Science Teachers’ Grab Bag

Exploring the Antarctic

Science lesson plans related to the Tawani 2008 International Antarctic Expedition can be downloaded. Topics covered include climate change and animal adaptations to the polar environment.

Virtual Conference Sessions

Six presentations from the Discovery Educator Network Virtual Conference are now available to download. These professional-development sessions cover such topics as possible changes in students’ brain functions as a result of their lifelong use of technology, and how to incorporate cellphones into your teaching.

Demonstrations From Flinn Scientific

Middle school teachers can register now to download two new demonstrations from Flinn. With the Bohr Atomic Model, students learn about atomic structure and electron energy levels by building mobile-like atomic models to hang from the ceiling. And with Human Epidermal Cells, students examine their own skin cells under the microscope.

Science Buddies

This website guides teachers and students through the entire science fair process. The Topic Selection Wizard helps students explore different topic areas for their project; Ask an Expert is a monitored, online forum staffed by volunteer scientists and talented students who help students with their ongoing projects; and teacher resources offer additional tools for effective fair planning and management.

Pairing Up for the Lab

These software programs can help you create lab groups and lab partners. With the Random Partners program, you load a student list for a given class to create random groups of 2–5 students. With Partners by Grades, you load a student list and a grade list and then form up to eight groups. As the groups are formed, an average grade for each one is calculated. Student lists can be exported from programs like Making the Grade and Excel.

Curricula From Curriki

The nonprofit group Curriki (the name combines curriculum and wiki) provides an online repository for supplementary K–12 curricula, including materials on science, technology, and health. At the website, you can find recommended open-source teaching materials, contribute your own favorites, and connect with educators around the world.

Harvard@Home

This website allows the public to experience more than 60 video-streamed, multimedia presentations from Harvard exploring topics ranging from stem cells to Beethoven.

Living Sculpture

This website from Cornell University’s Garden-Based Learning program presents ideas for projects adaptable for all ages. It includes videos and images for inspiration, and how-to guides for sod furniture, topiary, and mowing-pattern projects.

Participate in a Sun Angle Lab

This lab allows students to follow the Sun during the school year to see where it’s located in the sky when viewed from different latitudes. Once a month, students go outside with a meter stick and measure the angle of the Sun at local solar noon. Charlie Lindgren, the K–12 science coordinator for the Scituate, MA, public schools, compiles and displays data from participating schools.

Videoconferences and More From Vanderbilt

The Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach posts resources for teachers online, including information on its podcast series Snacks 4 the Brain and a videoconferencing program that connects scientists to K–12 classrooms, as well as lesson plans for grades 5–12 on such topics as healthy snacking, smoking prevention, and enzymes.

Online Game on Heart Health

When Secret Agent Guy Simplant attempts to catch an evil spy, he becomes unexpectedly tired and out of breath. Could it be heart trouble? This interactive game teaches students about heart anatomy, cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention, and biomedical therapies.

Matter Lessons From MathMol

The MathMol program at New York University focuses on the field of molecular modeling. These online lessons explain solids, liquids, and gases to students with simple examples and follow-up activities. Two versions are available, one for third grade and one for fourth grade.

Great Science for Girls

A wide range of resources, literature, and research regarding girls and science can be found at this website, which includes a sampling of evidence-based curricula for after-school programs that deliver positive outcomes and success in stimulating girls’ interest in STEM subjects and instilling self-confidence in their abilities.

Survival Central for New Teachers

Visitors to this website will find professional-development videos, time-saving tips, and classroom tools—the kind of practical support appreciated by new and veteran teachers alike.

Monthly Planner

Women working in optics-related fields offer their insights and inspirations in a monthly planner published by SPIE, an international society advancing light-based research. Contributors include women in astronomy and astronautics, teaching, and product development who work on such projects as developing more effective medical imaging, researching black holes, and training students for technical lab-work.

Mars Exploration Program Resources

NASA offers online resources related to its Mars program. Materials for teachers include curriculum modules for grades 4–12, an Earth/Mars comparison poster, and a 131-page activity booklet for the classroom.

New Issue of Astronomy Education Review

The latest complete issue of this web-based journal is now available. Because a new issue is already under way, look for this one in the back issues section, Volume 7, Number 1.

Passport to Antarctica (PTANT)

PTANT builds on resources originally gathered to support a series of live, interactive electronic field trips. These materials have now been completely re-edited and reformatted into an evergreen package of materials that can be implemented anytime during the school year. The site includes eight 15-minute PTANT videos.

Nuclear Energy Resources for Schools

This website from the U.S. Department of Energy presents a list of resources for K–12 students who want to learn more about nuclear energy. Well-annotated links lead to expert-reviewed and recommended sites covering such topics as how nuclear reactors work, what makes certain materials radioactive, and the importance of nuclear energy in the 21st century.

Learning Ocean Science Through Ocean Exploration

This new curriculum from NOAA brings the excitement of current ocean science discoveries to the classroom. Written for grades 6–12, it draws lesson plans from earlier NOAA explorations and elements from the Ocean Explorer website.

Library of Congress Science Reference Services

This site offers reference assistance and access to the scientific collection of the Library of Congress, including extensive lists of internet resources sorted by subject and webcasts featuring librarians and visiting experts.

Secrets of Plant Genomes: Revealed!

This highly accessible video presentation on plant genome research takes viewers on a journey that explores how plants such as corn, cotton, and potatoes got to be the way they are and how we can make better use of them in the future.

Natural Resources Conservation Service Soils Education Site

Materials in this collection of resources focusing on soil include information on careers in soil science, basic background on soil formation and classification, a downloadable poster, and a three-minute video explaining water movement in soil.

Your Environment, Your Choice

The EPA designed this website to help high school students make environmentally sound choices about the products they use, the waste they create, and the environment in which they live.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" Lesson Plan Ideas

In the National Science Digital Library's Expert Voices blog Connecting News with National Science Education Standards, author Mary LeFever points out that moviemakers may get the science right on the recent remake of a the science fiction classic from 1951, The Day the Earth Stood Still. A scientist from the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute was employed as an advisor. Le Fever offers suggestions for developing an inquiry-based, standards-related science lesson around the science and science fiction portrayed in the movie.

Got the H.O.T.S. for Inquiry?

This online workshop shows participants how to increase student learning by integrating inquiry and higher order thinking skills (H.O.T.S) into instruction. The workshop can be completed in segments as the participant’s time allows.

NSDL Resources for Teaching About Winter Solstice

These five National Science Digital Library resources shed light on solstice math and science on the shortest day of the year.

Calls of the Wild West

The Western Soundscape Archive, a web-based sound clearinghouse headquartered at the University of Utah, has collected more than 800 recordings in an effort to catalog the sounds of wildlife in the western states. Each animal’s vocalization is accompanied by a photograph and information on its conservation status, population distribution, ecology, and life history.

Cool the Earth

High school students and adults interested in global warming can download Cool the Earth, Save the Economy: Solving the Climate Crisis Is Easy. The first two chapters explain the problem of global warming and its consequences if left unchecked; the rest of the book focuses on solving the climate crisis, reviewing and assessing technological and policy solutions.

Online Software Training

During  the current school year, CustomGuide is offering free online software training to K–12 schools. More than 10,000 online tutorials can be accessed anytime and anywhere by multiple users.

Chemistry Lessons From SMILE

Each participant in the SMILE (Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement) program at Illinois Institute of Technology was required to create and publish a single-concept lesson plan. Now 20 years of SMILE chemistry lessons are available to access online. Links lead to additional SMILE lessons in biology and physics.

Digging Deeper

This collection of teacher resources and lesson plans created by the authors of The Jaguar Stones trilogy explores the culture and everyday life of the ancient Maya in their rainforest home. Written for grades 5–9, Digging Deeper is available on CD.

SchoolTube

At this website, educators can share videos made by themselves and their students, access lesson plans and classroom tips from other teachers, and help students to compete in moderated competitions, encouraging creativity in a safe environment. All student-created materials on SchoolTube must be approved by registered teachers, follow local school guidelines, and adhere to the site’s standards.

PowerPoint Science Project Template

This 27-slide blank template for a science experiment presentation offers guidance in putting together a project.

Children’s Engineering: A Teacher Resource Guide

Children’s Engineering: A Teacher Resource Guide for Design and Technology in Grades K–5 identifies classroom experiences that enable teachers to introduce students to the technological world around them. Resources for each activity include a design brief, teacher tips, reproducible guided portfolio pages, and an assessment rubric.

Ad-free Wikis for Educators

Wetpaint now offers advertisement-free wikis to educators for use in classrooms of students ages 13 and up; for group projects and assignments given by a teacher as part of a class curriculum; for dissertations, portfolios, and other displays of students’ work in school; and in efforts to connect with parents.

Garden-Based Learning Video Blog

This collection of 20 web-based videos focuses on a variety of topics related to garden-based learning, school gardens, and garden-based nutrition.

Arty the Part-time Astronaut

Teachers and students can travel along with Arty on a fantastic voyage through time and space. Arty’s companions might hear the sound of Sputnik orbiting the Earth, watch the space shuttle Endeavor blast off, or play robot dodge ball. A 12-page teacher’s guide offers activities that reinforce the site’s content.

Science Explorations and Adventures

A website from the Exploratorium's Paul Doherty, a recipient of NSTA’s Faraday Science Communicator Award, presents a searchable collection of favorite classroom experiments and activities, covering topics from flying tinsel to a glowing pickle. Doherty also shares a collection of scientific images.

Second Life Curriculum

This resource from RezEd, an online hub for people using virtual worlds for learning, offers more than 160 lesson plans for teaching the basics of Second Life. It can be used as a professional development tool or adapted for use with students.

Journey North

Teachers and students in K–12 classrooms are invited to join in this annual study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. Participants monitor migration patterns of monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, and whooping cranes; the budding and blossoming of plants; and the changing temperatures that herald spring. Students share their local observations with peers nationwide, and can look for patterns on real-time maps. Sign up soon; springtime projects begin February 1.

Classroom Earth

This program from the National Environmental Education Foundation assists teachers and high schools in weaving cutting-edge environmental curricula into core high school classes, from art to science. At the website, teachers will find classroom resources, information on three competitive grant programs, and access to an online community sharing their interest in and experience with environmental education.

WhaleNet--Interactive Education

The WhaleNet website , focusing on whales and marine research, is dedicated to interdisciplinary education and aims to foster excitement about learning and the environment. WhaleNet offers real-time satellite tagging data on marine mammals and turtles, whale research data, and right whale sightings online. Educational resources for students and educators and curriculum units for all levels are also available online.

WhaleNet has a new program to "Track Erden." Erden is circumnavigating the world by human power. He is presently rowing from the United States to Australia. Join Erden via WhaleNet and learn more about the marine and ecological systems.

WhaleNet is sponsored by Wheelock College and grants, and was initiated with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Short Attention Span Science Theater

This interactive website features brief video segments (2–4 minutes long) that focus on ecological sustainability, illustrated with examples from coral reef ecosystems. The site holds more than 30 videos, along with related background information and reference materials.

Mock Science Books & Films Election

An activity designed to familiarize preservice teachers and K–8 students with the best of current nonfiction tradebooks involves evaluating the finalists from the AAAS Science Books & Films prizes for excellence. Participants assess the books, vote for the one they think is best, and then compare their choice to the actual winner.

Videos from NATURE

The online companion to the PBS series NATURE offers educators more than 40 downloadable video segments and accompanying teachers' guides for classroom use. Ranging in length from about 30 seconds to 5 minutes, the videos can be downloaded to personal computers or compatible viewing devices.

Rock Cycle Website

A new web-based teaching resource is available from the Geological Society of London, England. The materials include animation of the rock cycle with detailed text and photographs explaining related subtopics. A teacher’s guide, background notes, and experiments and demonstrations can be downloaded. Annotated links to additional resources and a glossary of terms are also included.

Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator

The EPA has set up an online tool that can translate phrases like “metric ton of carbon dioxide” into more everyday terms, such as “the carbon dioxide emissions of a passenger car over two months.” The user simply enters the amount of emissions in one measure, and the calculator then lists a selection of equivalent measures.

NOAA Online Weather Resource

Students of all ages will appreciate this interactive website from NOAA. It provides colorful radar images and other current weather information. Graphical forecast and observation maps for weather-event warnings, air quality, temperature, flooding, and cloud cover are among the options available.

Learning About Fossil Fuels

This series of online interactive lessons from the U.S. Department of Energy for elementary and middle level students includes a five-part lesson on coal with accompanying study guides; a four-part lesson on oil; and a three-part lesson on natural gas. The lessons cover the origin of each energy source, the science involved in its production and distribution, and the prospects for its continued and future use.

Hazard Fact Sheets from USGS

This collection of fact sheets addresses various hazards sorted by topic (for example, volcano, earthquake, and landslide). These materials are appropriate for high school level and up.

National Science Digital Library on iTunes

The iTunes U website offers free access to audio and video from leading educational institutions; the Beyond Campus section includes museums, public radio and television stations, and other nonprofit educational providers such as the NSDL. The NSDL materials are presented in two sections: What’s New for K–12 Teachers, and Featured Content.

BAM! Body and Mind

The CDC created this online destination for kids 9–13 years old to give them the information they need to make healthy lifestyle choices, focusing on topics such as nutrition and physical fitness. Games that focus on stress, nutrition, oral health, and the immune system are accompanied by background information on each topic, Q&A passages, and quizzes. Teaching materials include lessons on epidemiology, the health effects of smoking, and the “energy equation” (food + sleep + physical activity = energy).

ToxMystery

This online game can help elementary students learn about common household hazards. ToxMystery was created by the National Library of Medicine at NIH for children ages 7–11. The section for teachers contains three lesson plans with student worksheets and activities such as word searches and scrambles.

NASA's eClips

These 5–10-minute video segments from NASA, designed as an online resource for teachers, are sorted by grade level and topic. Topics include comprehending space-travel realities, such as how long it would take to drive a car to the Moon; connecting classroom mathematics to 21st century careers and technologies; and futuristic spacesuit design. Accompanying educator guides outline how to use the video segments most effectively in the classroom. 

World Wise Schools

This Peace Corps program offers educators cross-cultural resources online, including podcasts, videos, and slide shows. A monthly e-newsletter, World Wise Window, presents stories accompanied by lesson plans from around the world, from Jordan and post-tsunami Sri Lanka to China and New Orleans. The science lessons collected at the website can be searched by region, country, subject, or grade level.

Radio Astronomy for Schools

Did you know you can listen to Jupiter and the Sun? Their magnetic fields produce radio waves that can sound like breakers on a beach, popcorn popping, or pebbles thrown on a tin roof. The Radio JOVE project from NASA enables students to hear and learn to distinguish among the different types of sound bursts. At the project website, students take measurements, acquire and analyze data, and share and discuss their findings with other observers. Teaching materials include a set of seven lesson plans covering related topics, such as solar winds and the interactions of moving charges with magnetic fields.

Video-Making for the Classroom

The Animoto website offers educators a cutting-edge teaching tool: the ability to create (or to have students create) short films for the classroom. Users e-mail their images and sounds to Animoto, and minutes later a customized video has been generated. The video can then be posted and embedded elsewhere or downloaded for in-class presentations. Examples of how educators have used the service are posted.

Distillations

This weekly science podcast from the Chemical Heritage Foundation presents extracts from the past, present, and future of chemistry. Current and archived episodes offer a historical perspective on current scientific issues through interviews, monologues, reviews, and other features. Recent topics include self-experimentation (ranging from the Curies’ work on radium to the advent of home DNA-test kits) and photography (the importance of the element selenium to the process).

The Capacity of the Planets

With this lesson from the PBS feature Mathline, students in grades 8–12 explore the connections between math and science as they practice scientific notation and use geometry to solve problems related to measurements in the solar system.

Explore Engineering

At this website from the Junior Engineering Technical Society, students can read profiles of “extreme” engineers, watch videos of engineers in action, learn how to prepare for college-level engineering courses, and read background information on dozens of engineering specialties. Students can also access the monthly e-newsletter Pre-Engineering Times.

WorldWide Telescope

This web tool turns your computer into a virtual telescope—bringing imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world to your desktop. Take a guided tour of the sky led by astronomers and educators from famous observatories and planetariums, or explore on your own.

Discovery of Sound in the Sea

This website introduces science concepts related to underwater sounds. Visitors can listen to sounds created by marine animals, human activities, and natural phenomena; check out equipment that uses sound to investigate the ocean; watch video interviews with marine scientists; and learn how scientists use underwater acoustics to track ocean currents and quantify fish distributions. A section for teachers offers resources and classroom activities, including PowerPoint presentations, instructions for making a hydrophone, and classroom investigations into sonar and dolphin communication.

Cutting-edge Learning Tools

This website features a wealth of information about the newer and emerging learning tools used in science education. Site visitors can access and adapt examples of lessons taught with real-time data collection, simulations, interactive web exercises, micro-worlds, and imaging.

The Incredible Two-Inch Universe

This printable four-step scale model will help students ages 9 and up comprehend the distances involved in NASA’s space explorations.

Writing in science

An essay from Teacher Magazine describes the strategy one middle school teacher used to bring more writing into the science classroom. The technique outlined in “Best Practices: Writing for Fun (and Learning)" prepares students for research writing by first having them write science-based fiction within a research framework.

Science resources from TeacherVision

Teachers can access sample resources from the TeacherVision collection of K–12 science lessons, graphic organizers, and quizzes. Materials are sorted by grade level, subject, seasonal theme, and type. Topics include connecting math and science with an activity on the speed of light, and exploring the ways that electrical inventions have changed history.

ScienceHack

All the science-related videos (culled from YouTube and similar sources) found on this site have been screened by a scientist to verify accuracy and quality. Visitors use the vertical search engine to find what they need in the way of science experiments, projects, and movies.

Climate Change: Connections and Solutions

This two-week curriculum unit encourages students to think critically about climate change and to work collaboratively on devising solutions. Students examine the interconnections among environmental, social, and economic issues related to the topic. Lessons are aligned with national science standards, and the curriculum is available in versions for grades 6–8 or 9–12.

Women in Astronomy

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific has created a resource guide for educators exploring the role women have played historically and are continuing to play in the field of astronomy. The guide includes both printed and web-based materials.

The Bulb Project

This interactive website from the flower bulb industry presents information and activities that focus on the bulb. Educational materials include ideas for science fair projects and instructions for planting a bulb labyrinth. The site’s blog allows educators to share their successes and activity adaptations.

Children’s Gardens: A Field Guide

Teachers can now download this 200-page publication produced by Common Ground, a program from the University of California Los Angeles County Cooperative Extension Service. The book includes detailed instructions on the process of establishing a garden for children, numerous related experiments and activities, a guide to resources, and a selected bibliography.

Online courses and lectures

A new website offers an extensive listing of courses and lectures from leading universities that are available to download and listen to as Podcasts or MP3 files. Sorted by subject, topics range from introductory archaeology to modern theoretical physics.

The Roof Is Growing!

The American Society of Landscape Architects has created this online resource for middle school students and teachers. Focusing on green roofs and their environmental benefits, the interactive program includes a downloadable teacher’s guide and student workbook. Visitors to the site learn how green roofs cool cities, clean the air, create habitats, and control storm-water runoff.

Real World Connect

This web portal from the Cleveland Clinic puts a wealth of educational resources at your fingertips. Real World Connect allows teachers to strengthen lesson plans, students to improve research papers, and everyone to find and access the latest online information. Features include an interactive, animated heart-brain connection tutorial for children; a gallery of art created by high school students interpreting scientific research; and an x-ray library.

Websites 4 Kids

At these four sites, children will find basic background information on various topics within a given subject, along with quizzes, slideshows, videos, and real-world examples of concepts discussed. The sites cover astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics.

MonarchLIVE

Register now to participate in the annual migration of the monarch butterfly. Your class can join in on interactive electronic field trips, such as a February visit to Mexico to learn about local efforts to preserve the insects’ winter habitat. Teacher resources include lesson plans for K–12, information on winning butterfly-garden grants, and links to numerous related educational websites. Site materials are presented in English and Spanish.

Orion’s Path

A new feature on SpaceClass gives middle-level students an in-depth look at Orion, a NASA vehicle that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station, the Moon, and Mars. Students hear from a lunar habitat and spacesuit expert, meet an astronaut who explains why space exploration is important, and learn about making oxygen and water on the Moon. Eventually, they travel on Orion to virtually visit Mars and compare its geology, gravity, temperatures, and other features to the Moon’s.

Website for Tutors and Students

Tutor Hunt connects students with private tutors. Users can browse lists of tutors by subject or by postcode (British zip code). Though the tutors reside in the United Kingdom, some of them are willing to tutor online. Students also may register so tutors can find them. No personal contact information for students and tutors is revealed; everyone must connect via the website.

American Chemical Society's "Bytesize Science" Podcasts

Bytesize Science translates cutting-edge scientific discoveries from ACS’s 36 peer-reviewed journals into stories for young listeners about science, health, medicine, energy, food, and other topics. New installments are posted every Monday. Watch the podcasts, or visit iTunes to download the latest episode.

Site for Grant Seekers

Grant Wrangler, which provides free grants information to the K-12 community, has just launched a new website for grant seekers to connect with grant writers, grant givers, grant winners, and other grant seekers. Visit My Grant Wrangler to join the expanding community and start a forum, introduce yourself, join a group, or simply read what others have to say.

Kids’ Pages

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has created a website for kids. There are sections for grades K–6 (“Twinkle Lights”), grades 6–12 (“Bright Lights”), and for parents, teachers, and coaches (“Guiding Lights”). The materials posted include something for every interest: a collection of trademarked sounds to listen to (jingles, theme songs, and electronic chirps); trademarks grouped by theme (presidential, heart-shaped, and eye-related); and stories about the surprising origins of some famous inventions, from Silly Putty to earmuffs. Site visitors who want to be “Patent Detectives” can run a search by patent number, inventor’s name, or device description.

Acid Rain Teacher’s Guide

A new edition of the EPA publication Learning About Acid Rain: A Teacher’s Guide for Grades 6 Through 8 is now available online. With feedback and contributions from teachers nationwide, the EPA has updated and enhanced this educational resource. The 56-page guide provides a basic overview of acid rain, its effects on ecosystems, and ecosystem recovery. It includes nine laboratory-based science experiments, and it suggests steps that students can take individually to help reduce acid rain and to address other environmental concerns.

