Can be found here . I could not figure out how to upload the modified worksheets; my directions for how to modify them are embedded in the lesson plans themselves, and the worksheets are available in the FOSS kit. My handmade assessment likewise I could not figure out how to upload. It is simply a worksheet with the words Solid, Liquid, Gas, and Plasma listed out with space to write or paste pictures underneath, with an attached sheet that has pictures of such things as orange juice, a rock, breath, the sun, steam, water, ice, etc. If you choose to use these lessons, best of luck! They are entirely hypothetical, as it has been a while since I worked with genuine bonafide kindergarteners or first graders.
Love, Ms. C.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Evolutionary Science Websites
I really wanted to also embed the video for "My Brother The Ape" (also by They Might Be Giants, from the album "Here Comes Science", but I was unable to find a link to something already online. So, only one video, and a ton of websites, this time! Can you tell that I think that evolution, genetics and biology are pretty darn interesting?
Ray Troll's Planet Ocean. Ray Troll is one of my favorite artists, and is a hands-down inveterate Northwestern fish lovin' paleontologically interested kind of guy. This website has tons and tons of drawings and scientific explanations of ocean creatures from different epochs, and explicit evolutionary linking from fish to modern human. There are lots of interactive things to click on, and the whole site is both fun to explore and very informative about evolutionary processes, stops along the way, and weird dead end off-branches. Don't forget to go see the "EVOLV-O-VISION" animation. I would use this website with students between the grades of 3 and 6.
Tree of Life Interactive. This website is an incredible resource. The website is set up as a three-dimensional interactive relationship chart beginning with the first living organisms and touching on most basic species groups. Connections between species can be seen visibly down the tree chart, and if the branch of phylum or class has a name where the species similarity diverges, it is named. When selecting a species to look at, many have either external sites that are linked that have extensive information about subspecies and other relatives, some have three dimensional models that can be explored on-site, and some have downloadable material. I would use this website with middle school students, as it is a fairly sophisticated site, and covers fairly sophisticated material.
Who Wants to Live a Million Years? This is an interactive game that demonstrates the processes of natural selection, survival of the fittest, and the bottlenecking influences of external forces like temperature, predation, and ability to reach food. It's a pretty short, game, each million years lasts through three rounds of bottleneck events. If your species does not survive, you are invited to try again. This website would be great to use with children in grades 2 and up.
PBS Kids Dog Breeding Game. This game gives kids an experiential example of Gregor Mendel's pea experiment that we all eventually learn about. By combining different parent dogs, the goal is to develop a dog with the desired traits based on the parent dogs' traits. Genes are referred to, but not alleles, so if you are working with older children, you may want to do some vocabulary building. The success rate in the game is variable, so students may not experience immediate success; they will have to try again more than once if they play the game all the way through. This website would also be great to use with children in grades 2 and up.
Evolving Planet Tour Through Time. This website has an interactive timeline with a selection of plant and animal species that can be clicked on for more information in each epoch. The timeline discusses major extinction events, and what probably caused them, ending with the current epoch and the mass extinctions that are currently being caused by the influence of homo sapiens. I would use this website with children in 4th grade and up, as some of the words and concepts are a little bit hard. Students who are particularly interested in the history of life on earth may do well with this page at any age.
Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals. This website used up a lot of my time this week, because it is so rich in information I literally had to tear myself away from searching through it. This site goes very in depth into what makes an animal a mammal, with interactive pictures, small matching games, and a TON of great information. I would love to use this site with 3rd grade and up, possibly doing reports on different kinds of mammals.
Devolve Me! This is kind of a fun website, pictures of faces can be uploaded and given traits of evolutionary ancestors of humans. Not 100% educational, but definitely amusing. I would use this website with older students, 5th-6th grade and up, because older children are more likely to be able to understand that the computer manipulation of their photograph does not necessarily represent what their ancestors REALLY looked like, only a fun suggestion, a toy, really.
Becoming Human This website is a pretty comprehensive overview of what we know of human evolution to date. This site, like the mammals site listed above, is chock full of incredibly good information, games, and videos. I'd use this website with older students, 5th grade and up, because a lot of the language is pretty sophisticated, and one of the games, (DNA matching) would probably need a good deal of explanation to someone who has not sequenced genes in the past; I think it would be easier to explain a concept like that to students who were a little older and more ready to think about the small parts of organisms that cause species differentiation.
Monday, February 8, 2010
HIV and health of all sorts websites
Kids' Health website (Nemours Children's Hospital sponsored site.) This was the only site that I found to be friendly to children, not teens, to be surfing through by themselves. It is aimed at children between grades 2-6 with relatively sophisticated literacy skills. Younger children could access this site with assistance. Children who speak Spanish can access the site en Español.
