|
Grade specific web sites
for your use and for your classroom.
ALL
GRADES
MAD
SCIENTIST Ever wondered about a science problem or just wanted
to know how something worked? Well then this site is for you. Let a team
of scientists from around the country give you the answer in a fun yet
informative way. Lots of cool things to do as well.
NASA
A new site from NASA aimed at giving students a better understanding of
NASA's research and technology. New articles are published each week about
a current NASA technology or Space flight topic. The articles are adapted
for three grade levels: K - 4, 5 - 8, and 9 - 12. Lesson plans/activities
support the concepts raised by the articles as well as incorporating and
supporting the national educational standards in math, science, geography,
and technology.
GRAPHIC
ORGANIZERS When
words sometimes are not enough. A great site when you have to teach fact
based materials. Explore examples of flowcharts,comparison matrices,
linear strings, maps and much much more. Also links to software that will
help you and your students create graphic organizers on the computer.
EXPLORATORIUM
San Francisco's Exploratorium Museum of Science, Art, and Human
Perception, has been online since 1993. The Exploratorium was one of
the first science museums to build a site on the World Wide Web.
Containing over 12,000 Web pages exploring hundreds of different
topics and serving seventeen million visitors a year, it is one of the most visited museum Web sites in the world. Their website
offers Tools for
Teaching, and online
activities for students to explore. Check out the Iron Science
Teacher webcast, which was staged live for the National Science Teachers
Association!
CENTERS
FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)
EXCITE is a collection of teaching materials developed by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to introduce students to public
health and epidemiology, the science used by "Disease
Detectives" everywhere. Students will learn about the scientific
method of inquiry, basic biostatistics, and outbreak investigation.
BRAINPOP
A great, fun science site for students
Features interactive online activities and
high quality graphics. Earn points for using science games!
NASCO
Nasco, a supplier of science
equipment, has a new science website.
BAYSAIL
BaySail, a private, non-profit organization, supports its Environmental
Education and Youth Development programs through public sails, private
charters and group tours. BaySail’s Environmental Education
program begins and ends in the classroom with materials designed to
prepare students for their sailing experience and reinforce the lessons
learned while onboard the ship. During its first three sailing
seasons, over 8,850 youth from 11 different counties within the Saginaw
Bay Watershed, as well as students from 4 counties outside Michigan’s
largest watershed, have stepped aboard the schooner Appledore to participate in a hands-on, real world experience.
FRANKLIN
INSTITUTE
Classroom activities for grades K-8 cover many science topics.
Sponsored by The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
Subscribe
to a National Wildlife Federation
E-Newsletter! Choose from Schoolyard
Habitats or Backyard Wildlife Habitats. Also find educator resources
and workshops, community opportunities, and more. For
more than sixty years, the National Wildlife Federation has been a leader
in environmental education, reaching out to the communities where children
and adults live, work and play. Explore NWF's educational pathways to
understanding, appreciating and safeguarding the natural world.
SHOW-BIZ
SCIENCE Children's science writer Vicky Cobb prepared this fun
series of activities for her "Show Biz Science" column in
Education World.
WEB
WIZARD
Web Wizard: Bringing Science Down to
Earth
School and classroom websites are featured by the Web Wizard.
PROFESSOR SCIENCE
An interactive website for K-8 students, teachers and parents interested
in science, math
and technology. Sponsored
by the SVSU Regional
Mathematics and Science Center and Saginaw
Valley State University.
EXTREME SCIENCE
The Ultimate Online Science Experience - great site to get info to jazz up
your science unit
SCIENCE
KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES
The USDA teaches science
MARCO POLO
Content for the K-12 teacher and classroom. Includes
lesson plans, classroom activities & materials for daily classroom
planning, plus powerful search engines.
GRADE K
ANIMALS:
BALD
EAGLES ON THEIR NEST
Watch live pictures of a pair of Bald Eagles incubating their eggs and
raising chicks. EagleCam images are updated every few minutes.
PORCUPINE
QUILL
The tip of a porcupine quill is magnified to 50 times its original
size by a Scanning Electron Microscope.
FEATHERS
Background information on feathers.
BALLS AND
RAMPS:
GOLF
BALL EVOLUTION
The company that makes Titleist golf balls describes
how different cover materials and dimple types affect the ball's
performance.