Classic Articles in Context

Classic Articles in Context (CAC) is a new feature on the National Science Digital Library Wiki that integrates major works of scientific inquiry into a dynamic teaching and learning approach. The full, original text of the articles selected is presented “in context” through a narrative essay that explains particularly significant aspects of each work, especially in relation to other, related studies. This resource allows teachers to convey to students more vividly the nature of science as a process that builds on discovery. In the first CAC feature, science historian James Fleming introduces 21 papers on climate change and anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse warming, from an 1824 essay by Fourier to a 1995 paper in the journal Climate Dynamics.

Getting Dirty on Mars

Just as NASA scientists are beginning to study deep-trench soil samples collected by the Phoenix Mars lander, your students can conduct a similar investigation in the classroom with Getting Dirty on Mars, a set of materials available online. The investigation, designed for grades 5–12, takes three to four 50-minute class periods. Students work in cooperative groups to collect soil samples from the field, measure the soil moisture content, compare soil colors, look for biomarkers, and measure pH to make comparisons and compile a final report. Teachers can download an 11-page teaching tips booklet, a 28-page student lab procedures booklet, and templates for data-collection lab cards.

Encouraging Girls in Math and Science

The Doing What Works website helps teachers implement effective educational practices by providing them with guidebooks that evaluate research on the effectiveness of teaching methods. One of those guides is Encouraging Girls in Math and Science, which offers five teaching recommendations, a summary of related research evidence, and a level-of-evidence rating for each recommendation. The recommended practices can be readily applied in the classroom without requiring systemic change. The website also contains an interview with one of the guide’s authors, a video overview explaining the importance of the effort, and links to additional online resources. To access this guide, click on “Math and Science.”

Exploring Careers With Kids.Gov

As adults, we often ask children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” One way that we can help them explore the possibilities is to tell them about the official kids’ web portal for the U.S. government.
Clicking on “Careers” on the Kids.gov homepage leads to an extensive alphabetized list of annotated links for various professions. From architect to Peace Corps volunteer to webmaster, each of the links leads to more information and additional resources from U.S. government agencies. In the “Educators” section, teachers will find more material for their students, including numerous lists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on careers that involve specific interests, such as sports, helping people, or building and fixing things.

National Library of Medicine

The History of Medicine section on the website for the National Library of Medicine (NLM) offers material directed to the needs of teachers and students. These print and nonprint materials document the history of medicine, health, and disease across all time periods and cultures. The collection—one of the world’s largest—includes an Arabic manuscript on gastrointestinal disease completed in 1094, handwritten letters from such notable figures as Louis Pasteur and Florence Nightingale, and a Profiles in Science database.
Both students and teachers can browse the digital collections and online exhibitions to get ideas for reports and special projects. Major exhibitions on display at the NLM typically include related lesson plans posted to the site, as well as online games and activities.

G-Ball B-Ball

In this online game, students can shoot virtual hoops in environments with varying levels of gravity. After sinking 3 of 10 baskets, a player moves to the next level—and a different environment. Scrolling through the Q&A gives students “The Lowdown on Gravity.”

LightRider Solar Sailing Game

The first video game based on solar sailing is now available online. Players navigate a ship around obstacles and set sail for the stars, dealing with realistic factors such as orbital drift. A kid-friendly Q&A section answers such questions as, “How can light push a sail?” and “Are the sails made of fabric?”

Eco-Friendly Investigations

Vernier Software & Technology has created a set of activities based on data collected from the company’s own building’s rooftop photovoltaic panels. At the Solar Panel Dashboard, educators can download live readings and historical data on the panels’ energy production, along with data on the cost of the solar installations so that students can consider the cost-effectiveness of the system as well as its energy efficiency. Weather data are also posted, so students can investigate the relationship between temperature and solar radiation and energy production.

Immune Attack

A new video game from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) teaches the critical scientific facts of immunology to high school and college-level students. Players control a microscopic robot and navigate through a 3D body, completing a series of missions to detect a bacterial infection and activate the appropriate defensive immune cells. These missions mirror the biological process that occurs during an infection and the way that immune cells are stimulated to kill the bacteria.

Mock Science Books & Films for Excellence in Science Books Election

To link science with literacy, D. Timothy Gerber, associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and his colleagues developed a Mock Science Books & Films (SB&F) for Excellence in Science Books election for both preservice teachers and middle school students. They published the Mock SB&F election process in AAAS’ journal Science Books & Films. Gerber says, "I think this is one interesting way to expose preservice teachers to the latest 'high quality' nonfiction trade books available. We will also run a Mock SB&F election for sixth graders in a local school district this fall." Links to the article, preservice teacher rubrics, and the elementary/middle level rubric can be found here. 

Raising Butterflies Online

This 30-day program, Live Monarch Online, allows children to learn about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly in a brand new way. They simply complete the online form and then wait to receive an e-mail update every few days. A link in each personalized e-mail enables the student to watch the process unfold—an up-close experience completed at a distance.

World Diabetes Day Materials, Student Videos

Teachers will find videos, multimedia, and lesson plans on the website. To celebrate this event, Discovery Education invites teens and young adults living with type 1 diabetes to create videos to tell the next president what can be done to help put an end to this disease (deadline November 1).

K–12 Online Conference

The third annual K–12 Online Conference is scheduled for October 20–24 and October 27–31, with a pre-conference keynote during the week of October 13. This conference is for educators interested in the ways that web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. Presentations will be posted on the conference blog. Everyone is encouraged to participate in live events during the conference as well as in asynchronous conversations.

The MERLOT Digital Library

The Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) website offers constantly updated resources for teaching and learning science. In this online community, faculty, staff, and students from around the world share their learning materials and pedagogy. Site visitors can peruse online learning materials, view colleagues’ personal collections and share their own, and find guest speakers in the Virtual Speakers Bureau.

Jet Streaming

Minnesota Public Radio produces a weekly podcast that features scientists discussing atmospheric science, climate science, hydrology, agriculture, and related fields. Teachers can use Jet Streaming for special projects and assignments related to topical science issues and developing research.

Engineer Your Life

Members of the engineering community and WGBH have joined forces to attract more girls to a future in engineering. The resulting website presents 12 detailed profiles of young female engineers. Their stories point to engineering as a realistic option for creative young women who want to make a difference in the world. The site also offers information on academic requirements and starting salaries.

Climate Classroom

The National Wildlife Federation has developed a website devoted to educating children about global warming. Teachers will find guidelines for teaching climate change concepts to K–12 students, including classroom activities. A slideshow for grades 5–12 and presenter’s guide can be downloaded, and links to additional web resources are also included. Children can see the simple questions of their peers answered, and print out a family action plan.

Ecology Curriculum from The JASON Project

Teachers can register for online access to Operation: Resilient Planet. This curriculum unit, designed for grades 5–10, focuses on regeneration, ecosystem management, and the need to protect our ecological future. Students will research invasive species in Lake Michigan, snorkel with vibrant marine life in the Gulf of Mexico, examine the health of the Chesapeake Bay, study near-pristine ecosystems in the Pacific Ocean, and help protect whale habitats in Massachusetts Bay. Classroom materials include lesson plans, extensions, interdisciplinary connections, and teacher resources for alignment, assessment, and classroom management.

Invent Now

Industry leaders created the Invent Now program to encourage children to pursue inventing and innovating as part of their education and eventual careers. Students can explore a gallery of inventions created by children throughout the country, a series of interactive games that challenge children to imagine and create, and an inventor’s tool kit.

The Evidence Project

A new website from the Exploratorium examines the role of evidence in science and society. The case studies presented illustrate the process that translates ideas and information into knowledge and understanding. The site debuts with a look at human evolution that includes dozens of streaming videos, podcasts, and online interactives. Materials are available in both English and Spanish.

TXT Learning

Can speedy cell-phone texting skills contribute positively to students’ education? With theTXT Learning program, trivia questions are sent to a cell phone, and correct answers are retrieved through e-mail. The interactive quizzes, games, poll questions, and trivia cover science as well as other subjects for sixth grade and up, and the website allows students to connect with users who share similar interests.

ChemFax! Activities

Flinn Scientific has released two new entries in its ChemFax! series of demonstrations and experiments. The Disappearing Aluminum Can uses an everyday object to help students understand oxidation and reduction, metal alloys, and inert compounds. Phosphorescent Flash Paint teaches students about phosphorescence as they create images on glowing flash screens with an improved, less-mess paint-making method.

National Library of Medicine Exhibition

The Once and Future Web: Worlds Woven by the Telegraph and Internet, an exhibition at the National Library of Medicine, focused on the power of instant communication, from the invention of the telegraph to the evolution of the internet. Now the exhibit materials are available on DVD. Over two hours of interactive video informs viewers of the scientific and historical underpinnings of these two technologies. Topic areas include “Was the Telegraph the First Internet?” and “Show Me How It Works.” Interviews with current giants of internet invention as well as experts on historical figures are also included. Request a copy by e-mailing your name, address, e-mail address, and phone number to folkenj@nlm.nih.go

Curriculum Toolkit on Frogs

The Amphibian Project works to generate public awareness and understanding of the threats facing the world’s amphibian population, and in particular to help save one species—the large-crested toad— from extinction. Their efforts include compiling a curriculum toolkit, which features field projects and hands-on activities to teach K–12 students about amphibians, their importance to the environment, and why their situation is precarious.

2008 Report on the Environment: Highlights of National Trends

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released this report, a resource for better understanding trends in our nation's health and environment. The report is intended for a general audience and summarizes highlights of the more comprehensive EPA's 2008 Report on the Environment, released in May, which provided the scientific and technical information. Together the two reports present national environmental trends and inform EPA's strategic planning process with the best available, scientifically sound information.

EPA also launched a new website that allows the user to search the full technical report for specific trends in air, water, and land. 

Online Physics Simulations

More than 70 interactive simulations of physical phenomena from the Physics Education Technology project at the University of Colorado are posted online. Teachers who have used the simulations in their classroom have contributed additional related materials as well, searchable by simulation title, type (lab, homework, and so on), and grade level.

Tips for Teachers on Stuttering

A new fact sheet published by the Stuttering Foundation helps educators work with students who stutter. These helpful reminders include conveying that the content of a student’s speech matters rather than how it sounds, and communicating with the student in an unhurried manner, with frequent pauses.

Junior Pest Investigators

This set of lessons written by teachers and funded by pest-control company Orkin introduces K–6 students to the concept of integrated pest management. The children put insects and rodents under surveillance; they see that these creatures become pests only when they invade humans’ living and learning spaces, so it’s best to keep them outside where they belong and avoid the need for chemical treatments. A contest rewards the best classroom implementation of the Junior P.I. program.

Environmental Education Course

The Fundamentals of Environmental Education course developed by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is now available for colleges and universities across the country. This course stresses the knowledge and skills needed to incorporate quality environmental education into classroom instruction. Institutions can obtain course materials at no charge, and a $500 honorarium is offered after a faculty member has taught the course to at least 15 students.

Deep Earth Academy

Ocean and Earth science educational materials related to scientific ocean drilling can be found online. Teachers can search dozens of lessons by grade level (K-college), topic, and standard; request core samples for classroom explorations; and learn about the School of Rock, a trip for educators to accompany researchers on a drilling expedition. One set of materials focuses on past climate change as a window into current climate trends and includes posters, inquiry-based activities, and videos.

Investigating the Ocean

High school students can investigate oceans and weather through six inquiry-based activities from North Carolina State University's The Science House. They will explore the underwater world through satellite data and other online resources. The data comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.

Futures Channel Documentary on Space-Based Solar Power

The idea of solar power from space touches on science, technology, engineering, math, energy, the environment, infrastructure, economics, public policy, and more. This concept can stimulate critical thinking about these issues and enable students to participate in the conversations about our planet's future energy sources.

Preview this upcoming documentary, scheduled for release this fall.

California Society for Biomedical Research Materials

Classroom resources produced by the California Society for Biomedical Research encourage understanding of the scientific process and biomedical research, and inspire students to consider careers in the life sciences. Posters, games, and booklets focusing on K–12 health and life sciences are available to download (class-size sets can be requested).

Evolution Rocks!

This song from Overman, a rock and roll band from Chicago, reflects the band's mission statement, which includes "spreading skepticism and the critical-thinking skills that are necessary" for science. "Evolution Rocks" has already been featured in Skeptic Magazine, used in PBS and NPR specials on evolution, and served as a teaching supplement in countless classrooms.

Garriott Space Flight Educational Activities

Richard Garriott, the first second-generation U.S. astronaut, is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station in October. During his 10-day trip, Garriott plans to do educational activities similar to those his father conducted on Skylab in the 1970s. The activities will explore principles of fluid behavior, mechanics, magnetism, electricity, and crystals. Students can try the same activities in their classrooms and then post predictions of what they think Garriott’s results will be. For more information, visit www.challenger.org/programs/garriottresources.cfm.

Nuclear Energy Brochures

Westinghouse covers the basics of nuclear energy in three brochures for educators and students. Electricity From Nuclear Energy explains the differences between fossil fuel and nuclear power and details how a nuclear power plant works; Nuclear Energy Glossary defines terms needed to understand the nuclear generation of electricity; and Nuclear Energy Basics describes specific nuclear power reactors, radiation, and related topics. To request a brochure, go to www.westinghousenuclear.com/Community/community_publications.shtm.

Inquiry in Action

This publication from the American Chemical Society presents guided inquiry investigations covering basic chemistry concepts for elementary and middle school students. Each investigation includes background for teachers, 4–10 related hands-on activities, and an assessment tool. Animated sequences help users visualize observations on the molecular level, and a message board allows teachers to share their experiences doing these activities with students. Download the text and access additional online features at http://inquiryinaction.org.

Science for Kids

The American Chemical Society compiled this selection of more than 140 hands-on science activities for grades 2–6. Sorted by topic, the downloadable activities have been reviewed by chemists for safety and accuracy. Printable puzzles and online games are also available. Much of the material is also posted in Spanish. Go to www.acs.org/kids.

Green Schools Initiative Back to School News

The latest Green Schools Initiative newsletter, A Green Back to School, offers information on shopping green for the start of the new school year. Learn how to buy recycled- and environmentally-friendly school supplies, pack a waste-free lunch, check out the health and safety of your school facilities, inquire about your school’s Wellness Policy, and more.

Penguin Science for the Classroom

The education section at www.penguinscience.com presents penguin-related information and classroom activities. Materials include a video about a rare blond penguin that introduces the concept of genetic mutation, and a project where children create, mail, and receive back a postcard with the unique and valuable Antarctica postmark. Students can also view daily photo feeds from Antarctica during the breeding season (November to February), journal their observations, and ask researchers their unanswered questions.

Munch Crunch Bunch Nutrition/Science Lesson Plan

A recent research study showed how effective the Munch Crunch Bunch--"fun food friends"--are at empowering children ages 5-8 to make healthy food choices. Study results were independently reviewed by Ohio's Evaluation and Assessment Center for Mathematics & Science Education.

Lessons in Conservation

Gummy Greenhouse Gases Activity

An activity on NASA's Space Place website makes it fun and easy to learn a bit of chemistry and see why too many of these kinds of molecules in the air are likely to cause Earth to get warmer. Students use gumdrops and toothpicks to make simple molecules of ozone, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane. The curious can access http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/tes/gases to learn more about the greenhouse effect and about the "good and bad" roles of ozone. A short video shows how new space technology can literally paint a 3-D picture of these gases all around the globe.

"The Pre-Engineering Times" e-Newsletter

The Junior Engineering and Technical Society's (JETS) free e-newsletter is distributed monthly from September to May. Each issue introduces a different type of engineering career, highlights an "Extreme Engineer," and contains standards-based, hands-on activities.

• September 2008 — Mechanical Engineering
• October 2008 — Civil Engineering
• November 2008 — Nuclear Engineering
• December 2008 — ABET: Choosing Accredited Universities
• January 2009 — Gaming Technology
• February 2009 — Engineering Certification & Licensure
• March 2009 — HVAC & Going Green
• April 2009 — Electrical Engineering
• May 2009 — Aerospace Engineering & NASA

(Issue topics subject to change.)

Understanding Hurricanes movie

In the face of a potentially devastating hurricane, it is crucial to know when, where, and how intense it will be. A group of scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research are meeting that challenge by using their math and science skills to better predict hurricanes.

Watch the movie.

Water Education Portal

WaterWebster.org provides information on safe drinking water and wastewater. The site's Education section has links to more than 40 resources, including educational programs for all ages and information to help teachers.

Amazing Space Teacher Resources

Reveal the beauty and wonder of the cosmos to your students with interactive activities, graphic organizers, science content reading selections, and more. A description, suggestions for using the resource in the classroom, and related materials accompany each tool. Learn some fundamentals of astronomy, and find the answers to your students' questions about many space-based themes.

Space-Flown Basil Seeds for Lunar Plant Growth Chamber Design Challenge

The NASA Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber still has space-flown seeds available. Register for the Challenge and receive seeds. Visit the site frequently for new feature stories about schools participating in the Challenge.

Musical Plates Project

This Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education web-based multidisciplinary project challenges upper-elementary, middle level, and high school students to tap into real-time earthquake data, interact with experts online, and publish their investigative work on a special website. Four core activities (45 minutes each) teach students how to access and interpret online earthquake and volcano data and use this information to solve real-world problems.

eXpressions™ Art and Science Program

The Cleveland Clinic Office of Civic Education Initiatives eXpressions™ program draws on the arts to engage high school students in the world of scientific research. Through Peer-to-Peer Learning, students explore and then artistically interpret research conducted by students who have graduated from Cleveland Clinic summer internships. In addition to providing participants with a deeper understanding of art and science, the program gives student artists the chance to earn awards, exhibition opportunities, and even college credits. Schools that didn’t have a student enrolled in a Cleveland Clinic internship can access in-depth information on research projects online.

Register by September 12.

Lesson Plan on Cloning

This lesson plan from PBS Online engages middle school students in learning about current genetic research and the ethical implications of this research.

AquaNews

The Vancouver Aquarium's aquatic news network keeps you updated on breaking news and lets you follow weekly updates from field research expeditions and dive in-depth into aquatic conservation issues.

NoteStar Research Aid for Teachers, Students

Help students cite online sources with NoteStar. Designed for grades 4-12, the program has a NoteCards tool students can use to take notes from online sources. Source information (i.e., title, URL, and so on) is automatically captured to assist in work citation. After notes are gathered, students can organize their notes to suit their project's goals.
Once teachers have assigned a NoteStar project to their students, they may return to monitor students' progress at any time or answer student questions, which are posted directly onto NoteStar. Based on a student or group's progress, the teacher may provide feedback.

Environmental Quiz

The Forest Resource Environmental Education Network's quiz was developed at the University of Minnesota for a course dealing with a broad array of economic, social, and environmental issues. Useful as an assessment tool, the quiz has been taken by thousands of college students across the United States and by other groups, including teachers, high school students, boy scouts, community leaders, and forest products industry employees. It can be used as the first part of a teaching unit to help students maintain interest in the discussion, for stimulating questions, or for providing a basis for more in-depth investigation of issues raised.

Science, Math, Technology Ed Newsletter From AAAS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) initiative on science, mathematics, and technology literacy, known as Project 2061, has an electronic newsletter for educators. Each issue of Project 2061 Connections offers an in-depth look at current research, results of research, and ways the findings, tools, and resources can be applied to your own efforts to advance science literacy.

Evolution Lessons

Evolution and the Nature of Science Institutes offer these lessons for use in any high school biology course. Many can be adapted for middle school with slight modification. Many would likewise be appropriate for freshman college/university courses.

Earth Science Classroom Activities

This Kentucky Geological Survey site is designed to provide K-16 educators and students with handouts, demonstrations, and suggestions for classroom activities fostering an interest in the Earth sciences.

American Museum of Natural History's Science Ed Materials

For educators, families, students, and anyone interested in teaching or learning about science, the museum provides a free, easy-to-navigate online database of its collection of scientific and cultural educational materials. This site offers activities, articles, evidence and analysis, and more. Resources cover anthropology, astronomy, biology, Earth science, and paleontology.

Science and the Summer Olympics 2008

To mark the 10th anniversary of his Surfaquarium and Innovative Teaching Newsletter, Walter McKenzie offers more than 75 Beijing Olympics links, including several related to science. See all of Walter's topical categories here.

PowerPoint Template Collection

View and download this PowerPoint template collection from Powerbacks at no charge. The collection includes Science and Technology sections and an Education section.

Bohr Model Applet: Atomic Emission and Absorption

In 1912, Neils Bohr proposed a radical new model that solved the mystery of atomic spectra. In spectroscopy, astronomers use light to determine which elements are present in distant stars. The interactives on this site allow you to use a single atom to introduce the concept of spectral lines, then put that knowledge to work to reveal the composition of four different cosmic objects.

Materials for Week of the Classroom Teacher/World Teachers' Day

To recognize outstanding educators, the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) sponsors its annual celebration of the Week of the Classroom Teacher (WOCT, October 5-11, 2008) and UNESCO’s World Teachers’ Day (WTD, October 5). Free materials to celebrate these events can be found online.

August/September Issue of NASA Space Place Newsletter

This bimonthly newsletter tells all about the many useful and free resources on The Space Place website. Resources were created for classroom and homeschool teachers, after-school program directors, museum and library program directors, and other informal educators. The newsletter can be downloaded from the website.

Teachers' Domain Adds STEM Content

This online library contains more than 1,000 free science resources.  Resources correlate to state and national standards, are drawn from popular PBS shows such as NOVA and NOVA ScienceNOW, and include downloadable video and audio clips, activities, and lesson plans for K-12 teachers. 

This September, Teachers' Domain will expand content in STEM and add a College Edition.

Podcasts of Nontechnical Astronomy Talks

Audio recordings of 12 public lectures by noted astronomers are available as free MP3 downloads at the website of the nonprofit Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP). Each hour-long lecture is followed by an extensive question-and-answer period, when the speaker gives further details and personal glimpses about the topics under discussion.