There are many links to high quality medical information that is in kid-friendly language, about health issues experienced by kids and by grown ups (separate links), Q & A about bodies, a glossary of ailments and body parts, games and quizzes, and other very well written health information for children to access. I found the site easy to navigate, and learned some neat things about skin and hair.
As wonderfully comprehensive as the rest of the site was, I could not find any information about HIV/AIDS or any other sexually/bodily fluid- transmitted diseases and infections. I did find some comprehensive information for children about drugs and what they are, including tobacco, alcohol, and over the counter drugs. There was also a section about supporting a parent who wants to stop smoking tobacco. I'm still looking to see if I can find a kid-friendly website that addresses HIV and other STIs.
AVERT website with HIV/AIDS information. The main site (www.avert.org) is run by an AIDS awareness charity based in the UK. This website is aimed at teenagers and older, though may be helpful for educating children in middle school. There is very plain writing on this website, and the site itself has internal links that address sexuality both in terms of youth who are questioning their orientation and for those who already know. There are vast stores of information that appears to be quite up-to-date about AIDS in different countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, as well as very clear information for anyone who wishes to know how to prevent the spread of the disease through both personal actions (i.e. safer sex) or through education and activism. The information is pretty clearly aimed at young people, but is also presented in such a way as to be useful for a teacher struggling with how and how much to teach students about the kinds of safer sex to engage in to be most protected against contracting the disease; there is the assumption that it is healthy for young people to want to engage in sex, but that they must be educated about the relative merits and drawbacks to doing so. The language used is clear and nonjudgmental. There are links specifically for youth who are gay or who have friends who are gay.
I Wanna Know: Sexual Health Information for Teens from The American Social Health Association. This website is also aimed primarily at teenagers, though it could be used with a class of middle schoolers with the proper scaffolding. There are links to specific STIs that can be clicked, these links provide clear and accurate information about causes, infectiousness, and how/if those STIs can be treated. There are links to commonly asked questions or common issues, like condom use and feelings of rejection and danger among queer youth, as well as links to “sex ed 101” and ways to best prevent contracting/spreading STIs. Clear language, comprehensive information.
Planned Parenthood's website specifically for teens, “Teen Talk”. This website is also available en Español. The site has articles and answers to frequently asked questions, as well as resources for teens who want to be tested for STIs, pregnancy, or who simply want to be proactive about their sexual health before anything like that happens. There are some mildly silly but very informative flash videos about things like HPV, how to use a condom, and the shapes of peoples' genitalia that can be watched from the site, as well as a significant amount of nonjudgmental information for teens who are queer or questioning. Planned Parenthood is kind of a standby for a reason, and appears to be going out of their collective way to remain up to date on ways to communicate important information about sexual and other body health to young people.
Scarleteen, "sex ed for the real world". This website is also aimed at teens, and is a website I was familiar with before I went looking for sites that addressed HIV and sexual health. It is, as far as I know, mostly volunteer run by young people who are sex-positive and willing to answer questions pretty much round the clock. From the "about us" section of the site is Scarleteen's statement about what they think responsible and comprehensive sex education should look like:
“We feel that the best model for lifelong sexual education is as follows:
Providing information which educates in ALL aspects of sexuality, for all sexes, economic classes, genders and orientations, including birth control, safer sex and sexually transmitted diseases, masturbation, anatomy, diverse sexual orientation and identification, gender roles, pleasure, self-esteem, body image, sexual and romantic relationship and communication tools, and care and compassion in sexual enactment.
A nonjudgmental and unbiased attitude of tolerance and understanding for teens, whether they choose to be sexually active or not.
Tools to encourage celibacy from ANY sexual activities until reasonable readiness for them, such as information on masturbation, support for delaying activity, and to do so from a standpoint of embracing safe, positive sexuality and having sex only when it is fully wanted and something young people truly feel able to handle, rather than anti-sex approaches, misinformation, scare tactics, religious edicts or shaming.
Encouragement to know as much as possible, and from an educated standpoint, to make sound choices based on personal ethics and values gleaned from family, role models, life experience and oneself.
Open, ongoing and moderated conversation about sex and sexuality in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment.”
The whole site is dedicated to providing this type of sex education, specifically feminist, inclusive sex education; the founder and the volunteers who run the site make an active attempt to provide honest and clear, nonjudgmental information to all kinds of young people.
I wish I could see clear to using this website with younger children, but I worry that the site's content could be called into question by parents as inappropriate for use with their children. With older, teenaged people, I could see fit to argue that there is information there that is immediately relevant to their lives and making certain that they conduct themselves sexually in a safe and responsible manner. I realize this argument may not work out with some parents no matter the age of their child.