GRADE
1
OBSERVING AN
AQUARIUM:
INSECT DOMINOES
You can easily encourage counting and matching skills with
these printable insect game cards.
GOLDEN
APPLE SNAILS
The apple snail is a well-known and popular aquarium
snail throughout the whole world because of its attractive appearance and
size. Photos, care, ecology and more.
GRADE
2
INVESTIGATING
ANIMALS:
BALD
EAGLES ON THEIR NEST
Watch live pictures of a pair of Bald Eagles incubating their eggs and
raising chicks. EagleCam images are updated every few minutes.
BUTTERFLY
LIFE CYCLE
Excellent photographs
of the Monarch butterfly throughout its life cycle. To learn more
about Monarchs, click
here.
SOUND & LIGHT:
THE
SCIENCE OF LIGHT
The activities in this
lab are designed to give you ideas about light, and also about how you
can use technology to explore light.
WEATHER WATCHING:
"WEATHER
DUDE"
A cool website filled with weather related games and activities.
WEATHER
WIZ KIDS
A meteorologist designed this website especially for kids to allow them to
learn more about the fascinating world of weather.
THE
WONDERFUL WORLD OF WATER
Selected lesson plans and
web sites cover a variety of topics ranging from the characteristics of
water to the pollution of water. Many other topics are addressed
HERE.
INTERACTIVE
WEATHER MAKER
Change the polar front temp. and equatorial front temp. (or humidity) and
create blizzards, thunderstorms, gentle rains, etc. Great for wind scale
too!
GRADE
3
FORCE &
MOTION:
FROM
NSTA SCIENCE CLASS: FORCE AND MOTION: NEW TEACHING STRATEGIES
Physics is a high school subject, so the tendency is to think that your
students are too young to understand the concepts of physics. But if your
students can learn and understand that there are connections between the
biological and physical worlds, such as studying animals and their
connection to energy and motion, they will be better prepared to deal with
the abstract concepts presented in high school. Kids love to work with
things that move, and they love to move too. Those two realities are
enough to get them started learning about force and motion. We've packed
this issue with ideas on how to make the gears start turning in your
students' heads. Get moving!
SciLinks® is a web-based service from NSTA that provides online
content chosen for printed articles and books. It does so through
keywords; the keyword from this issue is: Newton's Laws: http://www.scilinks.org/retrieve_outside.asp?sl=9263562110331044
NSTA Articles on Force and
Motion
The following NSTA journal articles provide you with some ideas for
force and motion. Click
here to read more: http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2004-03/elementary.htm
SIMPLE
MACHINES ACTIVITIES: EDHEADS
Learn
about simple and compound machines while you explore the House and Tool
Shed!
INVENTOR'S
TOOLBOX
Find out how simple
machines work and learn about some of the improvements made to them over
time. Then test your self with an online quiz and see how well you know
machines.
SEE-SAW
TORQUE
Try to balance weights on this
interactive seesaw.
SIMPLE
MACHINES
The Dirtmeister is
challenging you to learn about the six types of simple machines. Find an
example of one that you have seen at school, home or anywhere and write
about it. What do you say, are you up to the challenge?
LEVERS
Beakman and Jax host experiments with levers. What is a lever?
What kinds of levers are there? This set of five pages answers these
questions.
PLAYGROUND
PHYSICS
Take your students out of the classroom and on to the playground with this
physics activity that explores the concept of levers with something
students are familiar with: see saws!
THE CHANGING
EARTH:
GLACIAL
FEATURES
Dr. Stephen Mattox of GVSU has developed material that addresses Michigan
Content Standards (Geosphere) for Elementary. Through photos, maps
and activities, students learn to describe major features of the earth’s
surface (glacial) and natural changes in the earth’s surface (erosion).
SANDS
OF THE WORLD
Sands of the World is an
interactive on-line science unit that focuses on the area of geology.
Listen to "singing" sand, see photomicrographs of sands
around the world, and even exchange sand samples with another
classroom.
GEOLOGY
TOUR OF THE NATIONAL PARKS
National Park Service Park Geology
HEREDITY &
ADAPTATIONS:
WISCONSIN
FAST PLANTS
Developed by The Wisconsin Fast Plants
Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, these
documents are full of hands-on, practical
information. Hosted by the Carolina Biological Supply Company web
site.