Exploratorium Solar Eclipse Viewing

A total solar eclipse occurred as the new Moon moved directly between the Sun and the Earth. The Moon's umbral shadow fell first on Canada, then zoomed across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and into China, where an Exploratorium team was waiting. Read their dispatches and replay their webcast.


 

New York Times' Science Lesson Plans

These daily lesson plans are developed in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education. A menu offers links to the complete lesson archive and a collection of "issues in depth." The lessons are linked to current news and features and aligned with national standards.

Our Voice, Kids' Science Commentary Site

GLOBIO introduces Our Voice, the newest addition to its child-friendly resources and programs for kids. Part of the online children’s community called Billabong, Our Voice lets kids share thoughts, ideas, and opinions in a safe way with other kids around the world. Each week, a new question inspires kids to comment on a topic of important environmental or science interest that impacts their generation. 

Resource for Green Cleaning

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently revised its LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) standard to make green cleaning a prerequisite. Now all buildings seeking LEED-EB certification must have a green cleaning policy.

LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance Rating System offers free resources to help K-12 and higher educational institutions reduce energy consumption, water consumption, and solid-waste disposal.

Dictionary for Aspiring Geographers, Earth Scientists

ITS Tutorial Schools' Geography Dictionary and Glossary covers

Overcoming Lead Contamination in Urban Gardens

Starting a new school garden plot? Concerned that the soil may be contaminated with lead? Horticulturist William Moss shares advice for coping with this obstacle in the National Gardening Association’s  newsletter, Moss in the City.

"Robots" and "Talking Robots" Podcast Series

"Robots," a new podcast series, comes from a group of graduate students. Each episode focuses on a specific topic (e.g., robot soccer) and features interviews with high-profile guests in robotics and artificial intelligence. The series is aimed at a high school or college audience with an interest in science and technology.

In addition to the high-level picture given by professors, each episode features news and views from people building and programming robots inside and outside universities. It also offers the opportunity to actively participate in the discussion through an online forum .

A previous series called "Talking Robots" features 45 interviews with high-profile guests recorded over the past two years. This series was created for students at the college/university level. 

"Design Squad" Engineering Materials

This reality competition show is aimed at getting kids of all ages excited about engineering and the design process. The series has free engineering resources you can use in classrooms, afterschool programs, and event settings, including the Design Squad Activity Guide, an Educator’s Guide, and the Design Squad Event Guide with five hands-on activities developed for use at events. 

EcoResearch Media Watch on Climate Change

The site provides a continuous update of media coverage from 150 news media sites on climate change and related issues. The latest addition is "Knowledge Planet," a convergence of geographic information, internet technology, and social change, using automated content analysis to extract geospatial context and build a geotagged knowledge base.

Science, Math Education Standards in Asian Countries

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has created a website that contains the academic standards of Asian countries, all translated into English. Here are links directly to the science and math standards:
Science education standards in Asian countries
Math education standards in Asian countries

K-12 Digital Content Resources on iTunesU

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) announces free digital content for K-12 educators on Apple's iTunes U. Arizona, Florida, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Utah--along with school districts, museums, and other educational institutions--are sharing resources not only for K-12 educators in their own states, but for teachers around the world. Professional development, curricula resources, examples of best practices, and student samples are easily accessible.

PBS Series "Sid the Science Kid"

Produced by The Jim Henson Company in partnership with KCET, this PBS Kids series encourages preschoolers to explore the foundations of science in everyday occurrences, such as melting popsicles and sneezing. In the series' sketch-comedy format, Sid, an inquisitive youngster, tackles the everyday ideas that preschoolers find fascinating (Why do bananas go "bad"? Why do my shoes seem to shrink? How does a bird fly without a plane?). 

See the series website for video clips, printables, information for parents and teachers, and science activities.

Video of Mentos/Diet Coke Demo at NSF

Cherlyn Anderson, Einstein Fellow at the National Science Foundation, demonstrates a notorious experiment involving Mentos Candy and Diet Coke.

World Population Day Teaching Materials

How can we feed 10 billion people—the number at which Earth's population is expected to peak sometime this century? Watch the program "Agriculture," the seventh program of The Habitable Planet, and explore the unit's online text and Ecology Lab.

Study many aspects of human population with The Habitable Planet Unit 5, Human Population Dynamics . The unit includes Video on Demand, interactive Demographics and Disease Labs, and a collection of population-related images and animations.

Tie in population issues with your teaching of exponential functions with this lesson from Insights Into Algebra 1: Teaching for Learning.

In the video program "Random Sampling and Estimation," the ninth program of Learning Math: Data Analysis, Statistics, Professor Gary D. Kader of Appalachian State University introduces statistical estimation through a penguin-counting exercise, demonstrating how probability and random sampling can be used to estimate population.

Resources for Teaching About Fuels

Learn about the origins and extraction of fossil fuels, as well as the development of nuclear, biomass (e.g., ethanol), solar, and other energy sources in Energy Challenges, Unit 10 of The Habitable Planet.

Is ethanol really the answer? For a specific discussion of biomass fuels, read the expert interview with Andy Aden.

Watch "Living With Earth, Part II," the final program of Earth Revealed, for a discussion of oil extraction and the development of alternative energy sources.

See how crude oil is refined in "The Age of Polymers," Program 22 of The World of Chemistry. Also see Program 15, which illustrates the workings of a solar powered car. 

Resource for Online Degree Programs

In 2008, eLearners.com will connect prospective students to more than 175 higher education and continuing education providers. Research and compare 2,000+ accredited online degrees, 6,400 online courses, 400 online certificates and diploma programs, and 5,900+ individual campus profiles, as well as other resources for prospective students. 

eLearners.com features only online colleges and online universities whose programs are accredited by accrediting bodies recognized by the Department of Education.

What Works in Schools Report

Powerful facts and statistics about education issues such as PreK, Class Size, Curriculum, Segregation, Teacher Quality, and After-School learning comprise What Works in Schools: What We Know and What We Need to Learn to Address Inequalities in Education. This special report is contained in the 2007 Annual Report of Teachers College, Columbia University. To bring the research alive, the report takes you into classrooms, communities, and other theaters of education.

MathMovesU Middle School Website

Raytheon's MathMovesU program can engage middle school students in math by illustrating the connection between math, their passions and interests, and "cool" careers. The website aims to stimulate students' interest in everyday math through compelling and relevant content and prize-winning contests and events.

"Wilma the Whale" Episode of Jonathan Bird's Blue World

Jonathan Bird's Blue World , a family-oriented, underwater adventure television series, now airs on public television (check local listings) and can be viewed online. Host Jonathan Bird introduces a new marine animal or science topic in each 8- to 10-minute segment. A downloadable teacher’s guide accompanies each episode.

The latest episode looks at what happens when a Beluga whale, normally found far north in the arctic, suddenly shows up in a bay in Nova Scotia. What happens when she starts swimming with people and approaching boats full of tourists?

What's Working: A Guide to Effective K-12 Math and Science Education in San Diego County

The report highlights 23 local programs with proven success in enhancing

Teacher capacity: programs that recruit, retain, and develop the skills of the 12,500 teachers of math and science in the county's elementary, middle, and high schools;

School-based innovation: quality instruction that equips students to perform at or above grade level;

Community-based enrichment: Extracurricular activities that stimulate interest and deepen knowledge through competitions, field trips, exhibits, internships, speakers and mentoring; and

Systemwide connectivity: initiatives that align resources and programs to improve education for the nearly 500,000 students in the county's 42 school districts.

NASA's Taking Education to New Heights Report

This 48-page report describes the highlights of NASA’s 2007 educational programs. Developments are outlined in five program areas: higher education, minority university research and education, elementary and secondary education, informal education, and education technology and products.

NASA Education Outreach for Disney Robot Film

An animated robot and his spacefaring companion are leading a campaign by NASA and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures to promote interest among schoolchildren in science and technology.

NASA and Disney are collaborating on educational and public outreach activities related to Disney-Pixar's new movie, WALL-E, opening in theaters nationwide on June 27. This effort highlights the similarities between the movie's storyline and NASA's real-life work in robot technology, propulsion systems, and astrophysics.

Disney has designed a 30-second public service announcement featuring WALL-E for NASA's television channels and website. The video is designed to draw students to NASA's site to explore the agency's missions. The video also will appear on NASA's Kids Club website. View the new WALL-E public service announcement and learn more about NASA.

PhysicsQuest: Middle School Contest

Chinese Water Science Website

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released a new Chinese website about water science. The site is a translation of USGS's Water Science for Schools site, one of the most popular water-information sites. It includes information about the water cycle and about water on and in the Earth, as well as opinion surveys and a true/false quiz to test your water knowledge.

ThinkGreen.com, Environmental Education Website

This environmentally themed, education-focused website has information on how landfills are built (including diagrams and cut-away images), how landfill gas is used to create energy, and how waste is used to generate energy, as well as recycling information. The site could be useful for classroom discussions on the environment and recycling.

NASA's Buzz Lightyear Science/Math Activities

Buzz Lightyear, the Disney/Pixar character and space ranger from the Toy Story movies, has embarked on a five-month mission on the International Space Station. In celebration of Buzz's flight, Disney Parks partnered with NASA to create five interactive games with educational activities and special messages from Buzz Lightyear. These appear on the NASA Kids' Club website. The games are

Load the Shuttle: Kids use mathematics and problem-solving to load the space shuttle payload bay with parts and supplies for the International Space Station.

Mission Matchup: Players match the name of the country with that country's contribution to spaceflight and technology.

I Spy: Everyday objects such as a football helmet, sunglasses and even an ice cream cone are hidden on a space station. All the hidden objects are spin-offs of NASA-developed technology.

Connect It: Players predict how to use the space shuttle's robotic arm to move and attach the new Japanese module "Kibo" to the International Space Station.

Toys in Space: Players fly Buzz Lightyear around a space station and land him on a variety of toys to reveal videos of astronauts playing with the toys in space.

Movie on the Seasons

Summer arrives today! Celebrate the solstice with Brain POP's movie on the Seasons.

Green Hour Website for Getting Kids Outdoors

To give parents and caregivers the information, tools, and inspiration to get their kids outside, the National Wildlife Federation has created GREENHOUR.ORG, a website rich in family-friendly content and a supportive virtual community where families can learn, explore, and share their outdoor experiences and backyard adventures. The site's blog also has a section for educators and a locator for local, state, and national parks.

Take a Cloud Walk

Take A Cloud Walk teaches how to identify the clouds in the sky, take field notes, and write a journal. Students ages eight and older will learn the basic shapes and names of clouds, what makes clouds move, why clouds are white, how clouds might affect climate change, the difference between meteorology and climatology, and about weather conditions such as hail, lightning, and fog.

You may print this book in its entirety for individual classroom or personal use.

June/July NASA Space Place Newsletter for Educators

This bi-monthly newsletter discusses the many free resources on NASA's Space Place website that can be helpful to classroom and home school teachers, after-school program directors, museum and library program directors, and other informal educators.

Incredible Hulk Carbon Calculator

The World Land Trust and Universal Pictures have developed an Incredible Hulk Carbon Calculator to encourage film fans to balance their carbon emissions.

K–12 Curriculum Supplements From the National Institutes of Health

A popular series of curriculum supplements from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aimed at promoting science education achievement is now aligned to individual state education standards in science, math, health, and English language arts for grades K-12. This cross-curricular alignment, unique to each state, shows educators how the NIH curriculum supplements will help them meet specific learning goals for students and spells out the usefulness of the series nationwide.

Seeing in the Dark

This PBS film focuses on amateur astronomy and the wonders of the night sky. The accompanying website has resources for teachers and students, including customized star charts, photos of the night sky, printable classroom activities, and links to additional resources on the web.

Concept to Classroom Online Workshops

These award-winning professional development workshops cover important and timely topics in education. The self-paced workshops are intended for teachers, administrators, librarians, or anyone interested in education. No technical expertise is required, and educators can earn professional development credit.

Annenberg Channel's Science Programs

With the Channel ending, now is the time to store the programs--without cost--whether you are a school district or an individual. Although satellite distribution will cease October 1, 2008, free program access will continue online at www.learner.org. You will not be able to download programs, however.

You may continue to use programs you have (or record in the future) for non-broadcast purposes for the life of the tape. If you record programs from a PBS station or a cable channel operated by a school district, Department of Education, or other nonprofit organization, you may want to contact them to ask if their schedule includes programs you are interested in or if they have recorded them for presentation in the future. Annenberg Channel licensees have free access to all Annenberg Channel programs, but they are not required to air specific titles. Therefore, only the local agency can tell you if they plan to broadcast your favorite programs.  You can, however, find out when programs are being fed by satellite and thus available to your local rebroadcaster for recording.

To access the satellite schedule for your favorite programs:

-Visit www.learner.org.
-Select the program by discipline from our home page, or type in the title/subject in the search box.
-Click on the series title to visit the series overview page.
-Click on "Broadcast Dates" in the box on the right side of the screen.

InSight: Using Data Collection and Analysis

A mountain biker and an engineer explain why the collection and analysis of data is so critical to creating strong bicycle handlebars.

Watch the movie.

InSight: Calculating the Power of the Wind

Want to show your students specific real world examples of radius, area, and algebra?  Wind Analyst Emily Hardy does just that... in under two minutes! Watch the movie.

Children’s Engineering Educators

This group of elementary teachers believes that the hands-on learning involved in early engineering education benefits children of all learning styles and abilities. They offer a selection of classroom activities and other resources on their website. Projects include making cards with paper engineering, building an eco-friendly birdhouse, and crafting a marble-run track.

Air Force Association STEM Portal

Teachers and students can go to this site to find links to online resources for K–12 science, technology, engineering, and math. The Air Force Association website also includes information on grants and scholarships, family games, summer camp listings, and homework help.

The Kindergarten Initiative

This downloadable toolkit offers guidance to teachers and others who want to promote healthy communities. It describes the Kindergarten Initiative, a Philadelphia program that integrated agriculture and nutrition concepts into the regular school curriculum and provided healthy fruit and vegetable snacks grown by local farmers.

Physics Activities Website

This Texas Instruments website can help educators implement enriching physics activities to increase student understanding and engagement in the physics classroom. TIPhysics.com provides educational, interactive activities that are ready to incorporate into the classroom in tandem with TI education technology, as well as access to research and training opportunities via the website and optional weekly e-newsletters.

For more information on TI's supplemental activities, access www.TIPhysics.com or www.education.ti.com.  

Osprey Web Cam

Live action is available dawn to dusk as parent ospreys feed and care for their chicks. Right now the chicks are small and colored much the same as their nest. Look for movement, especially when parents are feeding them. When you view the web cam, chicks may be hidden underneath their mother.
Viewing the camera at the right moment, you can see one of the adults bringing a fish to feed the chicks and the other adult sitting on the nest. If you watch closely, you may see some other, smaller bird species such as grackles, starlings, swallows, and sparrows sharing the osprey nest, flying in and out from underneath.

NASA's Space Ranger Education Series

As seven, well-trained astronauts begin an important mission to the International Space Station on Saturday, May 31, one toy astronaut, Buzz Lightyear, will begin a journey to help educate children across the country. The liftoff of space shuttle Discovery kicks off a new education initiative between NASA and Disney Parks. A 12-inch-tall Buzz Lightyear action figure will be carried aboard the shuttle as part of the partnership to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology and mathematics, one of NASA's main educational goals.

Disney's Youth Educational Series and NASA have developed an online program known as the Space Ranger Education Series. It includes fun educational games for students, as well as materials for educators to download and integrate into their classroom curriculum.

The online games featuring Buzz Lightyear will be available by visiting NASA's homepage and clicking on the box for the NASA Kids' Club.

The five educational games are

"Mission Match Up: Create a Game" -- Match the International Space Station partner countries to space facts "Connect it! Flight Path" -- Attach the Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station using a sequence of commands "Load the Shuttle" -- Fill the shuttle with cargo to a certain mass "I Spy: Reflections from Space" -- Find everyday objects on the International Space Station that were built on NASA technology "Toys in Space" -- Navigate Buzz Lightyear to different toys to see a movie on how they behave in space.

SEPA Materials Shared Online

NIH’s National Center for Research Resources established the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program in 1991. These grants fund partnerships among researchers, educators, and community groups who want to share their knowledge, expertise, and enthusiasm about health and science research with K–12 students and the general public. Over the years, SEPA programs have generated a variety of exemplary educational resources, including curricula. Much of this material can now be accessed online, and website visitors can search for what they need by program title, type of resource, or state of origin.

Department of Ed's Updated Publications Website

The U.S. Department of Education’s publications website has undergone an extensive redesign. Now, ED Pubs has a brighter, more modern look, and the mechanics of the shopping process have improved, making it easier to order publications. Also, the revamped website features a news section, updated frequently, as well as “Hot Topics,” which lists items related to current events, key education initiatives, and other timely information. Search options have improved as well; site visitors can now customize their search for publications by audience, education level, language, publication type, and subject.

Enhanced K-12 HotChalk Site

To deepen its offerings for K-12 teachers and students, HotChalk has added digital media and curriculum:

•    McGraw-Hill Education, in addition to providing digital video content, will also add supplemental instructional content, and more than 1,000 lesson plans and curriculum pacing guides for world languages and science for grades 6-12.

•    National Geographic Digital Motion is offering 700 videos and a      collection of royalty-free stock video clips from its media collections. Videos cover a range of curriculum areas, including Earth and life science, geography, U.S. and world cultures, history, current events and the environment.
•    PBS is adding 100 selected video shorts from its wide array of history, science, public affairs, and arts programming. 

NASA Educational Video Clips Online

Three new groups of clips have been added:
Eight selections from the Universe DVD, designed for students in grades 5–12, let the viewer travel billions of years through time. Images depict the universe evolving from one primordial mass into the stars and galaxies seen today. One clip covers NASA’s continuing search for life in space.
Five clips from the Liftoff to Learning: Plants in Space DVD, which also targets students in grades 5–12, follow a group of elementary students as they participate in an experiment on plant growth with space shuttle astronauts. Identical seed growth pouches are germinated on Earth and on the space shuttle in orbit. Viewers are invited to participate in the experiment by growing seeds as controls.  The five clips from Destination Tomorrow: Bringing the Future Into Focus DVD are designed for high school and college-level students and teachers. These clips build on the premise that much of NASA’s aeronautical research focuses on increasing today’s knowledge to solve tomorrow’s problems.

International Space Station Report

The International Space Station is the largest and most complex space vehicle ever built. Planned for completion in 2010, the space station will provide a home for laboratories equipped with resources to develop and test the technologies needed for future generations of space exploration. This 44-page report explores the potential of the space station to engage, inspire, and educate students, teachers, and faculty in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Information about programs designed to increase STEM achievement is included in the report. Diagrams and detailed information about the station are also included.

Resources for Teaching About Mars Mission

At http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/education.php, you'll find downloadable activities and materials to facilitate student understanding of fundamental concepts related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A Just for Kids portion of the website has been designed with content by kids and for kids. The pages feature music, artwork and projects by kids involved or interested in the mission.
Take this opportunity to find out about the Red Planet.

The Great Sunflower Project

San Francisco State University biologist Gretchen LeBuhn has launched this project and encourages teachers and students to participate starting in Spring 2009. She’s asking gardeners to grow a sunflower and monitor bee traffic once it blooms. Bee watchers are asked to spend half an hour on two Saturdays per month taking note of what kinds of bees visit their sunflowers and how long it takes for the first five to arrive. Sunflower seeds are provided free. Learn more here.

Bilingual Resources

Iridescent, an organization dedicated to bringing high-quality science education to underserved students in California, has created support materials for their courses and made them available online. These materials include lesson plans for a variety of topics, including renewable energy, optics, and aeronautics. The materials on heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation) are presented in both Spanish and English, as are the pages offering parents advice on how to help their children learn and on how to ask questions. Go to the website and select “For Educators.”

Lab Partners

This classroom-management software program offers teachers two options. With Random Partners, you can load a student list for a given class and create random groups of two to five students; and with Partners by Grades, you can load a student list and a grade list for a given class, click and drop students into as many as eight groups, and see the average grade for each of the groups you’ve created. Student lists can be exported from programs like Making the Grade and Excel.

Updated Thinkfinity

The Verizon Foundation’s digital learning platform has been updated and expanded. This online portal to 55,000 educational resources includes standards-based, grade-specific lesson plans and interactives from leading education and literacy organizations. Now, individual portals allow users to search for resources targeted to educators, students, parents or after-school programs as well as resources tailored to individual state standards.

StudyJams!

This online learning resource for children in grades 3–6 takes challenging math and science topics and explains them through animated videos, karaoke songs, and interactive tutorials. Students might sing about solids, liquids, and gases, play a mean-and-median basketball game, or compose their own downloadable song about those concepts. Teachers can sign up for a free 14-day trial of the subscription-based service.

Lessons From Moorpark Zoo

Today’s homework: Chop and weigh the tiger’s meat, portion out the sea lion’s smelts, and calculate the calories the cougar requires. Students at a teaching zoo do these tasks and more as they apply the math and science skills necessary to care for exotic animals. Watch the five-minute video from The Futures Channel to see these students at work and download the accompanying Bobcat Stats activity.

"Earth Magazine" Online Videocasts

The American Geological Institute (AGI) now offers original videocasts of Earth-related news through http://www.earthmagazine.org and YouTube. The videocasts cover current geologic news, including natural disasters, current research, and public policy affecting the geosciences.

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears

A new online magazine for elementary teachers has made its debut. Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears will focus on a different theme each month while developing teacher content knowledge about the Arctic and Antarctica and finding a place for polar science concepts within existing curricula. Each issue will include standards-based science and content-rich literacy learning in five departments—In the Field: Scientists at Work, Professional Learning, Science and Literacy, Across the Curriculum, and Polar News and Notes. Multimedia resources, such as podcasts and videos, and a browseable virtual bookshelf holding children’s literature for classroom use will capture the interest of both teachers and students.

Modern Math Website

Relational Mathematics; A Constructivist Approach To Learning enables teachers to explore modern techniques to learning mathematics. Within the lesson plans, links will be highlighted to other sites that include games and working models used in modern mathematics. 

The Mystery of Dark Matter

Physicists now estimate that 90% of the mass of every galaxy in the universe is made of an unseen substance called dark matter. This module for high school students presents content at the leading edge of scientific knowledge on this topic.