I'll leave you all with this pointed argument against abstinence only sex education: I Guess You Just Have To Be Prepared To Die
There are many links to high quality medical information that is in kid-friendly language, about health issues experienced by kids and by grown ups (separate links), Q & A about bodies, a glossary of ailments and body parts, games and quizzes, and other very well written health information for children to access. I found the site easy to navigate, and learned some neat things about skin and hair.
As wonderfully comprehensive as the rest of the site was, I could not find any information about HIV/AIDS or any other sexually/bodily fluid- transmitted diseases and infections. I did find some comprehensive information for children about drugs and what they are, including tobacco, alcohol, and over the counter drugs. There was also a section about supporting a parent who wants to stop smoking tobacco. I'm still looking to see if I can find a kid-friendly website that addresses HIV and other STIs.
AVERT website with HIV/AIDS information. The main site (www.avert.org) is run by an AIDS awareness charity based in the UK. This website is aimed at teenagers and older, though may be helpful for educating children in middle school. There is very plain writing on this website, and the site itself has internal links that address sexuality both in terms of youth who are questioning their orientation and for those who already know. There are vast stores of information that appears to be quite up-to-date about AIDS in different countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, as well as very clear information for anyone who wishes to know how to prevent the spread of the disease through both personal actions (i.e. safer sex) or through education and activism. The information is pretty clearly aimed at young people, but is also presented in such a way as to be useful for a teacher struggling with how and how much to teach students about the kinds of safer sex to engage in to be most protected against contracting the disease; there is the assumption that it is healthy for young people to want to engage in sex, but that they must be educated about the relative merits and drawbacks to doing so. The language used is clear and nonjudgmental. There are links specifically for youth who are gay or who have friends who are gay.
I Wanna Know: Sexual Health Information for Teens from The American Social Health Association. This website is also aimed primarily at teenagers, though it could be used with a class of middle schoolers with the proper scaffolding. There are links to specific STIs that can be clicked, these links provide clear and accurate information about causes, infectiousness, and how/if those STIs can be treated. There are links to commonly asked questions or common issues, like condom use and feelings of rejection and danger among queer youth, as well as links to “sex ed 101” and ways to best prevent contracting/spreading STIs. Clear language, comprehensive information.
Planned Parenthood's website specifically for teens, “Teen Talk”. This website is also available en Español. The site has articles and answers to frequently asked questions, as well as resources for teens who want to be tested for STIs, pregnancy, or who simply want to be proactive about their sexual health before anything like that happens. There are some mildly silly but very informative flash videos about things like HPV, how to use a condom, and the shapes of peoples' genitalia that can be watched from the site, as well as a significant amount of nonjudgmental information for teens who are queer or questioning. Planned Parenthood is kind of a standby for a reason, and appears to be going out of their collective way to remain up to date on ways to communicate important information about sexual and other body health to young people.
Scarleteen, "sex ed for the real world". This website is also aimed at teens, and is a website I was familiar with before I went looking for sites that addressed HIV and sexual health. It is, as far as I know, mostly volunteer run by young people who are sex-positive and willing to answer questions pretty much round the clock. From the "about us" section of the site is Scarleteen's statement about what they think responsible and comprehensive sex education should look like:
“We feel that the best model for lifelong sexual education is as follows:
Providing information which educates in ALL aspects of sexuality, for all sexes, economic classes, genders and orientations, including birth control, safer sex and sexually transmitted diseases, masturbation, anatomy, diverse sexual orientation and identification, gender roles, pleasure, self-esteem, body image, sexual and romantic relationship and communication tools, and care and compassion in sexual enactment.
A nonjudgmental and unbiased attitude of tolerance and understanding for teens, whether they choose to be sexually active or not.
Tools to encourage celibacy from ANY sexual activities until reasonable readiness for them, such as information on masturbation, support for delaying activity, and to do so from a standpoint of embracing safe, positive sexuality and having sex only when it is fully wanted and something young people truly feel able to handle, rather than anti-sex approaches, misinformation, scare tactics, religious edicts or shaming.
Encouragement to know as much as possible, and from an educated standpoint, to make sound choices based on personal ethics and values gleaned from family, role models, life experience and oneself.
Open, ongoing and moderated conversation about sex and sexuality in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment.”
The whole site is dedicated to providing this type of sex education, specifically feminist, inclusive sex education; the founder and the volunteers who run the site make an active attempt to provide honest and clear, nonjudgmental information to all kinds of young people.
I wish I could see clear to using this website with younger children, but I worry that the site's content could be called into question by parents as inappropriate for use with their children. With older, teenaged people, I could see fit to argue that there is information there that is immediately relevant to their lives and making certain that they conduct themselves sexually in a safe and responsible manner. I realize this argument may not work out with some parents no matter the age of their child.
