Teaching Middle School Science

Forensic science is always interesting to students. The mystery and puzzle solving are hard to resist. Here's a real case you can use to get students thinking scientifically while integrating knowledge of insect life cycles-a timely topic for spring.

Rotting corpses always get kid's attention!

Which lasts longer - the cold virus or flu virus?

In this Science Update, you'll find out how long a germ can hang around and wait for its next victim. The transcript and additional information is at http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/sci_update.cfm?DocID=202.

Keep up to date on the latest science news from around the world. Kim

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Science360 is an up-to-date view of breaking science news from around the world.

An active volcano in Antarctica? No way!

In this podcast, Eric Muller, science educator for the Exploratorium Teacher Institute in San Francisco, California provides a hands-on, "feet-on" way of teaching about volcanoes and the layers of the Earth. Students draw a scale model of the Earth on a ground with a piece of chalk.

Mammals 101 - hair, milk, three bones in the inner ear

Dr. Ross MacPhee, curator and researcher at the American Museum of Natural History provides content background on polar mammals past and present, explains basic adaptations of Arctic mammals, and discusses current means of studying mammals in the field. [10:43]

Citizen science, poetry, birds, and long johns.

Join us on a special trip up to Bathurst Island to record birdsongs, and learn about how you can use bird observations to create scientific inquiry in your classroom using ebird.org and birds.cornell.edu/birdsleuth. [15:02]

We already know why polar bears don't eat penguins, but what do they eat? In this podcast, we'll share a simple activity that opens a window to understanding a unique ecosystem as one example of a food chain - the Arctic Ocean.

This podcast includes directions for an activity where students build a mobile that represents an Arctic food web.

This podcast interviews Dr. Monaghan who does climate research in Antarctica.

Dr. Andy Monaghan, researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research gives us the lowdown on climate change and it's impact on Antarctica. In doing so, educators can address common questions students might have about climate change and also learn simple ways that we can mitigate our impact on the environment. [10:41]

What is the environmental impact of summer vacations?

How much thought have you given to the environmental impact of your summer vacation plans and those of everyone else you'll meet there? What kind of carbon emissions are you emitting as you jet to your destination? What about that four-wheel drive vehicle you'll rent? And the convenience meals with their excess packaging you'll eat a greater proportion of?

Did it sneak up on you again this year? Kidding aside, Richter Scale Day is April 26, the birthday of Charles Richter (1900-1985), inventor of the Richter scale. Most middle school science curricula include earth science studies in plate tectonics and its related phenomena, including earthquakes. Catastrophic events, such as the recent Italian earthquake, provide teachable moments. What better time to integrate a study of the Richter scale technology with science content?

You didn't miss Richter Scale Day, did you?

This page includes the Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science guide, links to highlighted presentations, and related documents. The guide includes the most important concepts in climate science.

This guide says that humans can take actions to reduce climate change and its impacts. Hope we aren't too late.

With all the news of the Swine flu outbreak and eventhough flu is caused by a virus - here is a really good resource about bacteria on your hands.

This blog post discusses how many bacteria can be found on your hands and that there are differences in men and women. In addition, ideas for integrating these ideas into middle school science classrooms are provided.

In this activity, students will collect weather data over several days or weeks, graph temperature data, and compare the temperature data with averaged climate data where they live. Understanding and interpreting local weather data and understanding the relationship between weather and climate are important first steps to understanding larger-scale global climate changes.

Nice activity where students collect, analyze, and compare temperature data and compare the data to local climate data.

Help integrating science and literacy - here is a nonfiction text for students available in a variety of formats including electronic.

This nonfiction article is written for use with upper-elementary students (grades 4-5) but can also be used with middle school students. Students learn about two of Saturn's moons, albedo, the relationship between heat absorption and temperature, and how decreasing sea ice in the Arctic actually contributes to further melting. Modified versions are available for students in grades K-1 and grades 2-3, or any student needing a simplified version. At each grade level, the article is available in text, printable pdf files allowing you to print the story in either text or a foldable book format, and an electronic version. Reading strategy templates and related activities provide tips for integrating this story with your science and literacy instruction.

One of many outstanding collaborative projects from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Join schools from around the world from March 2 to May 22 as they determine how their geographic location (i.e. where they live) affects their average daily temperature and hours of sunlight. Specifically, students will: Measure the temperature and record the number of minutes of sunlight per day over a common week; Compare and contrast the results with classes from all over the world; and Determine how proximity to the equator affects average daily temperature and hours of sunlight.

Games, blogs, science history, myths, solar system, the universe - this site provides an amazing number of exemplary resources.

Windows to the Universe is a user-friendly learning system covering the Earth and Space sciences for use by the general public. The site includes a rich array of documents, including images, movies, animations, and data sets, that explore the Earth and Space sciences and the historical and cultural ties between science, exploration, and the human experience. The site is written in three reading levels approximating elementary, middle school and high school reading levels. These levels may be chosen by using the upper button bar of each page of the main site. A Spanish version of the site is available.

In this article, we discuss some common misconceptions about light, heat, and the sun. We also provide tools for formative assessment and ideas for teaching the correct scientific concepts. Most of the examples are aimed at elementary students but many are appropriate for middle school students as well.

Students hold lots of misconceptions about the light and heat.

This article from the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears online magazine answers the questions what kinds of energy comes from the sun, how does it travel through space, and what happens when it reaches earth.

Did you know that the sun blasts more than a billion tons of matter out into space at millions of kilometers per hour? Ultimately, energy from the sun is the driving force behind weather and climate, and life on earth. But what kinds of energy come from the sun? How does that energy travel through space? And what happens when it reaches earth?

This publication is all about developing your middle school students' understandings of earths oceans and the major effect they have on climate. Understanding and interpreting local weather data and understanding the relationship between weather and climate are important first steps to understanding larger-scale global climate changes. Activities that ask students to collect and analyze local weather data as well as analyze global data can be found in the Lessons and Activities section. Analyzing and interpreting data is a major focus of this publication. Numerous data sets can be found in the Sources for Real Data section. The Background Information section and the article Tomorrows Forecast will help reinforce your own content knowledge.

More exemplary resources from the Middle School Portal 2: Math & Science Pathways project.

This publication gives you a variety of angles to choose from in implementing a study of polar science in the middle school science classroom. Topics covered include visualizing the polar regions, the physical attributes, biology and ecology, research projects and environmental issues, and the associated National Science Education Standards.

Ever thought of integrating polar science into your teaching? Kim