NACME Backs Me

The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), a privately funded source of college scholarships for African American, American Indian, and Latino women and men in engineering, has developed this website to guide students interested in an engineering education and/or career.

The Urban Bird Sounds Project: An Audio Guide to Urban Birds

Want to learn more about the birds in your city? This project can help!

Resources from NBC News

NBC News has released a collection of science and technology videos featuring major scientific milestones and the latest discoveries. More than 1,000 short clips can be used to complement classroom discussions on such topics as the discovery of atomic energy, the history of the space race, and recent findings about climate change. The clips can be searched by topic.

Astronomy Education Review

Focusing on astronomy education and outreach, this web-based journal provides new ideas and practical help for educators. Submissions for future issues are welcomed.

Resources from NOVA scienceNOW

The PBS series NOVA scienceNOW covers developments and personalities in the world of science and technology, both on air and online. Recent topics have included the discovery of preserved blood cells in dinosaur fossils, the meaning of the word planet, and differences between identical twins induced by aging. Resources for teachers include classroom activities and lesson plans, materials and ideas for making a science news display, weekly e-mail bulletins for teachers, and connections to local “science cafés.”

Encyclopedia of Life

A new collaborative scientific effort is underway to create an online reference and database detailing all 1.8 million species now known to live on Earth. Visitors to the site can access existing content and learn how to contribute additional material to this ongoing project.

Optics for Kids

Students today are quite familiar with optics, although they might not realize it; CD and DVD players, remote controls, optical mice, and computers all rely on optics. This website teaches visitors about everything from the basics of color to how optics makes use of electromagnetic radiation and visible light. Topics include optics in nature, optics in space exploration, and optics careers. Teachers can download more than 30 lesson plans.

Rainforest at Night

At this virtual rainforest site, visitors can listen to the sounds of the leopard cat, tarsier, bearded pig, or flying frog. As each creature is illuminated in the thick foliage, viewers learn what it looks like, where it lives, and what it eats. Click on a tree to discover how deforestation, global warming, and other threats are affecting this fragile habitat.

Ice Stories

In this webcast series from the Exploratorium, viewers will learn about polar research as scientists take them along while studying climate change, geology, oceanography, biology, and archaeology. All webcasts from this series, which ended on January 4, 2009, are archived for future viewing.

WaterPartners Curriculum

WaterPartners International, a nonprofit group dedicated to bringing safe drinking water and sanitation to developing countries, has created curriculum materials for the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Mini-units and stand-alone classroom activities cover a variety of issues related to the global water crisis. To download these lesson plans, go to the website and click on “News and Resources,” and “Learn About the Water Crisis.”

Interactive Tools from Learner.org

Eleven new interactives are now available through the Learner.org website, including “Metric Conversions,” “DNA,” “Dynamic Earth,” and “The Periodic Table.” Designed to be used as learning tutorials for students, each interactive features text, images, an activity, and a final assessment.

Curricular Resources from Yale

The Yale National Initiative, a program designed to strengthen public school teaching, requires participants to write a high-quality curriculum unit. The units created during 30 years of this K–12 professional-development experience are archived in a searchable database and are available to download.

School Garden Weekly

This blog from a master gardener in California offers guidance on how to create, maintain, and fully capitalize on the possibilities of a school garden. The site includes reports from school gardening programs around the country, photographs and how-to tips, recipes, and links to recommended resources.

Trailfire

This website allows helps “cut through the clutter” on the internet. A trail is a collection of links on a particular topic, connected and annotated by a Trailfire user, or guide. These guides help to focus the power of the internet with their own knowledge and opinions, and visitors to the Trailfire site reap the benefits. View a sample trail on stem cells.

Cybersurgery Lesson Plan

Developed to accompany the PBS program “21st Century Medicine,” this lesson focuses on remote robotic surgery. Students build a simple stereoscope and use photographs to create their own 3D images. Additional lesson plans for this and other topics in the Scientific American Frontiers series are also available.

Ed Tech Talk

This website brings together teachers across grade levels and content areas who are interested in learning about and discussing practical applications of technology in the classroom. The site offers a number of live webcasts each week, and users can download archives of the shows, read transcripts, and participate in follow-up text forums and blogs.

Lessons for Earth Week

These lesson plans from the Air and Waste Management Association were developed to help teachers mark Earth Week. In Consider the Source, students in grades 3–5 learn about natural and human-generated sources of air-particulate pollution. In A Bird’s Eye View, K–2 students build a bird model to learn about air pollution. And in Ozone—The Good (Ozone), the Bad (Ozone), and the Ugly (Smog), students in grades 3–5 construct a model of the Earth to learn about ozone.

Astronomy Learning Aids

Printable resources for astronomy lessons include charts (meteorite categories) and reference cards (solar-system relative distances), information on an astronomy essay contest, and links to other recommended online resources.

Clean up for Earth Day

Celebrate Earth Day with this lesson for grades 5–7. Can You Create a Simple, Healthy, and Earth-Safe Cleaner? enables students to become product designers as they formulate and test surface cleaners made from baking soda and vinegar. In the process, they also learn more about the relationship between cleaning products and the environment.

Animated Movies About the Environment

BrainPOP, a developer of web-delivered, animated educational content for grades K-8, will offer more than a dozen of its short movies free of charge all month in honor of Earth Day (April 22). Educators and kids  are invited to visit a special mini-site for a selection of movies covering things kids are curious about, from global warming, recycling, and air pollution to the atmosphere, fossil fuels, and the Ice Age. BrainPOP’s iconic robot, Moby, and his teen friend, Tim, star in the movies, which underscore the importance of environmental awareness and explain the impact humans have on the planet. Using humor, Flash animation, and a unique voice, the movies reach children with varied learning styles on a whole new level.

AIDS: Evolution of an Epidemic

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) offers this free DVD featuring talks by and interviews with HHMI investigator Bruce D. Walker, a leading AIDS researcher and clinician at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and Bisola O. Ojikutu, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and director of the Office of International Programs in Harvard Medical School's Division of AIDS. Both doctors split their time between Boston and the KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa, which has among the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world. Walker and Ojikutu delivered their lectures as part of HHMI's annual Holiday Lectures in December 2007.

Earth Day Project for K-8 Students

Want to use the power of the internet and social networking to make a difference on Earth Day? Unique eCards that can be emailed or printed and distributed to build awareness for Earth Day are available at ZooKazoo.com. ZooKazoo is a safe social network for kids featuring games and opportunities to take positive steps to help make the world a better place. The Earth Day eCards offer quick facts and tips that can make a difference in five areas:

1. Animal Conservation

Planetary Times

This online newsletter from Space Explorers, Inc., includes stories on the latest news in space science, including NASA features on current projects and upcoming missions. More than 100 archived issues are also available.

Science Gems

This website presents a collection of links to briefly annotated science resources sorted by category and grade level. The materials address topics in physical, life, and Earth sciences; mathematics; and engineering.

The Little Shop of Physics

Colorado State University’s hands-on science outreach program has posted a selection of activities on their website, including physics experiments for the classroom and online activities.

Lab Science Careers

Designed for students interested in learning more about career opportunities in clinical laboratory science, this website presents articles from professionals describing day-to-day life in the lab, educational requirements and training programs, scholarship information, career profiles, and links to related resources.

Climate Change Curriculum

The World Wildlife Fund has created a high school curriculum addressing issues related to climate change. The 15 lessons include handouts, a glossary, and additional resources for ongoing discussion and research.

Periodicity

This weekly podcast from the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers features science news and current issues in science education, with contributions from leading scientists, researchers, and science writers. Access to more than 50 archived editions is also available.

Engineering and Technology Resources

The Institution of Engineering and Technology, a U.K.-based professional society, offers online resources for teachers. Posters and biographical information on prominent engineers can be accessed, along with “Factfiles,” which cover a range of current environmental topics, from solar power to mobile phones to wind power.

What Goes Around Comes Around: Three Nature Cycles

This set of online materials for middle school students covers the three fundamental cycles of nature: the nitrogen, water, and carbon cycles. Introductory text offers an overview, emphasizing ties to real-world issues, and then links are provided in subcategories (such as “greenhouse effect”) leading to web-based lessons and activities.

The Hydroville Curriculum Project

Teachers can access sample activities from this high school curriculum focusing on environmental health science with interdisciplinary connections. Activities relate to three real-world scenarios: a pesticide spill, an indoor air-quality problem, and a water-quality problem.

Teacher Network From Microsoft

The Innovative Teachers Network enables members to communicate and collaborate with their peers around the globe. Educators can use the network to access free, high-quality classroom and professional learning content; engage in dialogues on best practices, innovation, and pedagogy; and create a personal MySite page.

Meet the Greens

At this website from Boston’s WGBH, children can watch the animated adventures of the Green family and find environmental-science games, news, downloads, a blog, printable tips, and internet links. This web-only project explores green living, sustainability, ecology, and environmental stewardship.

Secrets of the Sequence

The Center for Life Sciences Education at Virginia Commonwealth University offers K–12 teachers access to 50 videos on genetic research and the latest advances in the life sciences. Each 8–10-minute video is accompanied by a classroom-tested lesson plan, correlations to state and national standards, discussion questions and answers, teacher notes, and a hands-on activity. The wide range of topics include DNA fingerprinting, the genetic link to perfect pitch, and the prospect of genetically engineered honeybees.

Engineer Girl

This website from the National Academy of Engineering focuses on the opportunities in engineering for women and girls, exploring possible careers (how about becoming a chocolate engineer?), profiling women already in the field, and taking a look at the academic path to a future in engineering. Site visitors also can access the “Ask an Engineer” feature.

BioFax! Activities From Flinn

Teachers can now register to access two new activities from Flinn Scientific’s series on biology. In the Amino Acid Fingerprints activity, students use ninhydrin, a colorless compound that reacts with amino acids in skin oils to form a purple product, to reveal their own fingerprints in the classroom. With the Translation and Transcription and Replication, Oh My! activity, students use one folded sheet of paper to create simulations of the three processes, creating a handy reference for future DNA studies.

UK Physics Website

This website from England offers access to thousands of pages of materials for both teachers and students of physics. Organized by age for students (11–14, 14–16, and 16–19), the materials include background text, problems, experiment guides, suggested internet resources, photographs, biographies, and a glossary.

Teaching Tools From Earthwatch

Earthwatch connects volunteers with opportunities to participate in scientific field research. More than 50 lesson plans from K-12 educators who have participated in Earthwatch expeditions are  available online. Topics include classification using hard corals, pollutant effects of acid rain, and glacier morphology.

Multilingual Science Glossary

This online tool from McGraw-Hill presents an extensive vocabulary list, with each term and its definition translated into 13 different languages: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Creole, English, Hmong, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese. Both a middle school glossary and a high school glossary are available.

WolfQuest

In this 3D simulation game, players learn about ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Designed for ages 10 and up, the game allows single or multiplayer missions exploring the wilderness, hunting elk, and seeking a mate. Success depends on forming a family pack, raising pups, and ensuring the survival of the pack. The WolfQuest website includes an active online community where players discuss the game, chat with wolf biologists, and share artwork and stories about wolves. Fact sheets and 20 classroom activities are also included.

Plate Tectonics Lessons

Teachers and students can access sample lessons from the K-12.com curriculum series online. The lessons for grades 4, 6, and 9 are titled “Plate Tectonics—Forces at Work.”
 

Science Education and Civic Engagement

This international journal, published online twice per year, explores constructive connections between science education and civic engagement. It focuses on using civic issues as a framework to develop students’ understanding of the role of scientific knowledge in personal and public decision making. Contents include topical reviews, research studies on teaching and learning, and articles that explore connections between science education and public policy.

Hands-on Activities for Middle Schoolers

A Tennessee teacher presents a variety of activities that have proved successful in her classroom over her 30-year career. This website includes experiments, activities appropriate for Science Olympiads, and mini-posters for both students and teachers.

Bytesize Science

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has launched Bytesize Science, an educational podcast for young listeners. Bytesize Science translates cutting-edge scientific discoveries into stories for students. Topics covered so far include an investigation into the secret chemical language of bacteria, the science behind chocolate-loving, and a pollution-eating vacuum. New installments of Bytesize Science are posted every Monday. Subscribe through iTunes, or use your web browser to listen.

MeetMeAtTheCorner.org

At this website, visitors will find virtual field trips for children ages 7–12, providing educational and informational tours of landmarks and activities through video podcast technology. Each trip of three to four minutes also offers suggested readings and follow-up activities, and invites kids to submit their own complementary videos.

Endangered Species Ringtones

The Center for Biological Diversity’s website allows visitors to listen to and download endangered wildlife ringtones, as well as photos, cell phone wallpapers, and facts for each of the featured species. The ringtones replicate the roars, trills, and squawks of 70 rare and endangered animals from around the world, including the polar bear, blue-throated macaw, and California red-legged frog.

Teaching Modules for Ecology and Epidemiology

The Plant Health Instructor, an online journal, has published a set of teaching modules that use R (a free software environment with packages for graphics, math, and statistics). “An Introduction to the R Programming Environment” is currently available, as well as modules covering such topics as modeling disease progress over time and modeling dispersal gradients.

After Ed TV

Teachers College Record, Columbia University’s journal of research, analysis, and commentary in the field of education, has added After Ed TV to its website. This channel presents innovative thinking in the education sector through engaging short-form video, with a new lineup every Friday. Content contributions from the education community are welcomed.

Vernier Teacher Workshops

Vernier Software and Technology has posted its schedule for upcoming workshops. During each of these four-hour sessions, attendees learn how to integrate computer and handheld data-collection technology into their classrooms, using the LabQuest interface, TI graphing calculator, and Palm OS handheld. Each workshop includes a light meal and a training manual.

Online Resources From Rice University

Three new resources from the Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning at Rice University involve students in science-related activities:

The Reconstructors adventure game engages players in the roles of scientist, historian, geographer, and detective. The knowledge gained from the five episodes improves students’ abilities to make better choices when it comes to avoiding drugs. Teacher materials are available to download.

CSI: The Web Experience includes three interactive adventure games. Players become rookie crime scene investigators working with the characters from the television series as they learn about different types of forensic analysis. Includes an educators’ guide and a Spanish-language version.

In the N-Squad, players enter a scenario set in the near future and work with forensic scientists to solve a mysterious death. In the process, players learn about the effects of alcohol. Teaching tips and student handouts for the three episodes can be downloaded.

Bill Nye Covers the Mercury Flyby

Tune in to this segment from the radio program devoted to space exploration to hear Nye’s take on the NASA’s Messenger mission. Mercury is the least explored terrestrial planet, but Messenger will change that by capturing a comprehensive survey of the planet’s cratered, rocky surface, vaporous atmosphere, and mysterious magnetic field.

Deep-sea Simulator

If you were to dive to the bottom of the ocean, the water above would exert an enormous amount of pressure on you—nearly 16,100 pounds per square inch! Visitors to the website can learn more about what happens in the ocean’s depths by trying out an online deep-sea simulator.

New News from GLOBIO

Kid-friendly news content will now be added to Glossopedia, one of the resources from the children’s global online community known as GLOBIO. Titled “In the News,” the weekly feature for grades 3–6 helps students and educators incorporate current events in the sciences into both classroom and after-school activities.

TeacherBridge

At this website, visitors will find collaborative resources for educators. The TeacherBridge system provides advanced interactive tools to encourage teacher participation. The site also includes links to environmental education programs.

Earth & Sky website

The online site for this internationally syndicated radio series features interviews with scientists, commentary, photo galleries, and night-sky charts. Materials for teachers and students are included.

Gardens for Learning

This comprehensive guidebook from the California School Garden Network offers advice about how to create and sustain a school garden. Developed by a team of educators, nutritionists, and other garden experts, the book is a must-have resource for anyone looking to enhance learning through the use of gardens in schools and other community settings.

Who knew Sue?

The bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex found in South Dakota some years ago soon became a popular exhibit known as Sue at Chicago’s Field Museum. Now an interactive online exhibit allows visitors to explore the dig site where Sue was discovered and to learn about her friends and neighbors—the other species that also roamed that area 67 million years ago.

Exploring Environmental Issues: Biodiversity

This new addition to the Project Learning Tree collection of modules uses biodiversity as the means through which secondary students investigate the environment. It emphasizes a broad view of the concepts involved and makes connections beyond the biological to include political, cultural, ethical, and economic considerations as well. Educators may download, print, and use the online materials for this module.

Science Smarties

At this website, science teachers will find a series of quizzes, online activities, and assessments put together by an educator in Ireland. Some items are printable (word-searches), some are online only (games, crosswords, and match-ups) and some can be completed by either method (diagrams and multiple-choice tests). Topics include astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, Earth science, and physics.

Science Netlinks

This website presents a collection of resources for K-12 science educators who are looking for "meaningful standards-based internet experiences for students," including interactive standards-based classroom activities, lists of relevant websites, and the science literacy goals outlined by AAAS’s Project 2061. Resources are listed by topic and grade. In addition to a searchable database of lesson plans, you'll find fully annotated links to many "tools" (often sites focused on specific science content), available online.

Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook

This resource guide advises teachers on how best to maintain their commitment to excellence in education. The inaugural issue focuses on the expanding role of teacher collaborative work, and it also includes an interactive, searchable database with links to more than 200 products, services, or organizations; a best-practices section with advice on creating and maintaining professional learning teams; and data snapshots of current practices and state requirements.

Flinn Catalog/Manual for Secondary Science Teachers

The 2008 Flinn Chemical and Biological Catalog/Reference Manual offers information regarding laboratory solution preparation, right-to-know requirements, lab technique how-to boxes, and chemical safe-storage and disposal procedures. Science teachers at school addresses can request a copy by calling 800-452-1261, e-mailing, or visiting the website.

Flinn Middle-School Catalog/Manual

The 2008 Flinn Science Catalog/Reference Manual for Middle Schools features products and information specifically for middle schools and junior high schools, including lab ideas, safety tips, and chemical storage and disposal techniques. Science teachers at school addresses can request a copy by calling 800-452-1261, e-mailing, or visiting the website.

Build Green Schools

The U.S. Green Building Council has launched a website for students, parents, teachers, school administrators, elected officials, and community members. The site offers information on the benefits and costs of green schools, includes profiles of schools that have already gone green, an extensive list of resources and links, and a social networking forum.

Science adventures With Digger and the Gang

The BBC’s website presents age-appropriate science-learning activities for children ages 5 to 11. With animations, spoken dialogue, and sound effects, animated characters cover a variety of topics, from float-and-sink concepts for the youngest group to circuitry for the older students. Teacher materials include lesson plans and printable worksheets.

Advice for Prospective Online Learners

Attending school online can be a daunting task, and the most important question—which school to attend—can be the hardest to answer. Now eLearners.com has put together a checklist of questions to help people decide where to apply based on criteria that they may not have considered.

Sample Labs in Spanish

Ciencias con lo Mejor de Vernier (Science With the Best From Vernier) from Vernier International is written entirely in Spanish and includes 42 lab exercises. The following sample labs from the book are available for teachers to download: Acción Enzimática: Actividad de la Catalasa (Enzyme Action: Testing Catalase Activity); Titulación Ácido Base (Microscale Acid-Base Titration); Reflexión y Absorción de la Luz (Reflection and Absorption of Light); Resistencia del Aire (Air Resistance); and Oxígeno Disuelto (Dissolved Oxygen).

Tips for Teaching About Climate Change

A recent Edutopia article discusses how to teach children about global warming without making them anxious. You can read the article, “Truth and Consequences: Teaching Global Warming Doesn’t Have to Spell ‘Fear’,” online.

Teachers' Domain's 100+ Teacher Resources

Teachers’ Domain has added more than 100 new resources to its Life and Physical Sciences collections, accompanied by 10 new lesson plans. The materials were adapted from a variety of sources, including museums (Exploratorium and American Museum of Natural History), universities (Nebraska, Utah, Colorado, and Rutgers), organizations (AAAS, ChemThink, and Texas Parks and Wildlife), and public television (Dragonfly TV, Curious George, Design Squad, and NOVA scienceNow.) Register online to access the new resources.

SETI Telescope Viewing

Visitors to The Planetary Society’s website will find a live view of the night sky where the optical search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) telescope is currently scanning. The SETI telescope, built to detect possible light signals from alien civilizations, scans the sky every night, weather permitting. The web page offers a skycam view through the observatory’s roof showing the night sky during observations, updating every 10 minutes.

NROC and HippoCampus

The Monterey Institute for Technology and Education has developed the National Repository of Online Courses (NROC), which presents a library of high-quality online courses. On the NROC website, users can access HippoCampus to find interactive lectures, presentations, homework guides, and assessments aligned with standard school curricula and textbooks. Materials are suitable for advanced learners, credit recovery, home schooling, and general student use.

Swimming With Sea Cows

This new episode of Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, an underwater adventure television series, takes a look at manatees, including the threats to their health from power-boat injuries and to their habitat from encroaching development. Jonathan Bird journeys to Florida to investigate the situation, both underwater and above, in the nine-minute segment.

MedMyst

Students of all ages can play MedMyst, an online, problem-based adventure game from Rice University. Participants attempt to solve medical mysteries dealing with infectious diseases in a futuristic world. During each mission, players explore such topics as chemistry, pharmacology, neuroscience, and medicine. Teacher materials to support and extend the games, as well as links to related topic sites, are included.

The Sally Ride Science Blog

Designed for grades four through eight, this blog includes ideas to help educators engage students as they explore the world of science. It features a series of science-themed entries to help teachers illustrate real-world applications of science concepts and spark lively classroom discussions.

Hubble Telescope Podcasts

Discover the marvels of the universe with a Hubble scientist, find constellations visible from your own backyard, and discover a treasure trove of other cosmic revelations. The Hubble’s Universe video podcasts bring these and other Hubble-related events and materials directly to your screen.

Sustainable Choices

This guide makes reducing your carbon footprint as easy as reaching into your pocket. Sustainable Choices folds down to the size of a business card, yet it lays out environmentally conscious suggestions for changing behaviors at home, in stores, and on the road. Ideas range in difficulty from easy (take shorter showers) to challenging (grow your own food). The guide’s website includes additional tips and detailed information about why these choices will help the environment.