COOL
X-RAYS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
REALLY
WILD ANIMALS
Animals all over the world are being
reported in strange places, and it is up to your students, using their handy
dandy Spin-u-later, to find the correct habitats and properly return these
animals home. Great for learning about both
world geography and animal habitats.
From National Geographic.
CYBERZOO
ANIMALS
Click for zoo animal photos and information and biome descriptions.
GRADE
4
WONDERVILLE
(Science Alberta Foundation)
Wonderville was created to spark kids' interest in science. In Wonderville,
they can engage in scientific experiments, locate cool science facts,
download exclusive screensavers and desktop wallpaper, and even find out
about careers in science, all while having fun. Teachers and parents will
want to know that the scientific activities are based in the Alberta
Learning science curriculum for grades 4 - 6 and include outcomes,
objectives and technical requirements contained in a 'Read Me' file specific
to each activity. Requires Flash 6.
FOOD
CHAINS & WEBS:
BALD
EAGLES ON THEIR NEST
Watch live pictures of a pair of Bald Eagles incubating their eggs and
raising chicks. EagleCam images are updated every few minutes.
THE
GREAT PLANT ESCAPE
Be a plant detective in these
six cases. Help Detective LePlant and his partners Bud and Sprout unlock
the amazing mysteries of plant life.
INTERACTIVE
OWL PELLET DISSECTION
What fun! Take apart
pellets from many owl species just by pointing and clicking. Check
the Teacher Materials section for blackline masters.
WILD
NEW ENGLAND ONLINE MAGAZINE
Much of the wildlife of New
England is common to Michigan as well. Students can read articles
and do activities that were developed by Maine and New Hampshire fish and
wildlife departments.
THE
BUSY POND
Download and print out copies of this
pond life
book for your students to color and assemble, complete with a lift-up viewing
flap. Your class will learn about pond creatures, food chains, and pond
communities, all in this mini book.
POND
LIFE PRINTOUTS
CYBERZOO
ANIMALS
Click for zoo animal photos and information and biome descriptions.
FOODWEB
Online activities describe animal
diversity and the food web.
SOLIDS,
LIQUIDS & GASES:
GASES,
LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS
See the excellent model of
gases, liquids and solids, and a table that summarizes their
properties. Provided by the Purdue University Chemistry Department.
WHAT
IS MATTER?
This site is well-suited for
primary students and could be a superb teacher-directed learning tool for
introducing the concept of matter.
SLIME
TIME SCIENCE
It's drippy, messy, gooey, slimy, tons
of fun--and it's science. What could be better?
CHEM4KIDS
Five interlinked sites that cover chemistry, geography, and physics.
SUN,
EARTH & MOON AND ELECTRICITY:
DELTA
COLLEGE PLANETARIUM
The Delta College Planetarium & Learning Center in downtown Bay City
offers a number of web-based activities. Click on , , and , or go and visit
the Planetarium for a show.
THE
GOLDILOCKS ZONE
NASA researchers are finding that life can thrive in some unexpected
places.
INCONSTANT
MOON
This beautifully designed site includes an excellent graphic to teach the
phases of the moon.
EARTH
TILT CREATES SEASONS
Nice description of reasons for the season.
CHECK
OUT THE MOON
Lots of kid-friendly info on the Moon, Earth's satellite.
GRADE
5
WONDERVILLE
(Science Alberta Foundation)
Wonderville was created to spark kids' interest in science. In Wonderville,
they can engage in scientific experiments, locate cool science facts,
download exclusive screensavers and desktop wallpaper, and even find out
about careers in science, all while having fun. Teachers and parents will
want to know that the scientific activities are based in the Alberta
Learning science curriculum for grades 4 - 6 and include outcomes,
objectives and technical requirements contained in a 'Read Me' file
specific to each activity. Requires Flash 6.
atmosphere
& weather:
"WEATHER
DUDE"
A cool website filled with weather related games and activities.
WEATHER
WIZ KIDS
A meteorologist designed this website especially for kids to allow them to
learn more about the fascinating world of weather.