I'll leave you all with this pointed argument against abstinence only sex education: I Guess You Just Have To Be Prepared To Die
Monday, February 1, 2010
Space Science websites
There are certainly websites on tap today, but first, a musical interlude from my favorite kids' album "HERE COMES SCIENCE" by They Might Be Giants:
Isaac Asimov online. This is mostly a resource for looking at the body of work that Asimov completed, and as such should be used with older students and students interested in the life of Asimov and in tracking down certain bits of information that he wrote.
WORLDTIME. This shows a model of the earth and how and where sunlight is hitting it at the time of day that it is viewed. The “globe” can be manipulated and turned in all directions, so it is possible to see where it is daylight and where it is dark, and a child using the page could do some interesting extrapolation about what time means, why we have time zones, why calling a grandparent who lives in a different time zone at certain times of day might not be a great idea, etc.
StarChild, a Learning Center for Young Astronomers. Aside from the fact that the title of the website makes me think about George Clinton, this website was pretty helpful*. There are two “levels” to choose from, both of which have categories of Solar System, Universe, Space Stuff and Glossary. The “Level 1” links are aimed at grades 2-3 and have the added benefit of the option to have the website read to you (great for ELLs of those grades and higher!) The “Level 2” links are aimed at grades 4-6, with generally similar though more complex information compared to the “Level 1” links.
American Museum of Natural History “OLOGY” website: astronomy section. The OLOGY website in general is a great science resource, containing both online interactive games and quizzes, but also activities that are intended to be done offline, such as keeping a sky journal and how to do that, and creating a big dipper mobile. I would love to poke around more on this site when I have the chance. The age range seems pretty middle elementary-aimed to me, like in the range of 3rd to 4th grade.
Astronomy.com Astronomy for Kids. The content on this site is very similar to the content on the OLOGY website, with a few different activities and resources. It's also aimed at a slightly older age group, I'd say 4th – 5th. There is a list of interactive or do-it-yourself activities for learning about different parts of the solar system, constellations, position of earth and sun to determine cardinal points, etc. Pretty neat stuff.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Yeah, I know that the links each week are supposed to be limited to 5, but I could not in good conscience leave off this truly excellent resource. You may have heard of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in reference to the Mars Rovers (that are still more or less functional, which is amazing of itself,) they really do rather a lot more than that. On this website, you can find earth imaging, information about the Cassini probe (along with other missions to Saturn and simply gorgeous pictures,) and tons and tons and TONS more. This is not a website I would send a student to alone unless they had either a very specific idea about what they wanted to study, or no idea at all. There is so much information available! This is also not a site that younger children could navigate very well on their own, but would probably keep older children busy for quite a long time. There is a subsite that is specifically aimed at children, but I would suggest not limiting your students if they find the rest of the information available to be interesting.
*No, no, I love Parliament...It's just that now I want to turn up the funk instead of doing my homework. I've compromised, and am listening to them whilst doing said homework. It's very nearly a win-win.
Isaac Asimov online. This is mostly a resource for looking at the body of work that Asimov completed, and as such should be used with older students and students interested in the life of Asimov and in tracking down certain bits of information that he wrote.
WORLDTIME. This shows a model of the earth and how and where sunlight is hitting it at the time of day that it is viewed. The “globe” can be manipulated and turned in all directions, so it is possible to see where it is daylight and where it is dark, and a child using the page could do some interesting extrapolation about what time means, why we have time zones, why calling a grandparent who lives in a different time zone at certain times of day might not be a great idea, etc.
StarChild, a Learning Center for Young Astronomers. Aside from the fact that the title of the website makes me think about George Clinton, this website was pretty helpful*. There are two “levels” to choose from, both of which have categories of Solar System, Universe, Space Stuff and Glossary. The “Level 1” links are aimed at grades 2-3 and have the added benefit of the option to have the website read to you (great for ELLs of those grades and higher!) The “Level 2” links are aimed at grades 4-6, with generally similar though more complex information compared to the “Level 1” links.
American Museum of Natural History “OLOGY” website: astronomy section. The OLOGY website in general is a great science resource, containing both online interactive games and quizzes, but also activities that are intended to be done offline, such as keeping a sky journal and how to do that, and creating a big dipper mobile. I would love to poke around more on this site when I have the chance. The age range seems pretty middle elementary-aimed to me, like in the range of 3rd to 4th grade.