TeacherTube

This website combines the sharing and community-building aspects of YouTube with the needs of educators. Browse through the posted science education videos (how about shaving cream in a vacuum?) and then add your own contribution.

Songs for Teaching

In the past three years, nearly 200 artists have contributed to this website that offers music related to science, other academic subjects, and classroom management. Creative teachers can use these songs to teach content across the curriculum and to students of all ages. The website contains lyrics and sound clips, along with practical suggestions based on the latest in brain-based research.

PEAK Student Website

PEAK is a comprehensive educational program designed to empower and provide elementary and middle school students with the knowledge to manage energy use in their homes, schools, and communities. Students learn about shifting energy usage from peak-demand times, renewable energy sources, energy conservation, and cutting-edge, energy-efficient technologies. PEAK’s interactive website for kids includes games, quizzes, contests, and discussion boards.

Biology Browser

At this website, you’ll find useful life sciences information collected from a variety of sources, along with links to current science news stories and relevant websites. Browse by organism, subject, and geography. Users can access such resources as the Nomenclature Glossary for Zoology and the Zoological Record Thesaurus.

Middle School Debate Guide

This practical and accessible article from the Middle School Journal presents a clear framework for using debate in the middle school classroom. The author, a teacher herself, reviews the rules of debate and then suggests ways to adapt them to your particular students and classroom in “The Instructional Use of Argument Across the Curriculum.”

SkyServer

Current instrumentation allows astronomers to gather huge amounts of data. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is a good example. It is an optical survey of the northern sky, gathering data to create a high-quality 3-D map of the universe. Now the SkyServer website makes the entire survey available to both researchers and the public. With SkyServer, you can study the same stars and galaxies that professional astronomers are studying, using the same database and online visual analysis tools. Lesson plans and student activities for middle school and up are available to download, as well as information about contests, games, and links to other astronomy sites.

Designing Effective Science Instruction

This set of session materials from a Teacher-to-Teacher workshop organizes and clarifies teaching methods that work, identifies their strengths and weaknesses, and outlines how to quickly develop and design lessons that truly teach objectives.

Online Science Resources

A website from the Thomson Scientific company offers a wealth of information on science. Users can find links to websites on organisms, science topics, and geography; access Science Watch (a newsletter on current science topics); and read Sci-Bytes (a weekly update of new research in science).

The Encyclopedia of Earth

The authors of this electronic reference about the Earth seek to make it “the largest reliable information resource on the environment in history.” Content is contributed by expert authorities, with hundreds of articles ranging from “Absorption of toxicants” to “Zooxanthellae.”

Project Exchange

Explore the project-based learning units developed by teachers and then shared at this website. In one activity, students choose a myth rather than a traditional scientific question to prove or disprove using scientific and problem-solving means, similar to the Discovery Channel Mythbusters series. These high school-level materials can easily be adapted for middle school classes. Teachers can access project samples and accompanying instructional activities, resources, and assessments.

The Chlorine Tree

The Chlorine Chemistry Council has produced this web-based tool to help kids understand the ways that chlorine chemistry affects their everyday lives. Visitors to the site can “explore the branches of the chlorine tree” through activities that feature photographs, videos, animation, sound, and text.

WIRED Science Website

The weekly PBS television series now offers an online presence featuring web-exclusive stories, additional video, blogs, columns, interviews, a discussion area, and regular contests. The website also offers a collection of related, teacher-developed science activities for the classroom. Read teacher-posted tips on how to use WIRED Science in the classroom, peruse student and teacher profiles, and check out the Careers in Science section.

Chemistry Lessons Teach Students About Fire

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) has partnered with Discovery Education to create a new in-school program geared to high school chemistry students titled The Chemistry of Fire. The program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The program teaches students the science behind fire as a way for students to fully understand the dangers of fire. The interactive program includes a teachers guide with five lesson plans, a DVD that demonstrates experiments included in the lessons, three classroom posters, and a website where teachers and students can find more classroom and career resources. The program is aligned to national science standards for grades 9-12.

Spectrum Analysis Charts

The University of Wisconsin–Stout has made available on its physics department’s website 17 examples of visible, emission, and absorption spectra, including lithium, chlorophyll, and oxyhemoglobin.

Engineering Faster Bikes

Lighter, stronger, faster—that’s the kind of bike that an engineer would hope to create. In this 5-minute film, viewers learn how science, mathematics, engineering, and innovative testing go into producing some of the fastest bikes on the road as they gain a rare glimpse inside a real test laboratory.

KnowH2O

This interactive, educational website from PlayPumps International allows students and educators to learn about the world water crisis. The KnowH20 site includes teacher-tested tools and interactive resources such as online videos, water-resource maps, web banners, and games.

Journal Focusing on Evolution Education

A special issue of the McGill Journal of Education dealing with the teaching and learning of biological (and geological and cosmological) evolution is now available online. Articles contributed by internationally known experts on evolution education make this journal an important resource. Additional information can be found on the National Center for Science Education website.

Sharks: Predators With a Purpose

The Oceanic Research Group has produced a 17-minute educational film about the importance of sharks to the marine ecosystem and their current plight—shark population numbers are dropping worldwide.

Scrub Club

This interactive website makes it fun to learn proper handwashing methods. In a game that features the evil villain Influenza Enzo, the Scrub Club heroes teach children how the flu is spread and how to prevent it. Each Scrub Club hero represents one of the six steps in the handwashing process; Scruff, for example, reminds kids to clean around their nails.

Your Climate, Your Future

The World Wildlife Fund has developed an interdisciplinary curriculum titled to help teachers better communicate the complexities of climate change. The high school-level curriculum is divided into 15 lessons that include handouts, a glossary of terms, and additional resources for discussion and research.

BrainPOP on Superbugs

A new animated educational movie for kids in grades K–12 explains the evolution of “superbugs” like MRSA, including where they come from, why they’re so dangerous, and what we can do to reduce their incidence. The movie is hosted by the slightly germ-phobic robot Moby and his teen companion Tim.

9 Ways to Have Success at School

This booklet produced by ADDitude Magazine is designed for students and families affected by ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities. It presents tips to help guide parents and children through the school year more effectively, improving time management and reducing aggravation.

Podcasting tutorial and VoiceThread training

Learn how to edit sound recordings for posting on a website or for sharing with parents and other audiences via e-mail and CDs. A tutorial at the Education World website, written specifically with teachers in mind, explains how to get started in podcasting. An even simpler option can be found online at VoiceThread, where teachers and students can record audio and add visual images without any equipment at all.

TheScoopOnSmoking

This website from the American Council on Science and Health presents what every teenager should know about tobacco in a highly accessible, interactive manner. Detailed facts about the health consequences of tobacco use go beyond the typical warning that smoking is “dangerous.” Visitors to the site will find specific details of tobacco’s impact on every site of the body and on every organ system. True stories, quizzes, and information about quitting are included.

Simple experiments from Shakhashiri

A chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Bassam Shakhashiri presents a collection of simple science activities on his website. From candy chromatography to chemiluminescence, these are experiments that children can do at home with readily available materials. Each one is presented with detailed instructions.

Nourishing the Planet in the 21st Century

This new curriculum supplement explores soil and plant science and engages students in real-world issues like population growth, food production, and environmental resource management. Developed by BSCS, the six-lesson supplement comes in either a middle school or high school version. A corresponding web module allows students to join in a role-playing exercise to explore the scientific, global, social, and economic issues surrounding food production.

What Is Cancer?

This teacher-created lesson for high school students explores cell regulation and the differences between cancerous cells and non-cancerous cells. Related lessons involve students in raising funds to fight childhood cancer.

Operation: Monster Storms

This new, online science curriculum from The JASON Project connects classrooms to leading scientists as they explore the mechanics of weather to improve forecasting and help people avoid dangerous storms. Students get to know prominent scientists doing the research—whether flying into a hurricane’s eye or chasing twisters in Tornado Alley—and they receive background briefing on related science concepts, conduct hands-on experiments, and then apply the concepts they’ve learned to a real-world scenario. The five- to nine-week unit is designed for grades 5–8, but can be adapted for higher or lower grades. Register online to join the adventure.

Meet the Author of "Stop Faking It: Chemistry Basics"

In NSTA’s seventh Behind the Books podcast, listen in as Stop Faking It: Chemistry Basics author Bill Robertson shares his approach to learning chemistry: a hands-on approach that uses chemicals you can find under your kitchen sink--assuming it's equipped with more than a stack of dirty sponges--and a heavy emphasis on why things happen in a certain way, as opposed to memorizing chemistry principles. You will learn not just how to balance chemical equations, but also why in the world you would want to!

Environmental Education Guidelines

The National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education has developed guidelines for providing high-quality environmental education. They set the standards that should be met to develop balanced, scientifically accurate, and comprehensive programs. Download the most recent Guidelines for Excellence.

Star Light, Star Bright

In this online activity, students in grades 6–9 explore the nature of the electromagnetic spectrum. Students identify the different properties of waves and the relationships that exist among energy, wavelength, and frequency. Students will correlate images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and other astronomical instruments to the wavelength, color, and temperature information that can be found in the spectrum. An Educator’s Guide accompanies the activity. 

Set of Posters on the Natural Sciences

The Wright Center for Science Education at Tufts University has produced a set of 9 posters that focus on key concepts in the natural sciences. Topics include the science of change, scale and size, and cosmic evolution. You can view the posters online. To receive a set of wall-sized posters and accompanying teacher’s guides, mail a request on school letterhead stationery to Wright Center, Department P, Room 267c, 4 Colby St., Medford, MA 02155; requests from international school sites are welcome. E-mail requests for posters will not be accepted.

Collaborative science projects online

Visitors to this website will learn about ways to work on a science project collaboratively with partners that are geographically distant. Students in grades K–12 can parallel the way that professional scientists from around the world work together. Project ideas and teacher resources are also included.

Stop Disasters! Online Game About Natural Hazards

An online game from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction teaches children ages 9–16 how to protect towns and cities through disaster-risk planning and management. The game includes five natural-hazard scenarios (flooding, tsunami, wildfire, hurricane, and earthquake) with different levels of difficulty.

SciCentr website

This site features multi-user virtual-world technology for informal science and technology outreach. In addition to linking teenagers with college students, scientists, and professionals, SciCentr maintains a collection of web-based exhibits on scientific topics and research findings from Cornell University. Materials span the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

KidWings website

This website offers background information, games, photographs, bird calls, and poetry in an effort to excite and educate children about birds. The interactive teaching materials include a virtual owl pellet dissection.

Smithsonian resources

The Smithsonian website now offers an updated teaching tool, one that features access to more than 1,300 educational resources aligned with standards of learning in every state. Users enter their state’s name into the search engine to find lesson plans, virtual exhibitions, photographs and artwork, and databases of research information that apply directly to their state curriculum in a particular subject at a given grade level.

Lab tips from Flinn Scientific

Two tools to help teachers design a new lab or improve an existing lab are now available from Flinn. The Laboratory Design Information Packet contains problem-solving ideas and helpful suggestions, including priority lists, sample designs, and safety and equipment checklists. In addition, Flinn’s Laboratory Design Specialist can offer advice specific to a given school and budget. Request a packet and/or contact Flinn’s Laboratory Design Specialist by e-mail at flinn@flinnsci.com.

Education guidance by grade level

Visitors to the Education.com website will find collections of articles addressing what typically happens in a child’s life during every year from preschool through fifth grade. The middle school and high school years are also presented, grouped as separate categories. Topics covered include academic expectations, developmental milestones, and typical social issues, as well as age-appropriate educational activities. Just click on “The Parent’s Guide” at the desired grade level.

ChemFax! activities

Two selections from Flinn Scientific’s series of chemistry experiments are available online. “Instant Light” is a simple luminol chemiluminescence demonstration. The blue light produced by the oxidation of luminol allows students to witness a chemical reaction that emits light, but not heat. “Frozen Fire” offers a memorable example of exothermic reactions and decomposition. Teachers can access these demos at http://flinnsci.com/chemfaxpr2008.asp.

National Center for Blind Youth in Science web portal

The National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS) wants to ensure that blind students who are interested in science, technology, engineering, or math have access to the best resources available. This web portal directs educators to the lesson plans and teaching tools that will help inspire and enable blind students to follow their interests. Links lead to such items as Braille periodic tables and talking thermometers. Camps and study programs for blind students are also described.

"Green Christmas, a Global Warning"

Elf Cottage Music presents a new environmental holiday song, "GREEN CHRISTMAS, A Global Warning!" A video that accompanies the song can be viewed on youtube. It's from the company's production Hole at the Pole, The Green Christmas Musical. Here's wishing you a healthy GREEN CHRISTMAS!

Student Engineering and Design Community

The Autodesk software company has launched this online resource for teachers and students interested in architecture, mechanical and civil engineering, industrial design, and animation and games. The site provides access to popular 2-D and 3-D design software, as well as other tools to help promote project-based learning. Materials include curricula, a teachers-only discussion forum, projects, and homework help for students.

SciTerp videos

Science students at the University of Maryland, College Park, created short videos aimed at middle school students for a campus-wide contest. The videos explained what the undergraduates were studying in their science, engineering and technology classes, presenting the science and technology content in ways that younger kids could understand and enjoy. Topics range from space-suit research to improving dorm-room fire safety. The 3–4-minute videos can be found at www.newsdesk.umd.edu/uniini/release.cfm?ArticleID=1444. 
  

YouInnovate21.net

A new website developed by the National Governors Association (NGA) and Scholastic Inc. introduces middle school students to the benefits and excitement of innovation, and prompts them to explore their own innovative ideas. With standards-based content embedded in games and activities, the site shows students the relevance of science, technology, engineering, and math to their everyday lives. Users can follow a virtual career pathway, finding out what they’ll need to know and where in their state they can go to learn it. Information for teachers is also included.

Podcasts from award-winning educators

Cable in the Classroom (CIC) runs the Leaders in Learning awards program to recognize innovative, successful approaches to education. In this collection of podcasts, the 2007 awardees discuss their work, covering such topics as establishing an online educational community that attracts middle school girls to science and math, and what it’s like to participate in the NASA Explorer School program.

"Science in School" Journal

This European publication is available to read and download. Designed to promote inspiring science teaching, the journal highlights both practical ideas and cutting-edge research, focusing on interdisciplinary work.

Association for the Cooperative Advancement of Science and Education website

ACASE is a group of scientists and teachers that develops new assessment methods and uses the data generated to inform instructional decision-making. The ACASE website features related research studies, as well as two sample assessment activities outlined in detail, “Cubes and Liquids” and “Sun and Shadows.”

Explorations oceanography e-magazine

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography has created Explorations, a new monthly e-magazine that covers ocean and Earth science news and information. The publication includes feature stories on current research presented in multimedia formats, as well as more than 50 downloadable archived articles from the last 13 years. The Voyager for Kids section tackles complex topics such as tsunamis in a manner that is understandable and engaging to readers of all ages, and it also outlines science activities and experiments.

Middle school demos

Flinn Scientific has made two middle-level demonstrations available online. “Biological Currency” capitalizes on students’ interest in money by using a microscope focused on currency to teach observation and measurement skills. “Making Homemade Glue” requires only milk, vinegar, and baking soda and lets students practice basic measurement skills as they learn about the properties of matter and chemical reactions.

CSTA Source website

The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) has launched an online database, providing access to a vast store of K–12 computer science teaching materials. Educators can access lesson plans, learning modules, presentations, and information about how to promote computing courses. All materials in the database have been categorized by content and student learning levels, and all have been reviewed by educators. The Source invites submissions and is open to viewing by anyone, but full-text downloads are restricted to CSTA members (membership is free).

Guide to gender-fair counseling

Developed by the NSF-funded Counseling for Gender Equity Project, this guide is intended for K-12 school counselors, teachers, and administrators and focuses on equitable counseling practices for girls relating to science, technology, engineering, and math. The field-tested guide includes chapters on bias-free counseling strategies, preventing harassment, the importance of technology, working with teachers and parents, and support programs. Download or view A Guide to Gender Fair Counseling for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Teaching activities connected with trade books

An updated collection of teaching activities that complement elementary-level Sylvan Dell trade book titles is now available. Each book's "Teaching Activities" supplement includes related activities in science, math, language arts, and geography. For Earth science, for example, 31 BINGO cards with Earth science terms accompany the book Julie the Rockhound.

National Wildlife Federation e-newsletter

A monthly e-newsletter from the NWF offers educators hands-on activities, new ideas, resources, and strategies for getting kids outside to learn about the natural world. Each issue also includes a link to download the latest Ranger Rick Educator’s Guide as well as access to archived copies. Go to www.nwf.org/kidzone, click on “Ranger Rick” and then on “Educator’s Guide.”

Activity on alchemy and Isaac Newton

To accompany the NOVA program titled “Newton’s Dark Secrets,” PBS created an activity for middle level and high school students focusing on alchemy. After reading and interpreting a passage from the famous text The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine, students begin to understand the chemistry that Newton and his fellow alchemists practiced. The six-page teacher’s guide for the Secret Symbols activity, along with links to further information, are posted online.

HIV-vaccine lesson plans

The Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR) has produced a comprehensive classroom resource that is now available online. The secondary-level lesson plans cover such topics as the life cycle and structure of HIV, vaccine types, ethical issues related to research studies with human participants, and global contexts of vaccine trials.

Retro science songs online

More than 70 songs from the six-album set Ballads for the Age of Science are now available to download. These science-themed folk songs from the late 1950s and early 1960s cover topics from space to weather. Listen to “It’s a Scientific Fact” and “What Does a Bird Have That I Have Not?”.

OER Commons website

At this site, teachers and professors from pre-K to graduate school can find and share high-quality open educational resources (OER) on a variety of science and technology topics. Users participate in the network as they browse and evaluate available materials. 

Classroom resources from Innovative Teaching

Explore resources first published in the online Innovative Teaching Newsletter and now archived at the publisher’s website. Scroll to the bottom to find dozens of categories, covering numerous content areas. For topics from biology to simple machines, websites are recommended and briefly reviewed.

Science fair guide

The Intel ISEF Middle School Science Fair: A Guide for Teachers presents planning strategies and hands-on activities for the 30 weeks leading up to a science fair. Downloadable files include the complete teaching guide (217 pages), plus an accompanying set of transparencies.

GLOBIO Support of "Ranger Rick" content

GLOBIO has partnered with the award-winning children’s magazine Ranger Rick to create free online content to support featured stories in the magazine. Each month, GLOBIO will add articles to its children's encyclopedia Glossopedia that complement the magazine by offering photos, video, audio, interactive learning activities, and other multimedia features. Downloadable Learning Activity Guides will support educators integrating the combined content into their lessons.

GLOBIO’s eNewsletter for Educators

GLOBIO eNews offers educators a quick monthly update of all the latest additions to its free online kids’ encyclopedia, Glossopedia. In addition to adding new topical articles and learning activities, GLOBIO eNews will offer free, downloadable Learning Activity Guides that assist educators in integrating Glossopedia multimedia content in their curriculum, outdoor activities, and special projects.

The Virtual Courseware Project

Interactive, online simulations that supplement life science laboratory work or Earth science field studies are now available. Created by the Virtual Courseware Project, these activities are designed to enhance existing curricula, include online assessments, and can be used in middle school through college-level classrooms. Alignment with national and state standards is described. Topics include radiocarbon dating, genetic inheritance patterns, and global warming.

Resources on archaeology and Native American history

Educators from the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Colorado have developed a variety of classroom materials that are available online. Study guides and lesson plans focus on such concepts as human migration, chronology, and sampling strategies and are appropriate for grades 4 and up.

Hunting for energy hogs

Some of the biggest sources of energy waste can be found in our own homes, in everything from old refrigerators to drafty windows. A website created by the Alliance to Save Energy offers fun and innovative ways for students in grades 3–6 to locate these so-called energy hogs in their own homes and take practical steps to reduce their own energy waste. A game of “hog-and-seek” anyone?

Gender Chip Project's Resources for Girls

The Gender Chip Project has compiled a variety of resources helpful in guiding girls toward success in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The website includes downloadable materials (including a curriculum for grades 5–9, created in concert with a documentary on the college experience of five women) as well as links to books and articles, videos and games, and related websites.

Environmental Education Station

This website from Centre College in Kentucky offers a collection of teaching materials geared toward environmental and resource economics. Visitors to the site will find downloadable visual aids and course syllabi, instructions for hands-on service activities, active learning exercises, teaching tips, links to internet resources, and textbook information. The site also includes photographs that can be used for educational purposes and links to information on hot topics, such as sustainable development and tradable pollution permits.

Science Fair Information

Elmer's Products, Inc., and Discovery Education can help you plan and hold a science fair. Loaded with ideas and organizational tips, the information can help your middle and elementary school students excel while making the process less stressful for students, parents, and you. 

MicrobeWorld Radio

The American Society for Microbiology produces MicrobeWorld Radio, a daily, 90-second podcast series designed to increase public understanding and appreciation of microbiology and the life sciences. The podcasts highlight the process of discovery, historical changes in research, and a variety of scientific careers in industry, academia, and government. Recent features addressed efforts to eliminate tuberculosis, the use of HIV drug therapies to treat malaria, and the effectiveness of old-fashioned dish washing. Archived programs are available in a searchable database.

Service-Learning Projects on Pediatric Cancer

At a time when an estimated 40,000 children return to school after battling a pediatric cancer, a new website makes it possible for students and teachers to welcome these young survivors back to the classroom. Inspired by the documentary A Lion in the House, which just earned a primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking, the website provides instant access to information about pediatric cancer and to service-learning projects in which classmates can help a peer undergoing cancer treatment. Written by a biology teachers, each project is correlated with national curriculum standards and has a 10-minute clip from A Lion in the House.

A Lion in the House, which had a national broadcast on the Emmy-award winning series Independent Lens in June 2006, galvanized public attention for childhood cancer by following the stories of five courageous children and their families. Insights from the documentary have been used to develop Mylion.

Mathematical Moments

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) produced the Mathematical Moments program to explain and celebrate the role mathematics plays in science, nature, technology, and human culture. Educators can download the series of PDF files to use as teaching resources. Some files include embedded audio presentations by experts, and some have been translated into Spanish and other languages. The 60+ topics covered include “Predicting Storm Surge,” “Recognizing Speech,” and “Canning Spam.”

