in a lesson, but I would not follow the lesson exactly as it is written.

In this exploratory activity, the students will play around with different producers of sound to test what they see, feel, and hear. The students should figure out that vibrations make sound. I chose this activity because it is very hands on and gives the students the opportunity to discover things on their own. I would use this activity after already introducing the simple ideas about sound.

Free downloadable program in which students can build a dam in a virtual ecosystem and see how the animals and plants living there adapt. It shows students what happens to plants and animals when a change is introduced to their environment, some adapt and live while some die. I liked this program because students can place the dam in different places thus having different effects. I would use this program while studying biological evolution to visually demonstrate how a single change in the environment can have a drastic effect on the surrounding plant and animal life (3-LS4).

This lesson is designed to help students understand that vibrations are responsible for the sounds we hear. This is a lesson that I could modify to use to teach about sounds and vibrations. This lesson has a list of resources that could be used individually. I really liked the activities within the lesson. I don't think I would use this exact lesson, but it does have some great components that I could use to create my own lesson

This resource is a lesson segment that can be used to introduce biodiversity and also teach the students what biodiversity is. I selected this resource because it will give me an idea on what to teach my 2nd grade classroom when it comes to biodiversity. I would use this resource as a tool to help me in making my lesson plans for my lesson segment on biodiversity.

This resource is an interactive tool for students. The students are asked to enter their area code and to check yes or no depending on whether or not they observed that type of bug. In order to use the online source, students must first investigate the environment of the teacher's choice (ex: playground) and make note of the bugs that they have seen. Once the student's collected their data and entered it into the website, they are able to compare what types of bugs are found in the different states/regions. I chose this resource because it requires the students to observe their surroundings, record their data, and compare their data to other regions of the United States. Not only does it require the use of technology, it also requires the students to not remain stationary in the classroom setting.

This website allows you to watch live video feed of the ocean. This could be used in your classroom to watch for a few minutes each day during your ocean theme. Students could watch for ocean plants and animals that they are studying. This is a neat way for students to experience ocean life!

This website is a complete unit on plate tectonics for 6th grades. There is a planning guide, scope and sequence, activities, pre and post assessments, and formative assessments. All free and easy to download in as a PDF. The unit has been aligned with the science standards and would provides detailed instructions throughout. By the end of the unit students would know plate tectonics accounts for important features of the Earth's surface and major geological events, the location of earthquakes, mid-ocean ridges, and distribution of fossils, rock types, and ancient climatic zones.

This lab activity teaches students about convergent and divergent plate boundaries, structure of the earth, and the differences between oceanic and continental plates. Students use a fruit roll-up to present the oceanic crust, a graham cracker to represent the continental crust, and frosting to represent the asthenosphere. This hands-on activity shows students convergent and divergent plate boundaries, structure of the earth, and the differences between oceanic and continental plates. There are questions that go along with the activity to check for understanding. Then let the students eat the activity!