Astronomy.com Astronomy for Kids. The content on this site is very similar to the content on the OLOGY website, with a few different activities and resources. It's also aimed at a slightly older age group, I'd say 4th – 5th. There is a list of interactive or do-it-yourself activities for learning about different parts of the solar system, constellations, position of earth and sun to determine cardinal points, etc. Pretty neat stuff.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Yeah, I know that the links each week are supposed to be limited to 5, but I could not in good conscience leave off this truly excellent resource. You may have heard of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in reference to the Mars Rovers (that are still more or less functional, which is amazing of itself,) they really do rather a lot more than that. On this website, you can find earth imaging, information about the Cassini probe (along with other missions to Saturn and simply gorgeous pictures,) and tons and tons and TONS more. This is not a website I would send a student to alone unless they had either a very specific idea about what they wanted to study, or no idea at all. There is so much information available! This is also not a site that younger children could navigate very well on their own, but would probably keep older children busy for quite a long time. There is a subsite that is specifically aimed at children, but I would suggest not limiting your students if they find the rest of the information available to be interesting.
*No, no, I love Parliament...It's just that now I want to turn up the funk instead of doing my homework. I've compromised, and am listening to them whilst doing said homework. It's very nearly a win-win.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Earth Science websites
There are SO MANY cool earth science websites out there, it was hard to limit myself to five. I mean, I probably could have listed a couple of dozen, but that also would not have been an excellent use of my limited time. There are several plate tectonic websites I did not list here that were easily as good as those I did list, but with fewer opportunities for playing with the interactive bits.
Calculating Geologic Time. This is a metaphor generator! I can see using this with older students who already understand decimals, so late 5th grade to 8th grade. I can see this site as being useful for something to be used within class during a lesson about geologic time (and evolution? Come back in a couple of weeks...) to help students come up with a visual and physical model to share with the class. Student groups could work with different increments to show to the class.
The Utah Education Network Cloud Guide. This is a website that is accessible for children probably from grades k-2 depending on the lesson that is to be used in conjunction with it. There is a sidebar with cloud type names, when the name is clicked, one or more very nice pictures of that type of cloud come up. I can imagine having children go outside to observe and draw the clouds in the sky, and then go explore this website to name what they saw, as part of a greater unit.
Lightning and Atmospheric Electricity Research at GHCC (the Global Hydrology and Climate Center, associated with NASA.) This is a very information-rich site, and would be best used with older students, grades 5-8, probably working in groups. Types of lightening, how and when it occurs, and the instruments used to find these things out are all described in great detail, with beautiful pictures.
A Science Odyssey: You Try It: Plate Tectonics: Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker (PBS affiliated) You will need to install Adobe Shockwave if you do not already have it in order to use the interactive activities on this site, there are very good directions and links about how to do that on the site itself. The Shockwave interactive bit is pretty neat, though. It shows four different ways that a continental plate can move, and what that does to land both above and below the ocean. There is a link at the bottom of the interactive page to get to more information about how and why particular kinds of plate movement do what they do. This website looks like it is aimed at children between the grades of 2nd and 6th, depending on scaffolding, where on the site they are sent, and how much teacher support they require. I spent a while playing with this one, but I think tectonic movement is pretty neat as a concept, and pretty important to have children understand how it works, especially here in the Pacific Northwest, where volcanoes and earth movement are ever-present facts of life. For current events, it may be a good idea to link studies of earthquakes to civic action to raise money or supplies for people in Haiti.
Exploring the Environment “castle museum” has several “floors” that children can visit, each with its own theme. This is a VERY kid friendly site, with good pictures and easy to understand chunks of information with each. It is aimed at children between grades 3-5, and is something that children in those grades could easily navigate unaided. For research and discovery purposes, it is an excellent website that you could provide as an option for independent use.
Calculating Geologic Time. This is a metaphor generator! I can see using this with older students who already understand decimals, so late 5th grade to 8th grade. I can see this site as being useful for something to be used within class during a lesson about geologic time (and evolution? Come back in a couple of weeks...) to help students come up with a visual and physical model to share with the class. Student groups could work with different increments to show to the class.
The Utah Education Network Cloud Guide. This is a website that is accessible for children probably from grades k-2 depending on the lesson that is to be used in conjunction with it. There is a sidebar with cloud type names, when the name is clicked, one or more very nice pictures of that type of cloud come up. I can imagine having children go outside to observe and draw the clouds in the sky, and then go explore this website to name what they saw, as part of a greater unit.
Lightning and Atmospheric Electricity Research at GHCC (the Global Hydrology and Climate Center, associated with NASA.) This is a very information-rich site, and would be best used with older students, grades 5-8, probably working in groups. Types of lightening, how and when it occurs, and the instruments used to find these things out are all described in great detail, with beautiful pictures.