Marine Technology Society (MTS) Club

Students in grades 6–12 who are interested in learning about marine technology are invited to join the MTS Club. Members receive a membership card, button, and sticker, as well as a bimonthly newsletter. Members also have access to the MTS Expert Directory, where they can ask questions regarding specific topics in the field.

Adopt-an-Author Program

This free nationwide nonprofit program aims to excite middle and high school students about reading. The program combines best-selling thrillers and biographies with free curriculum materials, interactive websites...and direct contact with the authors via e-mail, classroom phone calls, and visits. Students can surf interactive websites, watch movie trailers, search educational links, and e-mail the author questions, to which they'll receive a personal reply within 48 hours.

Connect Magazine's K-8 Science Teaching Articles

Connect has an online archive of nearly 500 articles, written by teachers, that report on successes, challenges, and insights in teaching K–8 science, math, and integrated technology. The authors explore inquiry, problem solving, assessment, and differentiated instruction to reach all children. Most articles include additional resources and links to children’s literature. The archive can be searched by grade level, key word (topic), category (standard), and author.

Colony Collapse Disorder article

This article from Wikipedia discusses the risk that the pollinating-bee population may be shrinking rapidly. Middle level teachers can use it to develop a lesson plan on the subject.

Watersheds: Connecting Weather to the Environment

The National Environmental Education Foundation—in partnership with the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education, & Training—has released the first in a series of free online courses relating weather to the environment. The course can serve as a primer on how weather events relate to the health of a watershed and how the public can take simple actions to protect watershed health. Free registration is required.

Materials From the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academies of Science

The museum houses three exhibits: Wonders of Science; Global Warming: Facts and Our Future; and Infectious Diseases: Evolving Challenges to Human Health. At the section for teachers, you'll find teacher-tested classroom resources to integrate in lesson planning, including activities and webquests (for grades six through college) related to global warming and infectious disease. Teachers can engage students through virtual and in-house field trips for middle and high school students.

AV Is Cool! Teachers Resource

If you’re a middle school or high school teacher who is seeking ways to make your lessons relevant, craft a lesson on the real world of audiovisual (AV) technology, which is all around us and directly correlates to the science concepts you teach. InfoComm International has published a 24-page Teachers Resource to help you accomplish this. InfoComm can also try to connect you with an AV professional in your community who can visit your classroom. For answers to your questions, e-mail InfoComm International.

Study guides to accompany the film Sharkwater

This documentary follows filmmaker and biologist Rob Stewart through 15 countries as he chases poachers, avoids arrest, and swims with sharks to debunk stereotypes that sharks are human-eating monsters. Students watching the film can gain knowledge of what’s happening in the world’s oceans and the impact on humans. The Education Section of the film's website has study guides for grades four and up.

Estuaries: Where the Rivers Meet the Sea

NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve educational website aims to advance estuarine and coastal literacy. Explore these living classrooms and laboratories--our estuaries--and learn about the science and how to protect them.

Clean Up the Classroom Kits

Clorox is donating thousands of Clean Up the Classroom kits to schools (one kit per classroom while supplies last). The information includes tips for teachers on helping maintain a clean classroom, as well as instructional DVDs for teachers and children about the importance of good hygiene. Free tips for parents and students are also available on the website.

Chemistry Comes Alive!

This award-winning collection from the Journal of Chemical Education presents 16 short videos, including such titles as Denaturation of Protein, Oxidation of Glycerin, and Like Dissolves Like.

Barbara Morgan, Educator Astronaut Poster

Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan makes her first spaceflight on STS-118. Educator Astronauts are teachers with expertise in K–12 classrooms who are selected by NASA to become fully qualified astronauts. With their backgrounds, they will help lead NASA in the development of new ways to connect space exploration with the classroom and to inspire the next generation of explorers. The back of the poster lists information for teachers on how and where to obtain NASA resources.

Pollinator Week Resources

The Pollinator Partnership announces National Pollinator Week has been made official by the U.S. Senate (S.Res. 580) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The website offers some resources for teachers and students, as well as a listing of Pollinator Week events happening across the country.

The Ansari EGGS PRIZE

This contest, modeled after the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE, is designed for middle school learners. A supporting curriculum prepares students for the competition with a series of activities that require students to focus on the math, science, and technology concepts needed to solve a design problem over an eight-week period. EGGS PRIZE winners must build and launch a water rocket to an altitude of at least 30 meters, and a raw egg aboard the rocket must survive the flight unbroken.

The Burning Question

Four teacher-created classroom resources from balance manufacturer Adam Equipment are available to download and photocopy. The newest selection, titled The Burning Question: A Conservation of Matter Experiment, introduces a safe yet effective method for demonstrating the law of conservation of matter, using burning steel wool in both an open and closed environment. The experiments, developed and tested by teachers in the field, come with reproducible student sheets and a teacher support guide. Other topics covered include density and osmosis.

Monitors for Studying the Sun

How do you convince students at underprivileged schools that science is cool? Give them high-tech tools to study the Sun. Deborah Scherrer, education director at Stanford University’s Solar Center, heads a project to produce and distribute instruments that monitor the Sun's impact on the ionosphere. She and her colleagues hope that these small and easy-to-use tools will encourage underprivileged students here and in developing countries to get involved in science. The project is actively soliciting high school and community college teachers around the world who would like to have a monitor for their class. Supplies are limited, and monitors are most frequently placed in schools serving underrepresented students.

Hotlinks for Middle School Resources

This website from Kean University in New Jersey offers middle level educators weblinks to more than 400 sites chosen for their quality and special relevance to teaching middle school students. The science section includes links to government, university, museum, and private educational resource websites.

Four NETS for Better Searching

Four NETS for Better Searching offers a simple four-part approach to improving the success of students’ research on the web: start narrow, find exact phrases, trim back the URL, and look for similar pages. The simple, instructional site works best with each student or pair of students working at their own computer.

Astronomy Education Review

This web-based publication for people involved in astronomy education and outreach celebrates its fifth anniversary with its largest issue yet. Featured papers and articles cover the educational uses of online telescopes, guidelines to help teachers and curriculum developers cover concepts related to gravity, and a roundtable look at the educational implications of the new definition of a planet.

Announcements of conferences, awards, and other opportunities are also included. Click on “back issues,” then on “vol. 5, no. 2.”

The Black-Footed Ferret

In this five-minute-long movie, wildlife biologists from the US Fish and Wildlife Service explain their efforts to save the black-footed ferret, an endangered species once thought to be extinct. From breeding ferret offspring to preparing them for release back into the wild, the work of these scientists provides a resource rich in math and science connections. An accompanying lesson plan for grades 6–12 offers a related problem-solving exercise.

Countertop Chemistry

Teachers, parents, and kids can go to The Science House: Countertop Chemistry to find instructions for experiments that don’t require fancy equipment. Grouped in six broad categories—Properties of Matter; Properties of Gases; Micro-Chemistry Reactions; Properties of Solutions, Suspensions, and Colloids; Acids, Bases, and Indicators; and Games—these activities for K–12 students include “Dancing Spaghetti,” “Formulas Poker,” and “Oobleck.” The site was designed by an outreach program at the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at North Carolina State University.

Mummy science

The AwesomeStories website, which gathers and presents primary-source information useful to educators, has compiled 10 chapters on the history and science of mummies. Topics include Incan mummies, the frozen mummies of crewmembers from an ill-fated Arctic expedition (links lead to photographs), and of course, King Tut. Some material is available only to site members, but subscriptions are free.

Compliance strategies for the lab

EH&E, a provider of health-and-safety and engineering consulting services, has produced an informative report for managers of college and university laboratories. Titled “Three Proven Strategies for Upgrading Your Laboratory Environmental Health and Safety Program,” the publication details three approaches developed by EH&E staff.

Health Museum ask-a-question feature

The Health Museum is an interactive science experience for all ages that promotes understanding and appreciation of the human body and encourages a lifelong commitment to health and wellness. The museum’s mascot, Apple A. Day, gives tips for healthful living and will answer questions about the science of health and the human body.

At-home experiments

Sandia National Laboratories has put together a collection of one-page science activities appropriate for elementary-age children to try at home, with the same activities presented in Spanish on a second page.

Mission: SPACE

The Walt Disney World Resort celebrates the success of the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity with its Mission: SPACE attraction, which launches visitors on a simulated space adventure to the Red Planet. The Mission: Space website offers online training for the mission, including descriptions of crewmember roles, an astronaut personality test, a Space School quiz, and the chance to design a mission patch.

Xplora

The European Commission has launched the Xplora portal in an effort to attract more young people to scientific careers. Xplora provides resources for primary and secondary education, and is aimed at teachers, pupils, scientists, communication professionals, and others involved in science education. Key features include a searchable standards-based database of digital learning resources for science education; a series of virtual events with online expert discussions for schools; and science education news, teaching tips, and activity ideas.

MIT Women's Initiative Program

Each January, outstanding female engineering students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) School of Engineering are selected to visit middle and high schools nationwide to speak with young women about the excitement of careers in engineering. The presentations include activities to engage students in thinking about engineering concepts, demonstrations of projects on which the presenters have worked, and information about the fields of engineering and the life of an engineering student. The Women's Initiative program seeks to increase the number of women pursuing careers in engineering and computer science; it is run entirely by MIT students and is completely free for secondary school districts nationwide. Updated deadlines and the application form will be available in late summer, and applications will be accepted in September.

ANOVA Science website

The ANOVA Science website features information about the ANOVA Science Education Corporation’s mission, services, and products (including those based on the Research Investigation Process [RIP] inquiry-based K–12 program), as well as public service materials, such as the National Science Education Standards. It also includes examples of inquiry projects designed and conducted by students and teachers (such as a kindergarten exploration of oil spills) and a bulletin board devoted to discussions on science education and scientific inquiry.

Podcast series from Cable in the Classroom

Kids. Cable. Learning., the official podcast channel of Cable in the Classroom, offers interviews with leaders in education and the cable industry discussing how their fields intersect and can complement one another. Visitors will find more than 20 podcasts, such as an interview with Alton Brown, host of the Food Network’s Good Eats, on why science is a major part of his program and how teachers can apply his techniques to teach real-world science in their classrooms.

Science in School

The fourth issue of this European journal for science teachers is now available to read and download. Contents include articles written by teachers and scientists from nine different countries. Features explore such topics as the ethics of using stem cells and live animals in research, and a project allowing classes to control telescopes with a computer link and take their own astronomical pictures. Examples of ways to excite students about science include the Belgian scientists@work project, French multimedia science workshops, and the outreach work of a toothpaste-researcher.

Biology activities

Teachers can go online to request copies of three activities from BioFax!, a series of demonstrations and teaching ideas for biology and life science. Respiration vs. Photosynthesis challenges students’ critical-thinking skills with a demonstration that includes an apparent reversal of photosynthesis. Diffusion Blues in Agar Cells explores the relationship between diffusion and cell size by experimenting with model cells. In The Lynx Eats the Hare, students discover the link between two populations during a surprisingly realistic activity.

Manufacturing Is Cool

The Manufacturing is Cool website, created by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation, gives students a behind-the-scenes look into manufacturing. To inspire preteens and teens to pursue careers in engineering and manufacturing, the site details how kid favorites–snacks, fashion, cars, and cell phones–are designed and produced by engineers. The site also offers information on SME grants and scholarships, and on STEPS (Science, Technology, and Engineering Preview Summer) camps and academies for middle school and high school students.

University of Wisconsin STEM website

This STEM website from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse provides resources for preK–12 teachers, preservice teachers, librarians, and others interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) education. Links connect to professional teaching societies/organizations, subject-matter standards, appropriate trade books for given topics, and related websites.

LandHelp

With the LandHelp website from Colorado State University, student users can gain easy access to web-based resources on environmental topics. LandHelp contains links to 31 broad categories of information, which link to over 2,600 additional resources. The site provides a convenient, common resource base for emerging issues such as sustainability, agro-forestry, and small-acreage management. Major topics include fish and wildlife, forests, rangelands, pests, emergencies, recreation, and a “Teaching Packages” section.

Science for America

The Science for America website offers resources for planning and implementing science instruction, developing project-based learning curricula, and collaborating with colleagues. It provides submission, rating, and discussion tools so that users can easily find the best materials.

Space Guides

The Indiana State Museum has put together several activity guides focusing on space science education. Each guide addresses a particular grade range (K–2, 3–5, and 6–12) and covers topics from equilibrium to robotic exploration. Additional activities related to fuel cells, rocket power, and lift-off technology are also available to download.

Food Safety Music

The Food Safety Music website presents educational food-safety songs and accompanying materials created by a food toxicologist at the University of California. Visitors can access 27 downloadable tunes (for example, “We Are the Microbes” sung to the tune of “We Are the Champions,” and “Who Left the Food Out?” to the tune of “Who Let the Dogs Out?”), PowerPoint presentations with accompanying lyrics and clip-art, lyric files, and Flash animations. Songs address a wide variety of food safety topics in musical styles ranging from country to rap.

Thinkfinity

The Verizon Foundation’s digital learning platform combines standards-based K–12 educational content and professional development with research and evidence-based resources and practices. The Thinkfinity Calendar, found at the website, features a teachable topic and related lesson plan for every day of the month. Users can also browse the Student Materials Index, a collection of over 540 interactives and other tools that support K–12 learners, or download Teacher’s Guide: Bringing Innovative Ideas Into Your Classroom.

Earth: The Living Planet

World Book, Inc., is showcasing the planet in Earth: The Living Planet. The site provides students, educators, and families with a detailed account of the geography, geophysical history, ecology, and exploration of the planet.

The site offers a comprehensive understanding of why Earth is able to support life, how the planet has changed over time, and what geologists and other Earth scientists have learned as they've uncovered Earth's history. Biographies of scientists who have studied the planet, including British geologist Sir Charles Lyell, German mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner, and Scottish geologist James Hutton, can inspire students and teach them about how different sciences apply to the study of the planets.

Sea Stories

This international online quarterly journal of marine writing and art is published by the conservation organization Blue Ocean Institute. In a recent issue, readers could join children exploring the beach, gaze into the eye of a wild dolphin, or listen in on the daily lives of seabirds. Teachers can use Sea Stories as the basis for classroom projects that integrate writing, science, and environmental awareness; submissions from both teachers and students are welcomed.

Resources to Accompany PBS Series FETCH!

Free resources that accompany the new PBS children's science series FETCH! With Ruff Ruffman are:

FETCH! Activity Guide, which contains science challenges for small group of students;

FETCH! Challenge Sheets—reproducible pages that can be used at events, workshops, and science club meetings; and

FETCH! News Flash, a bimonthly e-newsletter for updates, tips for leading activities, extension ideas, and information on the series’ latest web features.

Send an e-mail message containing your postal address to fetchnews@wgbh.org to receive these items.

Wild Kids

The Wild Kids website from the Australian Museum in Sydney lets elementary students explore six Australian habitats as well as nearby Antarctica. Detailed information on the wildlife living in these habitats includes photographs, illustrations, and factual descriptions.

Virus lesson plan

This elementary-level lesson originated from the PBS series NOVA episode titled “Ebola—The Plague Fighters.” The simple exercise examines how viruses are spread by simulating and tracing the spread of ebola.

Geology.com

Geology and Earth science teachers and students will find numerous resources and teaching ideas at Geology.com, including a set of five maps for each U.S. state and links to satellite imagery. The site also contains mineral identification charts, views of some of Earth’s largest meteor impact craters, a visual explanation of tsunamis, an online geology dictionary, and information about careers in Earth science.

Cheetahs

This short movie from The Futures Channel provides an introduction to cheetah behavior. Accompanying lesson guides for grades 6–12 cover population equations and growth and explore approaches toward saving the bald eagle.

Interactive Molecules

This online exhibit, titled “Featured Molecules,” highlights interactive images that are linked to molecular structures from articles in the print version of the Journal of Chemical Education. While many such web-based collections exist, here the structures are in a single location and linked to specific articles in the journal.

Student Experiments at Sea (SEAS)

This web-based science education program is for middle level and high school students studying Earth science, life science, oceanography, and related subjects. The SEAS activities use real examples and recent data from deep-sea research, along with interactions with scientists, to teach about the scientific inquiry process. Learning outcomes address the National Science Education Standards, and participation is teacher-directed. The website includes the SEAS curriculum, lab instructions, and a collection of research articles.

Threshold: Exploring the Future of Education

The Winter 2007 issue of this quarterly journal, produced by the US cable industry’s education foundation and the State Educational Technology Directors Association, focuses on personalized education. Topics include strategies and tools for teachers; a discussion with education experts on personalization and technology; assessment tools for personalized instruction; and best practices from a professional development model program in New Mexico.

Teachers guide to wind energy

This 15-page guide from the American Wind Energy Association provides teacher background information, ideas for sparking students’ interest, suggestions for activities to do both inside and outside the classroom, and research tools for teachers and students.

Optics: Light at Work

A new DVD from SPIE (the International Society for Optical Engineering) was designed to generate awareness of and interest in the field of optics and related career opportunities (see a webcast of the video). Intended for students ages 12–13, the video provides examples of optics technology in nano-medicine, space telescopes, and solar energy, and it emphasizes the sheer fun of creating things that people need—and making a career out of it. For a copy of the DVD, e-mail your request to pascale@spie.org.

Cosmic Journey: A History of Scientific Cosmology

Educators and historians at the Center for History of Physics developed the Cosmic Journey website, which traces the ways that scientists have explored the structure of the universe. Topics range from ancient Greek philosophers to the peculiar giant telescopes of the 18th century and recent discoveries about dark matter. The site focuses on the big ideas of cosmology, the scientific tools of discovery, and the scientists who used them.

How-to Tips for Teaching High School Science

An experienced teacher has developed a how-to website featuring ideas about how to better teach tricky science concepts and generally relate well to high school students. The information is organized like a Help file, with a Table of Contents, list of topics and subtopics, an index, and a search mechanism.

Global Atlas Images

One Planet, Many People: Atlas of Our Changing Environment, produced by the United Nations Environment Programme, provides a visual presentation of the global environment, shown through remote-sensing imagery produced over three decades. A collection of 405 PowerPoint slides showing images categorized by region and theme (e.g., atmosphere, cropland, and extreme events) can be downloaded. The images show how human actions and geophysical activities have changed the world, from the growth of cities like Las Vegas to the decline of the Aral Sea and Lake Chad.

Forensic science resources

An Australian website offers helpful material to teachers who are exploring forensic science, with links to numerous online resources.

Biology Learning Modules

This new online tool from the Federation of American Scientists illustrates the implications of dual-use biology research through case studies. Undergraduate biology students and advanced high school biology students can use the material to learn about the historical background of bioterrorism; bioweapons; and current laws, regulations, and treaties that apply to biodefense research.

Experimenting with Bill Nye

Bill Nye “the Science Guy” provides easy access to hard science on his television series, and his website has hands-on, educator-designed classroom experiments complete with internet links, downloadable student recording sheets, and assessment rubrics on a wide variety of topics.

Discover Educator’s Guide

Each month from September through May, Discover produces an online Educator’s Guide that provides teachers with supplemental materials to enhance the use of the magazine in their curriculum. The guide features monthly lesson topics, quizzes, and activities focusing on three articles from the current issue of Discover.

Northwest Educational Technology Consortium's Lesson, Unit Plans

Teachers often need to integrate digital technologies into their classroom instruction and 21st-century skills into their curriculum planning. What do successful versions of these integrated lesson and unit plans look like in practice? The Northwest Educational Technology Consortium offers four examples, including all the materials created and used by the teachers and students.

Project Interactivate

The Project Interactivate website offers interactive Java-based courseware for the exploration of math-related science, including activities, lessons, and discussions. The site includes sections for learners and for instructors, dozens of virtual manipulatives that can be used online, and suggestions for aligning the available materials with several popular math textbooks.

Weather Station Education Center

WeatherShack.com features a page that will help science teachers understand how to set up and use an indoor electronic weather station. The guide details the history of weather-observing tools such as the anemometer, thermometer, hygrometer, barometer, and rain gauge; what each instrument measures; and how to properly install them.

Resources for English-language learners

A teacher from Sacramento, California, has compiled a collection of categorized science-related links and resources helpful to teachers of English-language learners.

Marine biology website

This marine biology site comes from a nonprofit volunteer organization of marine biologists, students, professors, and conservation advocates working together to share the wonders of the ocean realm. It includes links to the latest marine biology news, research, and discoveries; games for kids; ocean history and mysteries; information on marine biology camps, internships, and field trips; and active message boards.

At-home astronomy activities

Middle level and high school students can explore astronomy at home with their families with a set of 10 experiments from the Center for Science Education @ Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California-Berkeley. Activities include building a lunar settlement, learning how to make and use a simple astrolabe, and investigating meteoroids and the craters they make.

The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science

Scientists contributed to this collection of dozens of examples of science being misused and misrepresented in the political arena. Information on such topics as childhood lead poisoning, toxic mercury contamination, and endangered species can be viewed by alphabetical list, issue area, timeline, or agency/department. Produced by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Web 2.0 movies

Two new professional-development videos created for educators offer a basic introduction to blogs and wikis. Blog If You Love Learning and Wiki While You Work (both QuickTime) were prepared for the 2006 K–12 Online Conference, a web-based gathering of more than 40,000 educators worldwide. The videos and other resources prepared for the conference can be viewed online or downloaded.

Categorizing Celestial Objects

A lesson plan and additional resources, appropriate for grades 9–12, address the controversy over Pluto’s changing planetary status and include background information from public broadcasting’s NewsHour With Jim Lehrer program, along with activities and handouts for a 45-minute lesson. Correlations with the National Science Education Standards are outlined.

The iWASwondering.org website

This National Academy of Sciences project showcases the accomplishments of contemporary women in science as it highlights the varied and intriguing careers of some of today’s most prominent scientists. The site draws from and accompanies the publication of a 10-volume series of biographies for middle level students entitled Women's Adventures in Science. The scientists profiled in the books contributed to the website content. So if you were wondering whether a lobster can smell things underwater, find out at iWASwondering.org.