TORNADO
PROJECT ONLINE
Tornado myths, tornado oddities, personal experiences, tornado chasing,
tornado safety, and tornadoes in the past as well as more recent
tornadoes. You'll be glad you blew in!
TORNADOES
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration site. The official
word on tornadoes and weather information of all kinds!
INTERACTIVE
WEATHER MAKER
Change the polar front temp. and equatorial front temp. (or humidity) and
create blizzards, thunderstorms, gentle rains, etc. Great for wind scale
too!
CNN
WEATHER
WEATHER
AND YOU
This site is designed to teach
elementary school students about different aspects of weather: different weather
phenomena, instruments which measure the weather, and how weather occurs. There
are also pages with different activities and links to other sites about the
weather.
WEATHER INSIGHT
This site from the
Weather Channel has tons of informative activities for students and
teachers alike. Register to download the tornado pages as well as the
monthly newsletter.
diversity
of life:
WISCONSIN
FAST PLANTS
Developed by The Wisconsin Fast Plants
Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, these
documents are full of hands-on, practical
information. Hosted by the Carolina Biological Supply Company web
site.
THE
GREAT PLANT ESCAPE
Be a plant detective in these
six cases. Help Detective LePlant and his partners Bud and Sprout unlock the
amazing mysteries of plant life
PLANT
AND ANIMAL CELLS
This lesson plan outlines the
use of microscopes, mounting slides and studying onion cells for plants,
inside cheek cells for animals. Step-by-step instruction takes students
through the lab, where they must observe, make drawings, and label the
different parts of a cell.
THE
GIANT CELL
What does a cell look like and how does it operate? Get the big picture
here, where students form the cell and its parts, and then move together to
transmit a cell message.
COMPOSING
A CELL
In order to fully understand
the composition of both plant and animal cells, students are required in this
lesson plan to employ software drawing tools and diagram a cell.
COOL
X-RAYS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
hydrosphere:
WATERSHEDS
The Weather Channel and EPA
have produced "After the Storm," a 30-minute video that shows the
connection between weather and watersheds and the importance of watershed
protection. Click
here to borrow the video from the Science Center video library, and find
related resources on the EPA
Watersheds web site.
MICHIGAN
SEA GRANT
Michigan Sea Grant reaches beyond local and regional borders by
adapting Great
Lakes educational concepts for the World Wide Web. The lessons focus on water
clarity, oxygen
and carbon dioxide, weather
and water temperature, and the aquatic
food web.
EARTH'S
WATER
Water Science for Schools
tells the story of where, how much, and in what forms water exists on Earth.
GROUNDWATER
FOR KIDS
The Groundwater Foundation
Kids' Corner is a good resource for teaching about groundwater. Well
written with interesting activities.
THE
WONDERFUL WORLD OF WATER
Selected lesson plans
and web sites cover a variety of topics ranging from the characteristics
of water to the pollution of water.
water
testing:
WATERSHEDS
The Weather Channel and EPA
have produced "After the Storm," a 30-minute video that shows the
connection between weather and watersheds and the importance of watershed
protection. Click
here to borrow the video from the Science Center video library, and find
related resources on the EPA
Watersheds web site.
MICHIGAN
SEA GRANT
Michigan Sea Grant reaches beyond local and regional borders by
adapting Great
Lakes educational concepts for the World Wide Web. The lessons focus on water
clarity, oxygen
and carbon dioxide, weather
and water temperature, and the aquatic
food web.
AMERICA'S
CLEAN WATER FOUNDATION
ACWF specializes in outreach and education services on clean water issues.
Students can read books in the on-line
library. A great resource if you take training with EarthForce to
use the Water Testing Kit.
WETLANDS
The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) produces and provides information on the
characteristics, extent, and status of the Nation's wetlands and deepwater
habitats and other wildlife habitats.
GRADE
6
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC'S EARTHPULSE
Resources, videos and online adventures show students our Earth and
conservation with oceans, climate, weather, energy, and more.
WONDERVILLE
(Science Alberta Foundation)
Wonderville was created to spark kids' interest in science. In Wonderville, they
can engage in scientific experiments, locate cool science facts, download
exclusive screensavers and desktop wallpaper, and even find out about careers in
science, all while having fun. Teachers and parents will want to know that the
scientific activities are based in the Alberta Learning science curriculum for
grades 4 - 6 and include outcomes, objectives and technical requirements
contained in a 'Read Me' file specific to each activity. Requires Flash 6.