A Science Odyssey: You Try It: Plate Tectonics: Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker (PBS affiliated) You will need to install Adobe Shockwave if you do not already have it in order to use the interactive activities on this site, there are very good directions and links about how to do that on the site itself. The Shockwave interactive bit is pretty neat, though. It shows four different ways that a continental plate can move, and what that does to land both above and below the ocean. There is a link at the bottom of the interactive page to get to more information about how and why particular kinds of plate movement do what they do. This website looks like it is aimed at children between the grades of 2nd and 6th, depending on scaffolding, where on the site they are sent, and how much teacher support they require. I spent a while playing with this one, but I think tectonic movement is pretty neat as a concept, and pretty important to have children understand how it works, especially here in the Pacific Northwest, where volcanoes and earth movement are ever-present facts of life. For current events, it may be a good idea to link studies of earthquakes to civic action to raise money or supplies for people in Haiti.
Exploring the Environment “castle museum” has several “floors” that children can visit, each with its own theme. This is a VERY kid friendly site, with good pictures and easy to understand chunks of information with each. It is aimed at children between grades 3-5, and is something that children in those grades could easily navigate unaided. For research and discovery purposes, it is an excellent website that you could provide as an option for independent use.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Physical Science websites
This week's installment: Physical Science!
Newton's Apple website (affiliated with PBS). The site itself is navigable probably for grades 3-4 and up independently, but younger kids I would either walk through with them, or get them started on the link I wanted them to work with. The main page has a streaming video that plays immediately when the link opens; I found that to be a bit annoying, even if the video is neat content. There are several links from the main page along the top of the screen about different kinds of science that kids might be into. For physical science, you can click the “Physics and Sports” link http://www.newtonsapple.tv/TeacherGuides_physicsSports.php which brings you a list of different videos to watch in that category. There's also a glossary-style list linked from the home page of different kinds of experiments children can try at home.
“Einstein's Legacy” page about X-Rays, grade range probably between 4th and 6th grade. There is a small interactive picture of a hand where you can look at the bone structure by moving a small frame around. Linked from this page are explanatory websites about electromagnetic waves (with a slider so one can see more or less relative size of waves and what those waves do,) and about CAT scans. I would be especially interested in having this website as a resource if I were to have another student who underwent neurological surgery. When I worked as a paraprofessional I had a student who had extensive surgery on his brain, and it would have been nice to have this website as a resource for the other students in the class about what he was having done when he spoke about having his scans.
XTALENT image gallery; has hundreds of micrographic images of nearly anything you can imagine wanting to look at that closely. This is a resource that could easily be mined for a unit about germs for younger children, older children could go searching for pictures that related to a science unit they were learning about. I like the notion of having them compare pictures and relative size, discuss why things might need to be that size. There are pictures of things like the difference between a hair cut with a razor blade and one cut with an electric razor, having students discuss the reasons for the hair looking so different might be interesting, too.
Skoool Interactive Training website about magnets and static electricity. This website is very kid-usable, grades 2-4. Each picture/animation is accompanied by a voice reading a description of what is going on in the picture. I can imagine a student using this website to inform a report or experiment. One big advantage to this website is that there are no distracting ads to click on at all, just the activity.
A webquest designed by one “Mrs. McElwee” guiding students through designing their own roller coaster. This website is for students in 6-8th grade, perhaps even older, though I think middle school students could do the activities with only a little support. It is set up to be a guided individual study, and sends the user of the site to other sites for resource material. This looks to be something that could well build students' ability to do real research and work using the internet, I will be on the lookout for more of these.
Newton's Apple website (affiliated with PBS). The site itself is navigable probably for grades 3-4 and up independently, but younger kids I would either walk through with them, or get them started on the link I wanted them to work with. The main page has a streaming video that plays immediately when the link opens; I found that to be a bit annoying, even if the video is neat content. There are several links from the main page along the top of the screen about different kinds of science that kids might be into. For physical science, you can click the “Physics and Sports” link http://www.newtonsapple.tv/TeacherGuides_physicsSports.php which brings you a list of different videos to watch in that category. There's also a glossary-style list linked from the home page of different kinds of experiments children can try at home.
“Einstein's Legacy” page about X-Rays, grade range probably between 4th and 6th grade. There is a small interactive picture of a hand where you can look at the bone structure by moving a small frame around. Linked from this page are explanatory websites about electromagnetic waves (with a slider so one can see more or less relative size of waves and what those waves do,) and about CAT scans. I would be especially interested in having this website as a resource if I were to have another student who underwent neurological surgery. When I worked as a paraprofessional I had a student who had extensive surgery on his brain, and it would have been nice to have this website as a resource for the other students in the class about what he was having done when he spoke about having his scans.
XTALENT image gallery; has hundreds of micrographic images of nearly anything you can imagine wanting to look at that closely. This is a resource that could easily be mined for a unit about germs for younger children, older children could go searching for pictures that related to a science unit they were learning about. I like the notion of having them compare pictures and relative size, discuss why things might need to be that size. There are pictures of things like the difference between a hair cut with a razor blade and one cut with an electric razor, having students discuss the reasons for the hair looking so different might be interesting, too.
