Science



Discuss weather forecasting terms, vocabulary, and concepts of movement. If possible invite a local weatherman to visit your classroom. Students then choose or are assigned a state to research. They may use an electronic encyclopedia or the **[|Weather Channel]** site ([|http://www.weather.com]) and choose a major city in their selected state. (Note: Students may need to select 4 or 5 major cities in the event the city they selected is no listed at the web site.) At the Weather Channel site students will click the Weather Current Conditions and go to the Current Conditions and Five-Day Forecasts for over 1, 2000 cities. Click on the first letter of the state chosen or click on the state map. Students may share their findings by creating a bulletin board displaying their research. Older students can create graphs of their results. This group activity provides students an opportunity to explore and research the planets. Each group will select one of the eight planets. During Tech Time students will research their planets using one of the following web sites: Each group will then take their research findings to create one slide in a PowerPoint presentation entitled, //Our Eight Planets//. The presentation should begin with a title slide and a contents slide. Using the Action Settings feature each slide should have a link back to the Contents slide. Third grade students can work in groups to create a PowerPoint slide to describe the systems of the body. Information and graphics about these systems can be found at the following web sites: **[|Muscles of the Human Body]** http://www.ptcentral.com/muscles/ **[|Human Anatomy Online]** http://www.innerbody.com/ [|**Quia! Science Activities** http://www.quia.com/sci.html] [|**Proton Don**http://www.funbrain.com/periodic/index.html] [|Kids Know it!] [|Who Wants to Win $1,000,000?] - Answer 15 science and math based questions correctly and become a (pretend!) millionaire! [|Virginia State Standards of Learning Practice Tests] - Practice taking the SOL tests! Subjects currently include algebra, math, science and technology. [|Science Vocabulary Hangman] - Use the clues to discover the computer's secret word! [|Science Crossword Puzzles] - Use the clues provided to solve each crossword puzzle! [|Scrambled Science Words] - Use the clues provided to unscramble a science word or term! []
 * Track Your State’s Weather**
 * The Solar System**
 * [|NASA Observatorium]** http://observe.ivv.nasa.gov/nasa/core.shtml
 * [|The Nine Planets]** http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/nineplanets.html
 * [|Skywatching from Earth and Sky]** http://www.earthsky.com/Features/Skywatching/
 * Systems of the Body**
 * Science Online Activities**
 * [|Table of Elements]** (10-12) http://www.edu4kids.com/chem/

[|**//Planet Quest//**] is a pretty amazing multimedia timeline of space exploration that begins at 500 B.C. In addition, it provides audio support for the text. [|**//Share Your Ideas//**] is a neat feature on the California Academy of Science website. Users can easily leave their ideas on how to help the environment, which then appear on sort of a bulletin-board like page. You can read more about the site [|here]. The Discovery Channel has come-up with just about the most creative way imaginable to help students remember the names of the planets in our solar system. It’s called the [|**//Solar Symphony Game//**]. I really can’t explain it — you have to check it out for yourself. It also has relatively accessible nuggets of information about each planet, too. [|**//NASA At Home & City//**] is a terrific interactive where NASA shows the practical implications of how space travel has affected our lives. It’s very well done, and audio support is provided for the text. The BBC has put together a nice summary of [|**//NASA’s Fifty Years In Space//**]**//. //** It’s mainly a collection of short video clips highlighting key moments. [|**//Before and After Humans//**] is an intriguing interactive with images from MSNBC that forecasts various paths human evolution might take in the next few million years. The vocabulary is going to be challenging — even for advanced learners — but the images and potential paths are going to be intriguing enough, I think, for students to “fight through” for understanding. The [|**//Global Warming Facts//**] [|and Our Future] from the National Academy of Sciences is a very engaging and extensive site, and includes audio support for the text. The vocabulary may be pretty challenging for Intermediate English Language Learners, but it’s worth the attempt. [|The] [|**//Human Footprint//**] [| Interactive] is an engaging activity that helps the user determine how much they consume each year, and how that compares with residents of different countries. [|**//Safe Drinking Water//**] is a site developed by the Academy of Sciences to highlight worldwide water issues. It has several good videos that are closed-captions, along with an atlas showing which countries have less or more access to water resources. [|**//Science Activity//**] [| Movies] from Primary Science in Ireland are movies about….science. They’re well-done animated movies with subtitles on topics such as triangles, crystals, periscopes and rockets. They’re presented in very simple English. [|**//Glossopedia//**] is an interactive site about nature, the environment and animals. It seems to be geared toward elementary school students. Discovery Education recently announced the [|**//We Can Change the World//**] [| Challenge]. On the new website they have a number of environmental-related interactives called [|Virtual Labs] that are accessible to all learners. [|**//Engaging Science//**] hosts several excellent interactive games, including ones on sound, space, and wetlands. They’re great for elementary students since the text is simple, audio support is provided, and the graphics are good. Pearson has a nice [|Earth Science] [|**//Audio Glossary//**] it shows the text, and pronounces, both the word and the definition. [|**//A Walk In The Forest//**] is a series of animated interactives using scientific research to learn about forests. You’re “accompanied” by virtual scientists from the Smithsonian Institution. All the animations provide image and audio support for the test, and are accessible to elementary learners. [|**//Smash Lab//**] is a game from the Discovery Channel where you can play physics and engineering-related games that allow you to… smash things. There is some language-development activity involved in having to play the games, but not a whole lot. However, if you register (which is easy to do, though you can play games without signing-up) you can create various levels for the games. Developing levels and then describing what you’ve done in writing and/or orally can indeed be an excellent activity for elementary learners. The American Museum of Natural History has an excellent feature called [|**//Science Bulletins//**]. It has an extensive collection (and appears to be regularly updated) of short interactives and videos about important science issues. They are surprisingly accessible to learners, and the videos provide closed-captions. [|**//http://www.sebastianswan.org.uk/index.html//**] Provides books online to read and learn information about nature. [|**//http://www.northvalley.net/kids/science.shtml//**] Provides interactive games in math and science. [|**//http://whozoo.org/Puzzles/POW.htm//**] Provides online puzzles of various animals. [|**//http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm//**] Provides an Arctic expedition. [|**//http://urbanext.illinois.edu/firstgarden/gallery/index.html//**] Provides information about planting a garden. It also has first garden pictures. [|**//http://npk1.tripod.com/moss.html//**] Provides information about various moss. [|**//http://www.drwhitey.com/Ecology/PillBugs/PillBugs.htm//**] Provides an observation sheet to answer specific questions about pillbugs. [|**//http://lhsfoss.org/fossweb/teachers/materials/plantanimal/isopods.html//**] Provides information about pillbugs. [|**//http://insected.arizona.edu/uli.htm//**] Provides information about using live insects in the classroom.
 * // http://www.smokeybear.com/ //** Provides games and facts about the forest.
 * // http://www.safe-a-rooni.org/ //** Provides an online safety safari.
 * // http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/lc/activities/ //** Provides various online games concerning water and water animals.
 * // http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/ //** Provides a variety of online science activities.
 * // http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/ //** Provides an online mystery about plants. It also has a Spanish version.
 * // http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Snails/ //** Provides information about snails. This is great to use with the science module, organisms.