CAPCO Science Class Challenge Kit

The Consumer Aerosol Products Council (CAPCO) offers a kit that contains all of the materials necessary to teach your students about the Earth's protective upper ozone layer, CFCs, and aerosol products. The kit includes a teachers guide, classroom activities, experiments, homework assignments, and the DVD Another Awesome Aerosol Adventure. The kit can serve as a companion to CAPCO's Science Class Challenge, a competition in which you can design your own creative method of teaching important environmental issues. Through the Science Class Challenge, teachers can earn $250–$5,000 for their schools as well as a pizza party for their class.

Teacher magazine

This independent publication is now published six times per year, and teachers can register for free online access to the magazine as well as e-newsletters, blogs, chats, and other companion materials. Teacher hopes to give its readers the information and tools they need to become leaders in their schools.

Charlotte’s Web—The Story Behind the Movie

The movie version of Charlotte’s Web prompted the folks at Awesome Stories to assemble background information—including science information—about the book and the film. Students can learn about spiders like Charlotte (how they spin their webs, eat, lay eggs, and balloon), as well as pigs (like Wilbur) and rats (like Templeton). The site also offers links to lesson plans and scientific links for older students.

EnviroHealth Connections website

The site houses resources created to support middle and high school teachers and students in exploring the relationship between the environment and human health. You’ll find comprehensive lesson plans and activities, a discussion board, and educational resources for the classroom.

Resources and activities on ocean life

The online guide and activities from the American Museum of Natural History’s Milstein Hall of Ocean Life explain key concepts related to the ocean’s diverse and complex web of life and includes an easy-to-navigate database of K–12 educational materials.

OLogy website

Check out a page devoted to “the study of” many things in the Kids and Families section of the American Museum of Natural History website. It features hands-on activities, articles, games, and OLogy cards that kids ages 7–12 can collect, organize, and save on their own homepages. A downloadable guide for educators is also available.

KidsHealth in the Classroom

This site hosts health education materials for all grade levels, including more than 100 teachers guides that offer activities, reproducible handouts, and quizzes, all aligned to the national health education standards. A guide recently featured here covered eating disorders for students in grades 9–12. In addition, a free, grade-specific e-newsletter service offers current health education news and curricula.

ScienCentral newscasts

The independent news bureau for ScienCentral reports on medical, environmental, and technological issues in features that are broadcast on local stations. Afterward their initial appearance, these 90-second stories are made available for online viewing. Recent videos covered cloned beef safety and cell phone viruses.

National Zoo’s Conservation Central

This habitat education program explores the temperate forest, home of the giant panda and black bear, through online activities. Features include a middle school conservation curriculum, a walk through a virtual forest, and an exercise on designing a panda habitat.

Cornell University's Environmental Inquiry website

This website offers ideas and downloadable resources for high school students doing projects in environmental science. Features include specific research protocols; forms that can help students design experiments and then analyze, interpret, and present their results; and discussion boards and an online peer review forum. Links to numerous resources support the books in the NSTA Press Cornell Scientific Inquiry Series: Assessing Toxic Risk, Invasion Ecology, Decay and Renewal, and Watershed Dynamics.

Curriculum resources from Cornell

Resources written by Cornell University graduate and undergraduate students working with middle and high schools through a National Science Foundation fellowship program can be downloaded from this Cornell science education website. Topics cover everything from latent heat in “hungry” hurricanes to the rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker.

Composting in the Classroom

This comprehensive guide for teachers interested in guiding composting research projects for high school students is now available as a free download. The 116-page book was positively reviewed by NSTA.

Exploratorium's Institute for Inquiry Website

This website offers guides for professional development workshops, a library of recommended resources, and other tools that can help the science education community reap the benefits of the institute’s decades of experience with inquiry-based teaching and learning. The institute seeks to support the effort to provide high-quality science education programs for students at all levels. Downloadable guidelines for presenting 10 different workshops are supported by previews of each one.

TryScience website

This global science resource offers instant access to information and interactive experiments from more than 600 of the world’s finest science and technology museums. Features include science experiments, virtual field trips to science centers worldwide, and a section for teachers on how to use TryScience in the classroom (grades 3-8).

The newly revised site has more powerful navigational tools that allow users to explore the site and its content without leaving the homepage. Language translations include German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, Arabic, and Portuguese.

Online conference resource

Teachers and other educators staged an online conference last fall presenting classroom-tested ideas and perspectives emphasizing 21st-century teaching strategies. Sample topics included finding and using free web tools and learning to podcast. All presentations are archived and can be viewed at any time; a list of available topics appears on the agenda page.

Making Science Accessible to English Learners

A new book titled Making Science Accessible to English Learners: A Guidebook for Teachers illustrates practical ways to teach science content and scientific language to English learners in grades 6–12. Teachers can access the chapter that covers techniques and accommodations for fair and accurate classroom assessment for these students.

Measure an ecological footprint

Elementary and middle school students can use this website to measure their own ecological footprints to see what kind of effect their choices have on the environment. A quiz to determine footprint size features a character named Bobbie Bigfoot. A longer quiz, better suited for older kids and adults, is also available.

MicrobeWorld

The American Society for Microbiology has revamped its MicrobeWorld website. Now containing more than 300 pages, the site presents introductory information about the science of microbiology, career profiles and interviews with leading researchers, surprising facts about microbial life, and a comprehensive photo gallery of microorganisms. The updated site also features audio and video podcasts, as well as RSS feeds and even mobile phonecasts. A resources section for educators, parents, and students includes experiments, lesson plans, and tools for microbiology education.

IBM website for early learning

IBM has launched a new website for early learning and technology. The site, which is presented in nine languages, includes a guide for parents to encourage early learning at home and a section for preschool teachers that details how they can best use technology to support learning in their classrooms. The Promising Practices section offers examples of science activities teachers have done with young children using computers in their classrooms.

Windows Into Wonderland

The National Park Service will take visitors to the Windows Into Wonderland website on electronic field trips into Yellowstone National Park. Designed for middle school students, each trip includes curricular materials for teachers and an Ask-an-Expert area with an archive of questions and answers. Topics covered during the 15 trips include geysers, wolves, bison, and fire ecology.

A Guide to California’s Wildlife on Private Forestlands

The Forest Foundation has produced a 38-page color booklet describing wildlife found in California’s privately managed forestlands. The guide also contrasts old and young forests and tells how those two environments appeal to different kinds of animals. The booklet can serve as an introduction to the forest for school-aged children.

2007 Flinn Scientific catalog

The 2007 Flinn Science Catalog/Reference Manual for Middle Schools features ideas, information, and products specifically for middle schools and junior high schools. Middle school teachers will find valuable lab ideas, helpful safety tips, and chemical storage and disposal techniques. Copies will be sent to science teachers at school addresses. To request a catalog, call 800-452-1261, or visit the Flinn Scientific website.

Whyville.net

The Whyville website invites children ages 8–15 to a virtual world of educational entertainment. Whyville, created by CalTech scientists, has built-in security and offers kids and teenagers numerous educational games related to math, science, technology, archaeology, and more. Inside Whyville, “citizens” experience hands-on, inquiry-based learning among peers.

Wildlife Monitoring Website

An interactive program created by the Friends of Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Maine offers users an opportunity to learn about the wildlife found in and around the refuge. This project was done by combining remote-sensing-camera video and still photographs collected with some of the latest technology available for wildlife monitoring. A high-speed internet connection is required. Mac and PC versions of the program can be ordered online.

Ask-a-scientist service

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, a nonprofit research and educational institution, posts questions from students, teachers and others on its website. Brief responses from researchers appear alongside the questions, which address topics ranging from viruses to stem cells. E-mail questions to webmaster@wi.mit.edu.

Pharmacists: Unsung Heroes

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) will send DVDs of the public television show Pharmacists: Unsung Heroes to high school science teachers. The AACP hopes the show will pique students’ interest in pharmacy as a career. The one-hour documentary traces the field’s history and explains it in depth. The DVD also features a 20-minute program designed to highlight related career opportunities. To request a copy of the DVD, send an e-mail message to smatthew@aacp.org.

Smithsonian’s satellite imagery website

The Smithsonian Institution has launched a website presenting views of conditions and events on Earth that are nearly impossible to document from the surface of the planet. This interactive site explains how satellite imagery is gathered and how it is used to expand our understanding of life on Earth. It features a virtual exhibition, suggested educational resources, and lesson plans and classroom activities that align with the National Science Education Standards.

Electronic Naturalist

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History produces the Electronic Naturalist, an interactive resource for teaching and learning. Each week, the website presents a different natural science unit for the classroom (one recent unit explained that raccoons don’t wash their food, people just think they do!). An “Ask a Naturalist” feature invites inquiries on natural science topics, and answers are posted on the site. Previous units are archived and categorized, and previews of upcoming units are available for teacher planning. A teacher resource database invites users to share their best natural science teaching resources and ideas.

PowerPoint career presentations

The Sloan Career Cornerstone Center presents downloadable PowerPoint presentations for teachers, counselors, and others interested in helping students learn about career paths in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, and computing. Presentations cover career forecasts, salary data, employers, university selection, and preparation guidelines.

Project: Connect

Project: Connect, a program from Qwest, consists of a series of seven interactive online games. These games teach participants about the technology of the telecommunications industry. In one game, for example, students learn about the principles and underlying physical concepts of fiber optic technology. In another, students gain science and technology design skills as they assemble a satellite and launch it into orbit. The Project:Connect program, primarily for grades 4–7, has already been implemented in more than 2,000 schools. To access the games, go to www.qwestpioneers.org and click on the Project:Connect logo. Use Qwestguest as your login and Arizona as your password.

The Consumers Guide to Afterschool Science Resources

This online guide offers reviews of hands-on science content for after-school programs. Reviewed materials include semester- and year-long curricula, activity kits, instructor guides, and websites with content appropriate for after-school programs. Users can search and sort entries by title, subject, grade level, audience, and cost. A brief description of each resource is accompanied by two expert reviewers’ detailed commentary.

Teachers’ Network

Veteran teachers have contributed their personal best practices and other suggestions based on their classroom experience to www.teachersnetwork.org. Visitors can find concrete suggestions on specific topics, such as “Chemistry in Art: Crossing the Curriculum,” and on particular projects (“Setting Up a Hands-On Science Center in the Classroom”; “Forming a Science Club”). The site also contains hundreds of lesson plans, searchable by subject, grade level, and keyword.

Lesson on evaluating medical studies

Get your high school students thinking critically about corporate health research. In this lesson, students will identify methods of scientific research in real-world examples, examine studies, and analyze reported results.

K–5 GeoSource

The American Geological Institute (AGI) launched this professional development site for elementary teachers who teach Earth science topics such as weather, fossils, rocks, soil, water, and more. At www.k5geosource.org, teachers will find resources designed to help them master standards-based science content, plan lessons and activities in the Earth sciences, assess student learning, and tailor instructions to meet their needs. Educators will can also explore up-to-date career information and other opportunities available to geoscience students, investigate links to educational resources in the geosciences, access professional development opportunities available for Earth science educators, delve into research on how children learn, and enroll in online graduate courses to improve teaching and increase content knowledge.

Earth Day Network’s (EDN) Environmental Education Program

Students and teachers interested in environmental issues can take advantage of this program. The Educator's Network offers user-friendly tools for integrating environmental issues into core curriculum subjects and provides games and other activities for kids. EDN’s educational resources and the Civic Education Page make learning about environmental issues true-to-life for students by attaching the subject matter to real issues that affect their neighborhoods and communities and by also linking these issues to civic education and engagement.

Teachers of all grade levels and subject areas may register with Earth Day Network's Educator’s Network. Registration is free, and all members have complete access to all materials developed by Earth Day Network.

Planet Plant Classroom Module

Botanic Gardens Conservation International’s module was designed with input from the U.S. environmental education community. It allows middle school classroom teachers to enhance their existing curricula with a week-long module focused on plant conservation, including ways to incorporate a visit to a local botanic garden. This program is in the evaluation stages, but is available in draft form. If you download the curriculum documents, you are agreeing to serve as a pilot classroom for this project.

Cogno Science Challenge

Each week, share with your students a thought-provoking science puzzler, drawn from the award-winning Cogno science board games. You’ll receive a weekly e-mail with a fully illustrated one-pager, ready to be photocopied for students. The e-mail message includes the answer and explanation, allowing you to facilitate as much or as little discussion as you like. Students will learn about astronomy, forces and motion, and life sciences. Scientists at NASA and the SETI Institute have reviewed all of the content.

Science Fair Central Kit and DVD

This package promises to be a science fair survival kit for elementary and middle school teachers and their students. Funded by Elmer’s and produced by Discovery Education, it offers organizational tips, a teachers guide, student magazines, and a classroom poster. The DVD includes three segments about planning a fair.

Environmental Science Units

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry offers K–12 curriculum materials and resources for middle and high school students and teachers. You’ll find educational units for middle and high school teachers and students. Units include Sustainable Communities, Environmental Analysis of Watersheds, and Willow Biomass Energy. The site also contains a roundup of environmental links.

Science Question Libraries

Eduware produces the Wizard Test Maker and The EduGame! Interactive Classroom System. The software provides extensive standards-based question libraries (more than 25,000 in science alone) and student learning activities that use “wands” (student remotes with easy-to-use keypads). To request a fully functional demo of the test-making or classroom-activity software and a trial wand pack, complete the form at the Eduware website, or call 888-EDUWARE.

Track Star Interactive

TrackStar allows teachers to create interactive, online lessons called tracks by combining links to relevant websites with their own annotations; those tracks can then be accessed by other teachers as well. TrackStar already includes thousands of tracks contributed by educators, with a database searchable by subject, grade level, or standard. A monthly calendar even includes an on-topic track for each day—how about studying different types of animal feet on Wiggle Your Toes Day?

Science in School

This new European journal is dedicated to promoting science teaching and covers biology, physics, chemistry, Earth sciences, and math. The journal contains teaching materials, cutting-edge science, education projects, interviews with young scientists and inspiring teachers, education research, book reviews, European events for teachers, and an online discussion forum. In addition to English, online articles are published in many European languages; a print version is distributed in English. Read them at www.scienceinschool.org. To receive an alert when each issue is published, send an e-mail message with “Subscribe to Science in School” in the subject line to scienceinschool@embl.de.

Mercury Map and Curriculum

At the Mercury Map and Curriculum website, click on any state and use direct links to government offices that deal with various aspects of mercury, including food content and proper disposal. Teachers can download a suggested curriculum that includes activities for students to investigate the presence of mercury in their homes, schools, and communities. The University of Wisconsin Extension Service collaborated with EPA to produce this site.

Plants to Grow

Visit www.plantstogrow.com for a storehouse of information about plants, especially if you want to learn more about properly matching plants to planting sites. The searchable database includes more than 1,300 plants/groups, with more than 5,100 pictures. Each plant or group of plants is displayed on a printable page. This site also houses the Botany 101 botanical “pictionary,” which contains additional pictures along with fact pages, site links, and definitions for more than 1,800 terms.

Science and Society Podcasts

This talk-radio program focuses on nanotechnology, life sciences, energy and the environment, space exploration, and K–12 science education. The program features interviews with researchers, industry executives, and government officials, with more than 400 persons interviewed over the past few years.

Perfect Disaster

The Discovery Channel created the Perfect Disaster website, which includes some historic disaster puzzles. Visitors can piece together the post-eruption locale of Pompeii and the mighty tornado that swept through Kirksville, Maryland, in 1899. Students can learn about the Fujita Tornado Scale, which classifies tornadoes based on their estimated wind speeds, and actually enter a “virtual tornado.” The Flash Player is required to view Perfect Disaster.

GLOBIO’s Glossopedia

This free, interactive, online science encyclopedia for elementary-school science and general studies applications is comprised of a series of interlinked, informative multimedia articles written specifically for children ages 8–12. Each article contains text, video clips, audio files (e.g., vocabulary pronunciation guides and recorded animal sounds), photo galleries, maps, interactive features, and content-related vocabulary lessons. From the entry page, users can perform a text search; “GeoSearch,” a geography-based graphic interface; conduct random image searches, and access a rotating Feature Article.

The EnergyTeachers.org (ETO) Website

EnergyTeachers.org assists educators interested in teaching about energy production and use. ETO wants to revitalize energy teaching by encouraging teachers to exchange ideas on new energy topics and related teaching techniques. The website features recent news articles, curriculum-planning ideas, a bibliography, and a forum for communication with other teachers.

Walden: The Ballad of Thoreau

This play about the final two days that Henry David Thoreau spent at his Walden Pond cabin is available free-of-charge for high schools and colleges to present in recognition of Earth Day 2007. The four-character play consists of two 35-minute acts and serves to remind students about the concerns of the famous naturalist, who may not be as familiar to young people today as he should be. Educators can download the script, posters, production tips, music, handbills, and related lesson plans from the website; to obtain the password necessary to access these materials, contact your state’s Earth Day coordinator or send an e-mail to producer@waldenplay.com.

Rainforest Alliance Learning Website

This Rainforest Alliance Learning website enables teachers to access complete lesson plans, stories (available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese), presentations, articles, and posters for grades K-8. The standards-based curricula cover broad themes of rainforest conservation while touching on topics like songbird migration, the banana and chocolate industries, and the local indigenous cultures.

Podcasts from National Geographic

Teachers and students now have access to these educational podcast programs, which cull material from existing National Geographic content and also present newly produced features. The podcasts include reports on the week’s top science and nature news, as well as interviews with renowned scientists and explorers.

Designing Sanitation Systems

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) developed several classroom challenges/activities that are available to download. The exploration of sanitation systems offers students at different levels a chance to try their skills at designing and building a sanitation system model. Teacher information includes correlations with national standards, suggestions for additional resources, diagrams, and a scoring rubric.

Cyber Camp

This virtual-reality summer camp, part of the 4-H Youth Development Plan, is a web-based learning environment for kids ages 8–12. Through online activities in a safe zone (no ads and no external links), campers learn about ecosystems, health and safety, and arts and culture as they participate in fun activities. Only parents, guardians, and caregivers can register campers.

Geological Time Machine

On this website from the Museum of Paleontology at the University of California, Berkeley, users can take a tour of any and every geological time period. Click on a given period to explore its stratigraphy, localities, life forms, and tectonics. Additional links lead to related sites.

Case of the Barefoot Burglar

In this forensic science activity, middle level and high school students investigate a crime scene and use math and science to determine who the culprit is. Students measure feet size to body height ratios, match teeth impressions to a bite in a piece of chocolate, and learn about dactyloscopy (fingerprinting).

Becoming a Meteorologist

This page on the Weather Channel website explains all about becoming a meteorologist. Students can learn everything from what classes to take in high school, to which colleges have programs, to appropriate amateur pursuits and the various types of professional positions within the field.

Sightseer’s Guide to Engineering

Take the grand tour of engineering highlights by visiting this website created by the National Society of Professional Engineers. You can search by engineering discipline (ceramics, automotive, computer, etc.) or by category (bridge, dam, sports facility, etc.), or you can click on a map of the US to see the sights in a particular state. Each stop on the tour includes a brief description, a fun fact, visitor information, and a link to the spot’s own website.

Global Information System Tools

Geographic information system (GIS) tools are increasingly a part of lessons in environmental, biological, and Earth sciences. Teachers and students can use these tools to tackle problem-based instruction and community research projects. eSchool News Online has compiled a set of GIS news stories, best practices, and web links for teachers.

Conference PowerPoints

The Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS) has collected and made available on its website PowerPoint presentations from the group’s conferences. Current selections include Genetic Witness: DNA at the Scene of the Crime; The Science Behind the Earthquake and Tsunami of December 26, 2004; and To the Moon and Beyond!

Animal Videos

See live streaming video of various animals, along with background text and recorded video, at this Animal Planet website. Recent subjects have included Appaloosa horses as well as pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and Tai Shan at the National Zoo.

Classroom Performance System

The company that produces CPS—a real-time, interactive, wireless-response-pad technology system for the classroom—offers online training sessions that cover overview and introduction, installation and hardware setup, and how to use the system to manage and evaluate student performance data. The 45-minute sessions are scheduled on a rotating basis. For practical ideas on how best to use CPS and for additional resources such as a forum for sharing teaching-with-CPS success stories, check out the Engaging Technologies website.

Inside Einstein’s Universe

NASA and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics marked the centennial of Einstein’s “miracle year” by creating a website that offers interactive learning resources for science educators. The resources available on Inside Einstein’s Universe focus on three questions: Did the universe have a beginning? What happens at the edge of a black hole? and, Will space expand forever? Among the printed guides, lesson plans, and interactive web features are “The Incredible Two-Inch Universe” activity; a lab exploration of spectra and galactic motion for grades 8–12; and the “Black Hole Explorer” board game for ages 10 and up.

Chem Fax Demonstrations

“The Self-Igniting Candle” allows teachers to present content on thermochemistry and decomposition reactions in an entertaining way, and “1 + 1 Does Not Equal 2” uses a counter-intuitive demonstration to introduce concepts related to stoichiometry and acids and bases. Teachers can access copies of the Chem Fax materials at the Flinn Science website.

Universe in the Classroom

Each issue of this quarterly electronic newsletter for classroom teachers focuses on a current topic of astronomy and includes classroom activities to bring the topic alive for students. You can subscribe to receive alerts about new issues. One back issue, for example, focused on the transit of Mercury and included two classroom activities to help students learn about the meaning of the transit and tips for observing the transit from your school.

Water Education Posters

Colorful paintings depict important facts about navigation, ground water, water quality and other topics. Two versions appeal to primary or middle school learners. Teachers can download the posters in JPEG format. Students can complete the suggested activities included on each poster. The US Geological Survey developed these posters.

Building Homes of Our Own

This award-winning simulation home-building program developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) allows middle and high school students to experience each step of the home-building process, from selecting a location and obtaining permits through construction and material selection to reviewing credit histories of potential buyers. The program's interactive gaming technology applies real-world context to core lessons in science, math, civics, language arts, technology, and personal financial responsibility coursework. The CD-ROM, which includes a comprehensive printable lesson plan guide, is available through www.homesofourown.org.

This year’s theme for National Chemistry Week (NCW) is “Your Home—It’s All Built on Chemistry.”