Skoool Interactive Training website about magnets and static electricity. This website is very kid-usable, grades 2-4. Each picture/animation is accompanied by a voice reading a description of what is going on in the picture. I can imagine a student using this website to inform a report or experiment. One big advantage to this website is that there are no distracting ads to click on at all, just the activity.
A webquest designed by one “Mrs. McElwee” guiding students through designing their own roller coaster. This website is for students in 6-8th grade, perhaps even older, though I think middle school students could do the activities with only a little support. It is set up to be a guided individual study, and sends the user of the site to other sites for resource material. This looks to be something that could well build students' ability to do real research and work using the internet, I will be on the lookout for more of these.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Life Science Websites
“The Yuckiest Site on the Internet” is aimed at children between 2nd and 5th grade. It is set up in a very kid-friendly manner, with a cartoon worm, “Wendell the worm reporter” as the guide through the website. The website features information about worms and roaches, and human bodily functions. Kids can write in to “ask Wendell” questions about “gross” and “yucky” things, or just things having to do with life sciences. There are also games that have to do with worms and roaches that kids may play; the games themselves are not as educational as the rest of the site, but might be used as a resource for kids to play with in the computer lab if they finish with a project early. This website is a sub-site of http://kids.discovery.com. I would be very comfortable allowing my students to use this website without direct supervision. They'd probably find it hilarious because of the “gross” factor, and they'd be learning a considerable bit about the why and how of those “gross” things.
University of California Museum of Palaeontology has resources aimed at grade 6 to adult. This website has internal links to information about: the history of life through time, an interactive tour of geologic time, understanding evolution, “the Paleontology Portal” (the fossil record of North America), educational resources for K-12 students and teachers, field notes from “faculty curators, staff, and students” about their experiences in the field, research profiles of scientists at UCMP, a thorough exploration of the world's biomes, a frequently changed “mystery fossil” that invites the reader to guess and then provides information about the fossil depicted, and descriptions of the special exhibitions at the UCMP museum proper. As this is geared toward older people and has few exterior links, I would be comfortable allowing my students to use this website without direct supervision.
Rader's BIOLOGY4KIDS! This site is part of a series of “4kids” science sites aimed at children in grades 4-8. This particular site has links to different groups of life science: cells, microorganisms, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, and animal systems. Each link goes to another section of the website and contains easy to understand and comprehensive information about the subject in the link. Graphics are clear and well labeled, and each subsection of the website is broken down into manageable chunks with a link for the next “page” at the bottom of the screen. Each section has the option to self-assess using a quiz link. The quiz I looked at was a fairly simple multiple choice, but it may be worthwhile if your students are trying to commit the facts to memory. If they are not, the site is fun and easy to explore and full of neat pictures and good information. I would keep an eye on a student using this website as there are extraneous links to other websites that may or may not be child-friendly.
CELLS alive! This website looks to be aimed at children between grades 4-8, possibly younger with assistance. There are many interactive images of different kinds of cells and cell processes, as well as short flash animations of several different kinds of cell processes. The website is divided into 4 main sections, each has many subsections that are navigable in several different ways, all easy to locate. The 4 sections are: Cell Biology, Microbiology, Immunology, and Microscopy. The information is pretty wide-reaching, from the size of different kinds of cells/bacteria/viruses compared to the head of a pin, to how a bacteriophage destroys e. coli, to how human skin and circulatory cells deal with an invasive object like a splinter. As with Rader's websites, this one has ads and so I would want to keep an eye on a child using the website. The only other drawback in my adult point of view is that the interactive features make obnoxious repetitive noises, which a lot of kids I know would actually find entertaining.
Sea World's website. Any child who has fairly independent reading skills would be able to use this site. The links are not as easily navigable as those on the CELLS alive site, and many of the links in the “animal bytes” section were broken when I was trying to click through them. However, the links that are not broken show decent short information about a prodigious number of species, so if your class is doing a project on animals, it may be of use. There is a lot of information about the Sea World parks themselves, and a “Fun Zone” with coloring pages, a matching animals to continent game, a “Simon”-like memory game, and promotional materials for the Sea World affiliated parks. It's not terribly surprising that Sea World's website would promote their organization, however, I found the site to be a little disappointing in the glossing-over nature of many of its bits of information. There is more trivia here than real info, and I would expect a child doing a research project to use something more than this site if they were to use it. It would be a good beginning point.