STUDENT
SCIENCE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM
The Student Science Enrichment Program provides creative science
enrichment activities for students in the 6th through 12th grades. Students who
participate in these hands-on projects experience authentic science such as
studying the ocean aboard a 45-foot research vessel or working alongside
physicians at UNC-Chapel Hill.
THURSDAY'S CLASSROOM
The aim of Thursday's Classroom is to provide a connection between
NASA research and the classroom. And we don't mean old research! Our
weekly lessons --prepared by professional educators and scientists-- are
based on breaking Science@NASA news
reports. Thursday's Classroom activities are as timely as the news itself.
CYCLES
IN NATURE
An explanation of day and night, the different phases of the moon, seasonal
changes and tides.
THE
MOON
Exploring the Moon in the classroom with hands-on activities.
ecosystems:
http://sgnis.org/kids/suspects.html
MICHIGAN
SEA GRANT
Michigan Sea Grant reaches beyond local and regional borders by
adapting Great
Lakes educational concepts for the World Wide Web. The lessons focus on water
clarity, oxygen
and carbon dioxide, weather
and water temperature, and the aquatic
food web.
AMERICAN
FIELD GUIDE: INSPIRATION TO EXPLORE
This website features over 1,400 video
clips from public television broadcasts highlighting the American wilderness
and related topics for middle school life science classes.
earth
history:
GEOLOGY
TOUR OF THE NATIONAL PARKS
National Park Service Park Geology
SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION GEOLOGY AND MINERAL SCIENCES
The Hope Diamond, Earth Sciences, volcanoes, asteroid impact.
water
testing:
WATERSHEDS
The Weather Channel and EPA
have produced "After the Storm," a 30-minute video that shows the
connection between weather and watersheds and the importance of watershed
protection. Click
here to borrow the video from the Science Center video library, and find
related resources on the EPA
Watersheds web site.
MICHIGAN
SEA GRANT
Michigan Sea Grant reaches beyond local and regional borders by
adapting Great
Lakes educational concepts for the World Wide Web. The lessons focus on water
clarity, oxygen
and carbon dioxide, weather
and water temperature, and the aquatic
food web.
AMERICA'S
CLEAN WATER FOUNDATION
ACWF specializes in outreach and education services on clean water issues.
Students can read books in the on-line
library. A great resource if you take training with EarthForce to
use the Water Testing Kit.
WETLANDS
The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) produces and provides information on the
characteristics, extent, and status of the Nation's wetlands and deepwater
habitats and other wildlife habitats.
GRADE
7
THE
NIH LAUNCHES LIFEWORKS -- A FREE CAREER EXPLORATION SITE
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Science Education (OSE)
introduces "LifeWorks", an interactive Web site featuring more than
100 careers in the health and medical sciences. It is designed as a resource for
middle school and high school students, parents, educators, and school
guidance/career counselors to explore the diversity of careers in the field.
According to the Department of Labor, these jobs are expected to be among the
fastest growing jobs in the nation over the next 10 years.
At "LifeWorks" visitors can:
-- Search careers to match personal interests, skills, and abilities
-- Browse careers by salary, education required, interests, and job title
-- Read about real people who have achieved success in their careers
-- Learn about certification, licensing, and educational requirements
-- Explore job market trends and find links to professional organizations
OSE launches "LifeWorks" this
month, as a part of the national celebration - Excellence in Science,
Technology, and Mathematics Education (ESTME) Week. For more information,
visit the NIH Office of Science Education Web site at <http://science.education.nih.gov>.
The National Institutes of Health --
the Federal government's focal point for medical research in the United States
-- is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC'S EARTHPULSE
Resources, videos and online adventures show students our Earth and conservation
with oceans, climate, weather, energy, and more.
CHEM4KIDS
Five interlinked sites that cover chemistry, geography, and physics.
STUDENT
SCIENCE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM
The Student Science Enrichment Program provides creative science
enrichment activities for students in the 6th through 12th grades. Students
who participate in these hands-on projects experience authentic science such
as studying the ocean aboard a 45-foot research vessel or working alongside
physicians at UNC-Chapel Hill.