Futures Channel Movies

Each week at www.thefutureschannel.com, The Futures Channel’s Screening Room presents a short movie that can help your students realize the importance of science and math in a variety of careers and situations. Teachers guides to accompany the movies are also available.

UN Atlas of the Oceans

Almost half of the world’s entire population lives close to an ocean. The Atlas of the Oceans website offers three main sections. “About” explains the history, biology, and climatology of oceans, and offers maps and statistics. “Uses” describes fishing, shipping, and vacationing. “Issues” provides information and resources on food security, human health, and other topics. “Geography,” still under development, will present information arranged by geographic area.

Simulations for AP Physics

Simulations for Advanced Placement Physics offers a collection of links to simulations compiled by the teacher of an advanced-placement physics course. These web-based resources can be used either in the classroom to help students visualize concepts, or as virtual lab activities.

Pre-engineeering Newsletter

The Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) produces a monthly newsletter, The Pre-Engineering Times, for high school students. Each issue highlights a different discipline of engineering and features career information, engineer interviews, classroom resources, and JETS activity updates.

Roundtable re: Pluto

The online journal Astronomy Education Review gathered the opinions of 14 experts in science and education in order to help guide teachers in presenting lessons that deal with the newly revised definition of “planet.” The controversial revision, announced by the International Astronomical Union, is addressed from scientific, political, and educational perspectives. The Review also offers a historical timeline and a guide to educational resources on the subject.

Promethean Planet Resource Center

This software company’s website gives educators access to more than 1,500 flipchart lesson plans submitted by teachers. Searching by topic, subject area, grade level, and state standard, registered users can choose to download lessons based on the company’s Activclassroom products. Go to www.prometheanplanet.com/us and click on Resources.

BEN Biology Resources

A collaborative group of professional societies and coalitions for biology education, led by AAAS, developed the BiosciEdNet (BEN) site to provide users with accurate and reliable resources for teaching the biological sciences, including searchable access to the digital library collections of its partners. Basic and advanced searches are possible, and users can browse by subject or resource type.

FUSE Satellite Telescope

The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite telescope examines light in the far ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The data collected by FUSE may help answer questions about interstellar gases and the chemicals present during the formation of galaxies and solar systems. FUSE-related lesson materials for middle level and high school students, a printable paper model, and program descriptions in English and Spanish can be found at the FUSE website.

Resource Room, online

Register for the Resource Room to check out a variety of educational materials. Users can sort by keyword, theme, grade level, and curriculum area to find and download hands-on activities, unit guides, fact pages, and project ideas. A monthly e-newsletter featuring new resources, contest announcements, and online activity updates is also available.

Resources, Environmental Literacy

Visit www.enviroliteracy.org and click on For Teachers to find labs, activities, teaching tips, assessment tools, and textbook reviews for environmental science educators. This site includes links to numerous online resources such as state and federal governmental agencies and websites for kids and teachers. Users can search the site’s contents by topic (e.g., air and climate, energy, or ecosystems).

Science Books, Early Readers

To promote the importance of book ownership, author Bruce Larkin will donate sets of 50 science-related books to K–2 classroom teachers willing to distribute the books to students to take home. For each set of 50 free books, there is a $22.50 charge for shipping and handling. Go to the publisher’s website and click on Free Books for Your Students. This publisher is also looking for teacher authors, especially in the area of science; to learn more, go to the site and click on Have You Ever Wanted to Be a Writer?

Enviromental Health News

On this website dedicated to understanding the connections between the environment and human health, users will find breaking news, research results, and reports from environmental health organizations. Topics covered on the site and in its searchable archives include climate change, chemical contamination, water and air pollution, and genetic engineering. A free newsletter, Above the Fold, is also available.

Hurricane Forum Online

Teachers are invited to join this discussion forum, which focuses on the impact of hurricanes on the US and the relationship of these storms to the teaching and learning of weather within Earth science courses. The forum’s founder, a professor of science education, hopes that educators will share their best hurricane-related lessons and teachable moments in the forum.

Earthwatch Library

The archivist/staff librarian at the Earthwatch library in Maynard, Massachusetts, has graciously offered her services to the education community. She has collected volumes of materials both for loan and for taking from the Maynard library. If you are looking for information on conservation or scientific issues such as sea level rise, fresh water resources, or astronomy, just to name a few of the topics available, please contact Ann Austin at aaustin@earthwatch.org to see if some of the library's periodicals, archived briefings, and books may be of use to you and your classroom.

NSDL Middle School Portal

The NSDL Middle School Portal takes an in-depth look at teachable concepts in science and math for middle school students. Features include lively text and graphics along with background for teachers, interactive online activities, data analyses, and links to related topics. Updated features include new math and science articles with associated resources, and mini-collections of “just-in-time” resources designed to help teachers find high-quality classroom information streamlined for easy access. You are also welcome to comment and ask questions.

Air Pollution Lessons

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California has a program called ELSI in Science that focuses on ethical, legal, and social issues in an effort to stimulate discussions on the implications of scientific research. The lesson module on air pollution presents background information and classroom activities appropriate for middle level and high school students, and it includes numerous links to related resources.

Science for English Learners

Essential Elements of Effective Science Instruction for English Learners. The California Science Project is a university-based professional development network for teachers of science at all levels. Its Essential Elements publication addresses the challenges faced by English-language learners and their science teachers. Topics covered include vocabulary development, professional resources, and assessment. To download a copy, go to http://csmp.ucop.edu/csp/index.php.

High School Redesign

Windows on Conversions: A Multi-Media Exploration of Redesign at Four Comprehensive High Schools is an up-close and vivid examination of successful school redesign. The promising practices of four schools—in rural Maine, suburban California, inner-city Chicago and the urban fringe of Tacoma, Washington—have been documented in a this multimedia toolkit which includes an interactive DVD and written case studies of the four high schools. The toolkit enables users to learn about the conversion process from the frontlines, reported in the voices of teachers, administrators, parents and students who are successfully transforming their schools. The study kit provides vivid images of the promising practices and challenges facing comprehensive high schools as they convert to small schools and small learning communities, illustrating both the truly difficult work of converting existing schools into radically different types of learning environments as well as the promising outcomes this work can produce.

Blue Zones Video and Curriculum

Explore the science behind healthy longevity via Blue Zones Quest, with your students directing the discovery. Blue Zones Quest leader and National Geographic author Dan Buettner has led more than 15 interactive expeditions involving millions of students. Select "Watch Video" at the site for a glimpse into a long, healthy lifetime, and register for free Blue Zones curriculum.

Free Documentaries About First-Year Teachers

In 1999, director Davis Guggenheim undertook an ambitious project documenting the challenging first-year experiences of public school teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Two films were the result: the Peabody Award-winning documentary The First Year (78 minutes), which premiered on PBS, and TEACH (35 minutes), a powerful teacher recruitment tool. TEACH and The First Year document emotional journeys, raising issues of public education through intimate portrayals of young teachers at the start of their careers. They address the tremendous need for qualified teachers nationwide and aim to inspire a new generation of teachers.

Both films and additional resources for teachers can be downloaded from www.pbs.org/firstyear and www.teachnow.org.

Survival Guide for New Teachers

If you are new to the teaching field, or if you work alongside someone who is, then this book was written for you. Developed by the US Department of Education, Survival Guide for New Teachers—How New Teachers Can Work Effectively With Veteran Teachers, Parents, Principals, and Teacher Educators includes the reflections of award-winning first-year teachers who talk candidly about their successes and setbacks, with a particular emphasis on the relationships they formed with their colleagues, university professors, and their students’ parents. Veteran teachers, especially, are a powerful factor in a new teacher’s experience. The book includes suggestions about how new teachers can foster supportive professional relationships and what they stand to gain from them.

Project 3D-VIEW Interdisciplinary Science Curriculum

Project 3D-VIEW (Virtual Interactive Environmental Worlds), for grades 5–6, creates a virtual telepresence for students in each of the "spheres" of Earth science (biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere). Employing NASA Earth science mission data, three types of simple-to-use 3D learning technologies, and the internet, Project 3D-VIEW aims to help students become prepared for Earth system science topics and courses and science-based decision-making in high school and beyond. The project provides free training, materials, rubrics, and assessments.

Career Voyages Website

Visitors to Career Votages will find a virtual roadmap to numerous careers. Information about high-growth industries and in-demand occupations, as well as the education and skills they require, appears in sections geared to students, parents, career changers, and career advisors. This US Department of Education/Department of Labor site explores careers in fields such as energy, healthcare, and information technology, as well as in emerging industries such as biotechnology, geospatial technology, and nanotechnology. One section offers state-by-state numbers for “hot jobs”: occupations with the highest annual projected job opening rates and the largest employee needs.

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) Web Page

CFSAN is the arm of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) charged with “ensuring that the nation’s food supply is safe, sanitary, wholesome, and honestly labeled, and that cosmetic products are safe and properly labeled,” and it offers a web page with information for students of all ages and educators. Food-safety activities for students include many downloadable resources (such as coloring and activity pages, quizzes, songs, and games), as well as links to other relevant sites. Educators can also access a planning guide for marking National Food Safety Education Month.
The page also provides links to resources created by the FDA and various partners (including one from NSTA, a food science curriculum for middle and high school science classrooms). Go to the website and under the heading “Special Interest Areas,” select “Kids, Teens, and Educators.”

Your Life, Your World, Your Choices

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Make a Difference Campaign seeks to educate middle school students about steps they can take to promote resource conservation and environmental protection. The campaign includes Your Life, Your World, Your Choices, a free kit that helps guide students in making informed, environmentally aware decisions. The kit includes posters, booklets, flyers, and brochures, many available in Spanish, as well as a CD-ROM with 275 EPA publications on solid waste. The print materials cover everything from “green-scaping” the yard, to “green shopping,” to tracing the life cycle of a cell phone. To obtain the kit, go to the website and scroll down to the “Make a Difference” section.

Schoolyard Geology

Schoolyard Geology originated in San Quentin State Prison, where Matthew d’Alessio, a scientist with the US Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Team in Menlo Park, California, taught geology to inmates. After discovering how the prison yard could become a geological field site, d’Alessio developed this website, which explains how to conduct a geologic field trip in a schoolyard or backyard. Activities include mapping a schoolyard using USGS&@8217;s The National Map, locating and identifying rocks, and learning geologic concepts such as glacial striations, layers, and sinkholes.

Futures Channel Movies: Math and Science on Location

Each week at The Futures Channel, the Screening Room presents a short movie that can help your students realize the importance of science and math in a variety of careers and situations. Teachers guides to accompany the movies are also available.

Young people who like animals often think about a career in veterinary medicine, but do they connect that goal to their classroom lessons? Introduce them to Pamella Dendtler, a veterinarian and business owner who relies on math and science every day. Watch Veterinary Medicine on The Futures Channel.

K–12 Annotated Resources List for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Add to your teaching toolkit and infuse your curriculum with ideas for using science to help create a sustainable future by visiting this website, which was developed by and for K–12 teachers and sponsored by the US Partnership for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. You’ll find links to lesson plans, activities, and units of instruction; teacher professional development opportunities; benchmarks and standards; essential questions; and methods and models for integrating ESD into existing curriculum.

Thinkport, Maryland Public Television's Education Website

Thinkport houses numerous lesson plans, video clips, and student activities for K–12 students in all subject areas. Online field trips include the newest one about the science of the Chesapeake Bay. The EnviroHealth Connections section contains lesson plans, links, and PowerPoint presentations on environmental health topics.

PowerPoint Presentations on Atmospheric Chemistry

Theodore S. Dibble, associate professor of environmental chemistry at State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, gave a five-hour presentation on atmospheric chemistry at one of the CWCS workshops described below. Related PowerPoint presentations are available online, as are spreadsheets and links connected with the presentation.

The Center for Workshops in the Chemical Sciences (CWCS)

This National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement-sponsored initiative provides workshops for faculty at two- and four-year colleges and universities who want to learn something new to bring back to the classroom, as well as for individuals, including postdocs and graduate students, who plan to embark on a college teaching career. The workshops are designed to provide a background and modern perspective on key areas of the chemical sciences (broadly defined), along with methods to introduce these topics into the undergraduate curriculum.

Teaching Materials to Accompany the Film "Hoot"

The National Wildlife Federation, Walden Media, and New Line Cinema film Hoot is based on the Newberry Honor-winning book by Carl Hiaasen that tells an ecological detective story. In the movie, three Florida middle-school students fight to save a group of endangered burrowing owls nesting on the property where a brand new Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House is about to be built. The film's website offers teaching tools, materials, a discussion forum, and an activity poster for grades 4–6 with standards-based lessons spanning science, social studies, and language arts.

The American Museum of Natural History’s (AMNH) Resources for Learning

The AMNH Resources for Learning website contains a collection of activities, articles, evidence and analysis, and more for educators, families, students, and anyone interested in teaching or learning about science. Users can browse by topic—anthropology, astronomy, biology, Earth science, and paleontology—and the collection is broken out by grade level, title, and type of resource as well. The site also offers special collections organized around themes like Antarctica, ocean life, and the dynamic Earth.

Interactive Graphic of Hurricane Katrina

This interactive display, developed by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, demonstrates the failure of the hurricane protection system. An accompanying story tracks the progress of the flooding. Science and social studies teachers can use these materials to help students understand the storm’s true impact. Also see the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank for hundreds of photos, maps, and other resources.

Educational Packet on the Emerald Ash Borer

The Emerald Ash Borer is a beetle that feeds on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients. This packet for grades K–12 (PDF) covers history, identification, cultural implications, and uses of ash trees and includes mapping activities, invasive species activities, project ideas, and more. A related site has links to the packet, two color posters with information on ash trees, and a resource guide.

Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has made its 2005 Holiday Lectures on Science series available to teachers as a free, on-demand webcast or DVD. The four hour-long lectures cover evolution-related topics from the theories of a medical-school dropout named Darwin to recent discoveries in the fields of comparative physiology and developmental biology.

The two- DVD set includes detailed chapter stops, animations, an interactive feature on gene activity, and a discussion on evolution and religion with experts and students. To view the lectures or request the DVD, go to www.biointeractive.org. (HHMI will pay shipping costs.)

Marine Fisheries Series Activity Guide

This activity guide from Habitat Media covers topics from the Public Broadcasting Service’s (PBS) marine fisheries and aquaculture series Empty Oceans, Empty Nets and Farming the Seas. (Teachers can use the guide with or without the two PBS programs.) The guide includes six activities, each of which has been peer reviewed and correlated to national science and social studies education standards. Though designed for middle level and high school students, the activities may be adapted for other grade levels and can work well in classrooms as well as nontraditional educational settings such as nature or science centers, aquariums, and zoos.

Curriculum Materials and Resources on Environmental Science and Forestry

The State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry offers standards-based educational units for middle and high school teachers and students. Units include Sustainable Communities, Environmental Analysis of Watersheds, and Willow Biomass Energy. The site also contains a roundup of environmental links.

Website Focusing on the Water Cycle and Water Conservation

The Illinois Association for Plumbing and Mechanical Excellence has launched Get2KnowH2O.org, aimed at helping instructors meet their fourth-grade Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards in science. The site includes 20 science experiments for use in the classroom and can serve as a resource for children, parents, troop leaders, after-school program directors, and anyone interested in environmental issues. Instructors have access to a special part of the site where they can print worksheets and instructor guides.

Database of Engineering Outreach Programs

The American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE) free, searchable database is located on its EngineeringK12 Center website. The database continues to help parents, teachers, and students search nationwide for an outreach program that matches their needs. From lesson plans for teachers to engineering summer camps for students, the database lists hundreds of programs offered by universities, industry, and government.

My Wonderful World: Integrating Geography and Science

The goal of National Geographic Education Foundation’s five-year, multimedia My Wonderful World campaign ­is to improve the geographic literacy of young people ages 8-17 by motivating parents and educators to expand geographic learning in school, at home, and in their communities. The campaign’s website has links to geography games and online adventures for kids and teens, classroom materials for educators, and ways for children and adults to test their global IQs, along with other resources for integrating geography with science and other subjects.

Materials for Teaching About Avian Influenza

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) has created Zandi’s Song, a 28-page illustrated booklet about a girl who helps teach her village about avian flu. Accompanying this booklet are a 12-page teachers guide, posters, and a fact sheet that teachers can use to educate students about the disease and how to prevent it.

Middle-School Curricula from Texas A&M University’s Partnership for Environmental Education and Rural Health (PEER)

At the PEER website you'll find a web-based biology curriculum (covering cell systems, organ systems, and ecosystems) and a traditional CD/PowerPoint-based curriculum that integrates environmental health science topics into other science and nonscience classes. The latter curriculum centers around an adventure story in which middle-school students travel to different parts of the world to try to solve various health problems; “Hard River Escape,” for example, focuses on industrial waste that induces abnormalities in wildlife of Ukraine. The website also enables teachers to submit requests and questions to the PEER staff and includes a searchable database of related resources.

Evolution on the Front Line: An Abbreviated Guide for Teaching Evolution

Evolution on the Front Line is a 28-page guide that presents excerpts from Project 2061’s Science for All Americans, Benchmarks for Science Literacy, and other resources to help science educators teach key evolution concepts. The materials stress the need for students to understand how life evolved on Earth to become science-literate adults.

Chemicals in Schools: Solutions for Healthy School Environments

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is disseminating new publications about its Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign (SC3). SC3 encourages school and community partners to properly manage chemicals in schools from purchase through disposal. The brochures, entitled "Chemicals in Schools: Solutions for Healthy School Environments," give school personnel and community partners the information they need to protect students and staff from chemical accidents.

To download customizable versions of the K–12 Schools and Community Partners brochures or for additional information on healthy school environments, go to www.epa.gov/schools.

To order free copies of the K–12 Schools (EPA530-F-05-012) or Community Partners (EPA530-F-05-016) brochures, visit the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP); e-mail ncepimal@one.net; call 800-490-9198 or 513-489-8190; or write to US EPA/NSCEP, P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH 45242-0419.

The Georgia Tech CEISMC Gazette

This webzine is published monthly by the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC, a unit of Georgia Tech’s College of Sciences) to inform educators, parents, and K–12 students about research being conducted at Georgia Tech. Interviews with Georgia Tech researchers, alumni, and students, along with profiles of high school and middle school teachers associated with CEISMC, present the human side of science research and education. Subjects recently covered include biomechanics, experimental music, the potential cancer-curing properties of certain marine organisms, and printed electronics.

Detectives in the Classroom

Detectives in the Classroom explores the science of epidemiology at the middle level and provides lessons, teachers’ notes, student resources, worksheets, and background information in several formats. Through the curriculum investigations, students address five essential questions: (1) How is this disease distributed, and which hypotheses explain that distribution? (2) Does an association exist between the hypothesized cause and the disease? (3) Is this association causal? (4) What should be done when preventable causes of disease are found? and (5) Did the disease-prevention strategy work?

Starting Point: Teaching Entry-Level Geoscience

The Stating Point website from the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College is designed for teachers of undergraduate entry-level geoscience, environmental science, or related courses. Various teaching methods are described, and visitors can browse numerous examples of different methods used to teach particular geoscience topics. The site can help teachers make an informed decision about which methodology works best in a given teaching situation and enables them to implement that technique easily and well.

Teacher Activity Pages in The Why Files

This online magazine from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, which explores the science behind the day’s news, offers classroom activities tied to popular articles. Selecting the yellow pencil icon at http://whyfiles.org leads users to the article/activity pages, which feature relevant discussion questions, hands-on and online activities, quizzes, and lists of relevant standards. This resource can help teachers lead students to a better understanding of the scientific material covered in the articles.

Lessons on the Sun and Solar Energy for Grades 5–12

Through a program from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, 50 schools received a solar energy and data collection system (a two-kilowatt photovoltaic installation) in 2003. Now anyone can participate in the program by using the curricular materials and data at the website. Lesson plans describe interactive ways for students to learn more about energy, and, in particular, the role solar electric power can play in providing clean energy.

Cultural Studies of Science Education

Cultural Studies of Science Education aims to provide an interactive platform for researchers working in the multidisciplinary fields of cultural studies and science education. By taking a cultural approach and paying attention to theories from cultural studies, this new journal will reflect the current diversity in the study of science education in a variety of contexts, including schools, museums, zoos, laboratories, parks and gardens, aquariums and community development, maintenance and restoration. This journal establishes bridges between science education and social studies of science, public understanding of science, science/technology and human values, and science and literacy. Read a sample copy online.

Essentials of Cell Biology: Toxicology in Action

University of Washington's Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health  offers this CD-ROM curriculum, which uses an interactive approach to teach the basics of toxicology and cell biology. Developed by university scientists, the program engages learners in the study of basic science by demonstrating how cell biology relates to the real-world concerns of a working toxicologist. The CD is designed for use in high-school and undergraduate courses and can be obtained free at the website. Also at this site you'll find a Student Worksheet that accompanies the program, and an online evaluation form can be completed by those who have received the CD-ROM and wish to provide feedback.

Mission: Define Your Future

Northrop Grumman and Scholastic are providing a free science and math program for middle and high school teachers nationwide. Mission: Define Your Future brings technical education and math and science lessons and activities to students in grades 6–12. The program features detailed lessons for teachers on technology and science, reproducibles that allow students to explore math and science through word problems, a classroom poster designed to promote critical thinking, and student magazines that profile young engineers and provide resources for further research in these fields.

The program highlights the real-world applications of science and technology from various engineering and science disciplines, including space science, submarine engineering, and geolocation technology. The teaching materials are designed to sharpen students’ research, problem-solving, and scientific inquiry skills. Lessons in the program meet national standards and benchmarks for science, math, technology, and language arts.

Extraordinary Earth CD-ROMs

Interactive Extraordinary Earth CD-ROMs can interest students in grades 4–9 in science and math by enhancing existing curricula. The CD-ROM covers a wide range of Earth science topics and has almost 1,000 interactive questions, more than 2,000 sound bites, and more than 160 activities. The software is freeware, and teachers and organizations are encouraged to make as many copies as they desire. If you would like a copy, contact boxturtlesoftwar@aol.com and request Extraordinary Earth. Comments and reviews are encouraged.

K-4 Astronomy Unit: Moon Mania

Moon facts and more are featured this online unit from Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Includes lesson plans, Moon trivia, and links to related astronomy and space science sites.