University of California Museum of Palaeontology has resources aimed at grade 6 to adult. This website has internal links to information about: the history of life through time, an interactive tour of geologic time, understanding evolution, “the Paleontology Portal” (the fossil record of North America), educational resources for K-12 students and teachers, field notes from “faculty curators, staff, and students” about their experiences in the field, research profiles of scientists at UCMP, a thorough exploration of the world's biomes, a frequently changed “mystery fossil” that invites the reader to guess and then provides information about the fossil depicted, and descriptions of the special exhibitions at the UCMP museum proper. As this is geared toward older people and has few exterior links, I would be comfortable allowing my students to use this website without direct supervision.
Rader's BIOLOGY4KIDS! This site is part of a series of “4kids” science sites aimed at children in grades 4-8. This particular site has links to different groups of life science: cells, microorganisms, plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, and animal systems. Each link goes to another section of the website and contains easy to understand and comprehensive information about the subject in the link. Graphics are clear and well labeled, and each subsection of the website is broken down into manageable chunks with a link for the next “page” at the bottom of the screen. Each section has the option to self-assess using a quiz link. The quiz I looked at was a fairly simple multiple choice, but it may be worthwhile if your students are trying to commit the facts to memory. If they are not, the site is fun and easy to explore and full of neat pictures and good information. I would keep an eye on a student using this website as there are extraneous links to other websites that may or may not be child-friendly.
CELLS alive! This website looks to be aimed at children between grades 4-8, possibly younger with assistance. There are many interactive images of different kinds of cells and cell processes, as well as short flash animations of several different kinds of cell processes. The website is divided into 4 main sections, each has many subsections that are navigable in several different ways, all easy to locate. The 4 sections are: Cell Biology, Microbiology, Immunology, and Microscopy. The information is pretty wide-reaching, from the size of different kinds of cells/bacteria/viruses compared to the head of a pin, to how a bacteriophage destroys e. coli, to how human skin and circulatory cells deal with an invasive object like a splinter. As with Rader's websites, this one has ads and so I would want to keep an eye on a child using the website. The only other drawback in my adult point of view is that the interactive features make obnoxious repetitive noises, which a lot of kids I know would actually find entertaining.
Sea World's website. Any child who has fairly independent reading skills would be able to use this site. The links are not as easily navigable as those on the CELLS alive site, and many of the links in the “animal bytes” section were broken when I was trying to click through them. However, the links that are not broken show decent short information about a prodigious number of species, so if your class is doing a project on animals, it may be of use. There is a lot of information about the Sea World parks themselves, and a “Fun Zone” with coloring pages, a matching animals to continent game, a “Simon”-like memory game, and promotional materials for the Sea World affiliated parks. It's not terribly surprising that Sea World's website would promote their organization, however, I found the site to be a little disappointing in the glossing-over nature of many of its bits of information. There is more trivia here than real info, and I would expect a child doing a research project to use something more than this site if they were to use it. It would be a good beginning point.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
The end is in sight, but this here is a beginning.
Dear intrepid internet explorer,
This 'blog has been created to keep track of useful resources for preservice and current teachers in elementary school. Though its initial purpose is to be something I can point at for my Master's program to say, "see! Lookit all the stuff I found this week!"
Eventually this will morph into my 'blog I'll use when I'm teaching, see the clever naming practice? That's right. I go by Ms. Chaney, so I called this 'blog by that name, partially because that will make it easy for my future students to find, and partially because there were no iterations of my first name available for use that I was willing to use.
The first things you'll find on this site are links to science websites, and probably musings about pedagogical practices.
A little about me; I am a preservice teacher in my last year of my Master in Teaching program at The Evergreen State College. I love the Puget Sound area. I ride my bike a lot, and generally enjoy things like gardening, cooking and eating the results of both. I have chickens, and a cat. I greatly enjoy teaching, and I hope to teach somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade once I'm honest to goodness working as a teacher instead of just practicing.
Jen Chaney
This 'blog has been created to keep track of useful resources for preservice and current teachers in elementary school. Though its initial purpose is to be something I can point at for my Master's program to say, "see! Lookit all the stuff I found this week!"
Eventually this will morph into my 'blog I'll use when I'm teaching, see the clever naming practice? That's right. I go by Ms. Chaney, so I called this 'blog by that name, partially because that will make it easy for my future students to find, and partially because there were no iterations of my first name available for use that I was willing to use.
The first things you'll find on this site are links to science websites, and probably musings about pedagogical practices.
A little about me; I am a preservice teacher in my last year of my Master in Teaching program at The Evergreen State College. I love the Puget Sound area. I ride my bike a lot, and generally enjoy things like gardening, cooking and eating the results of both. I have chickens, and a cat. I greatly enjoy teaching, and I hope to teach somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade once I'm honest to goodness working as a teacher instead of just practicing.
Jen Chaney
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)