MATTER MATTERS &
MATTER CHANGES:
CHEMISTRY
FOR KIDS
A complete resource for you or your
students. With enough activities and projects to keep busy and interested for
a long time. A good place to start for ideas about a science fair project.
newton's toy box -
simple machines:
PLAYGROUND
PHYSICS
Take your students out of the classroom and on to the playground with this
physics activity that explores the concept of levers with something students are
familiar with: see saws!
INVENTOR'S
TOOLBOX
Find out how simple
machines work and learn about some of the improvements made to them over time.
Then test your self with an online quiz and see how well you know machines.
LEVERS
Beakman and Jax host experiments with levers. What is a lever? What
kinds of levers are there? This set of five pages answers these questions.
SEE-SAW
TORQUE
Try to balance weights on this
interactive seesaw.
SIMPLE
MACHINES
The Dirtmeister is challenging
you to learn about the six types of simple machines. Find an example of one that
you have seen at school, home or anywhere and write about it. What do you say,
are you up to the challenge?
SIMPLE
MACHINES WEBQUEST
Simple Machines student activity
NEWTON'S
LAWS OF MOTION
This site contains a links to Newton's Laws of Motion. Each law is
accompanied by an animated example.
genetics
& heredity:
WISCONSIN
FAST PLANTS
Developed by The Wisconsin Fast Plants Program
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, these documents
are full of hands-on, practical information. Hosted by the Carolina
Biological Supply Company web site.
PLANT
AND ANIMAL CELLS
This lesson plan outlines the
use of microscopes, mounting slides and studying onion cells for plants,
inside cheek cells for animals. Step-by-step instruction takes students
through the lab, where they must observe, make drawings, and label the
different parts of a cell.
THE
GIANT CELL
What does a cell look like and how does it operate? Get the big picture
here, where students form the cell and its parts, and then move together to
transmit a cell message.
COMPOSING
A CELL
In order to fully understand
the composition of both plant and animal cells, students are required in this
lesson plan to employ software drawing tools and diagram a cell.
COOL
X-RAYS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
GRADE
8
THE
NIH LAUNCHES LIFEWORKS -- A FREE CAREER EXPLORATION SITE
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Science Education (OSE)
introduces "LifeWorks", an interactive Web site featuring more
than 100 careers in the health and medical sciences. It is designed as a
resource for middle school and high school students, parents, educators, and
school guidance/career counselors to explore the diversity of careers in the
field. According to the Department of Labor, these jobs are expected to be
among the fastest growing jobs in the nation over the next 10 years.
At "LifeWorks" visitors can:
-- Search careers to match personal interests, skills, and abilities
-- Browse careers by salary, education required, interests, and job title
-- Read about real people who have achieved success in their careers
-- Learn about certification, licensing, and educational requirements
-- Explore job market trends and find links to professional organizations
OSE launches "LifeWorks" this
month, as a part of the national celebration - Excellence in Science,
Technology, and Mathematics Education (ESTME) Week. For more information, visit
the NIH Office of Science Education Web site at <http://science.education.nih.gov>.
The National Institutes of Health -- the
Federal government's focal point for medical research in the United States -- is
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
GLACIAL
FEATURES
Dr. Stephen Mattox of GVSU has developed material that addresses Michigan
Content Standards (Geosphere) for Elementary. Through photos, maps and
activities, students learn to describe major features of the earth’s surface
(glacial) and natural changes in the earth’s surface (erosion).
GEOGRAPHY
OF MICHIGAN
Looking for information describing how the surface features of Michigan have
changed over time? Dr. Randy Schaetzl created this web page
for his Geo 333 class at MSU. Look under Physical
Geography for text, maps and photographs that explain the surface features of
the Great Lakes region using Ice Age theory. (Michigan Benchmark Standard V.1
The Geosphere)
THURSDAY'S CLASSROOM
The aim of Thursday's Classroom is to provide a connection between
NASA research and the classroom. And we don't mean old research! Our
weekly lessons --prepared by professional educators and scientists-- are
based on breaking Science@NASA news
reports. Thursday's Classroom activities are as timely as the news itself.
STUDENT
SCIENCE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM
The Student Science Enrichment Program provides creative science
enrichment activities for students in the 6th through 12th grades. Students
who participate in these hands-on projects experience authentic science such
as studying the ocean aboard a 45-foot research vessel or working alongside
physicians at UNC-Chapel Hill.
HIGH
SCHOOL
 THE
NIH LAUNCHES LIFEWORKS -- A FREE CAREER EXPLORATION SITE
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Science Education (OSE)
introduces "LifeWorks", an interactive Web site featuring more
than 100 careers in the health and medical sciences. It is designed as a
resource for middle school and high school students, parents, educators, and
school guidance/career counselors to explore the diversity of careers in the
field. According to the Department of Labor, these jobs are expected to be
among the fastest growing jobs in the nation over the next 10 years.
At "LifeWorks" visitors can:
-- Search careers to match personal interests, skills, and abilities
-- Browse careers by salary, education required, interests, and job title
-- Read about real people who have achieved success in their careers
-- Learn about certification, licensing, and educational requirements
-- Explore job market trends and find links to professional organizations
OSE launches "LifeWorks" this
month, as a part of the national celebration - Excellence in Science,
Technology, and Mathematics Education (ESTME) Week. For more information, visit
the NIH Office of Science Education Web site at <http://science.education.nih.gov>.
The National Institutes of Health -- the
Federal government's focal point for medical research in the United States -- is
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
ADVANCED
WATER MONITORING:
WATERSHEDS
The Weather Channel and EPA
have produced "After the Storm," a 30-minute video that shows the
connection between weather and watersheds and the importance of watershed
protection. Click
here to borrow the video from the Science Center video library, and find
related resources on the EPA
Watersheds web site.
MICHIGAN
SEA GRANT
Michigan Sea Grant reaches beyond local and regional borders by
adapting Great
Lakes educational concepts for the World Wide Web. The lessons focus on water
clarity, oxygen
and carbon dioxide, weather
and water temperature, and the aquatic
food web.
AMERICA'S
CLEAN WATER FOUNDATION
ACWF specializes in outreach and education services on clean water issues.
Students can read books in the on-line
library. A great resource if you take training with EarthForce to
use the Advanced Water Monitoring Kit.
WETLANDS
The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) produces and provides information on
the characteristics, extent, and status of the Nation's wetlands and
deepwater habitats and other wildlife habitats.
LIFE
SCIENCE KITS:
WISCONSIN
FAST PLANTS
Developed by The Wisconsin Fast Plants Program at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, these documents
are full of hands-on, practical information. Hosted by the Carolina
Biological Supply Company web site.
UNDERSTANDING
EVOLUTION
This new evolution website for teachers was developed by UC Berkeley's Museum of
Paleontology to offer a basic course in the methods of science and, in
particular, the mechanics of evolution. It provides a history of evolutionary
thought and discusses "misconceptions" and "pitfalls" that
teachers may confront in explaining evolutionary concepts.
The site grew out of a conference that the museum hosted four years ago at which
representatives from virtually every national scientific and education
organization gathered to consider the growing pressures against evolution
curricula.
"Evolution, simply put, is descent with modification," the Web site
states in its introduction. "Through the process of descent with
modification, the common ancestor of life on Earth gave rise to the fantastic
diversity that we see documented in the fossil record and around us today.
"Evolution means that we're all distant cousins: humans and oak trees,
hummingbirds and whales."
NSTA
SCIENCE CLASS: EXPLORING EVOLUTION
In the November,
2003 issue, the high school edition of Science Class focuses on Exploring
Evolution. This theme is supported by a range of NSTA-approved teaching
resources: news stories, Internet SciLinks, books, and NSTA journal articles.
EXPLORING EVOLUTION
Evolution is a major unifying
concept in science and should be included in the K-12 science education
frameworks and curricula. Are you unsure how to address the complex issues that
surround the subject? Science Class is here to help with resources that show you
how other school districts are emphasizing the subject, how teachers are
bringing the subject into their classrooms, and how many ways there are to
approach evolution in a comprehensive and professional way. Click to read NSTA's
Position Statement on The Teaching of Evolution.
Evolution on the Net
In this month's high school journal, The Science Teacher presents "A
Teaching Guide to Evolution."
NSTA Articles on Evolution
This NSTA
journal article provides you with ideas for classroom lessons and activities
related to evolution.
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