Recommended Educational Websites EDUC 424 Spring 2014

From Caroline

FOR TEACHERS: Understanding Science http://undsci.berkeley.edu/teaching/teachingtools.php - This website emphasizes why science is important for students to learn science. - There are tips on how to lead students through a science lesson. - There are templates of flow charts, toolkits and KWL charts added to this website. - There are also research links that connect to helpful information. Earth Exploration Toolbook http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/how_can_I_use.html -This is a collection of online Earth system science activities. - Chapters are written for teachers to inform them of the overall science concepts. - Software tools are also provided for the classrooms. EdHead Interactions http://edheads.org/community/teacher-resources/ - Offers free science and math games and activities that promote critical thinking for lessons. - Allows teachers to share ideas with eachother. - There are given discussion questions, assessments, and activities. - There are also classroom management ideas and tips.

FOR STUDENTS: Science Kids http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/ - Provides many topics for students to learn about. - There are facts and games that students can be involved in. - It is easy for students to move through out the website. BrainPop http://www.brainpop.com/science/ - Engaging website with all subjects. - There are many sub-topics within science and links and games that connect to them. - There are also movies offered that students may watch. National Geographic Kids http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/ - Awesome images for kids to interact with. - There are games that explore inquiry thinking and questioning. - There is a News section which allows students to be able to research and read some interesting articles.

From Rabbiea--Websites for Teachers: 1. http://www.teaching-tiny-tots.com/index.html#.Uw72-5G4nFI This website is designed for moms, but it is good for teachers of very young students. It has easy experiments for preschool or kindergarten children to do.

2. http://www.housingaforest.com/experiments/ This website is a blog. It has experiments that use everyday household items so that they are simple to plan and cheap. 3. http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/index.php The experiments on this website are broken down clearly and have an explanation for how and why they work. It is helpful to have the explanation provided and not have to go look it up yourself. Websites for Children: 1. http://www.sciencekids.co.nz This website is nice for kids because it breaks everything down into sections. It has experiments, games, quizzes, and so much more so students can explore on their own and test their own knowledge to see what theyve learned. 2. http://climatekids.nasa.gov This is a fun website through NASA that has a climate game. Students are able to control their own climate and see what happens to the environment. 3. http://www.brainpop.com This website breaks things down by topic. It also incorporates current events and other subjects, like history.

From Flor---

Educational websites for science teachers: 1. http://www.nsta.org/ This website seems really useful because there are a lot of resources. There are links to specific science sites. There is also information about science books, e newsletters, and journals. The
website can help teachers make activities and lesson plans to add differentiation. The teachers could get something from this site and inform the parents they can find information of what the class is doing on the cite.

2. http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/ Discovery education has information for teachers, students, and parents. There are a lot of other subjects included. There are lesson plans and programs that can help teach science. The teacher can have a topic while including the other subjects. 3. http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/tswt The website breaks down into science topics such as chemistry, space, biology and much more. There is information and links to provide more examples. The information given is for general knowledge and if you want more then you click on the extra links to be sent to more specific details. Educational websites for children to learn science: 1. http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/ The website is very colorful which makes it appealing to children. There is a section for facts, information, and experiments. If you keep scrolling down there is also quizzes, fun facts, science jokes, and listen of projects that may seem fun to do. Over all the website seems interesting for children. 2. http://www.neok12.com/ This website provides videos, lessons, and games. The videos are not super long so they can be used as an intro to a subject or for review. The students can watch a video, do a write up, and then play a science game when they are done. There are many science topics to choose from. 3. http://www.brainpop.com/ The colors in this website are also appealing but this website has a lot of movement. This will attract the students to the website. There is a help button as well as free movies. There is an information box with a mini video on the side of what the

informations is talking about.

From Annie---

For my peers: http://undsci.berkeley.edu/ ^ I really enjoyed this site because it breaks everything down for you, and mostly everything is free. It explains what science is, what science should be in a classroom. There is a resource library and a for teachers section, and they have different pdf files that are perfect for the classroom, or even getting up to date with science.

http://www.learningscience.org/index.htm ^ This is best for sharing new tools to teach science, and I feel like thats extremely important. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/

^This is an awesome science resource from Discovery Education and it offers free links, interactives, presentations,projects and many more.
For Children: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/scientist/index.html

Every kid loves videos, and this website is extremely awesome for children to look at all kinds of scientists and what they do. It explains the different types of scientists and videos to explain further. Its an extremely helpful website, and intriguing. http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/kidsite/ ^This website has great games, projects, and easy to work for children of all ages. http://www.brainpop.com/ ^ I see this teachers using this at every school Ive worked and am still working at. Kids love this site and it really helps them grasp what they are trying to learn.

From Christina---

For Science Teachers: www.nsta.org - from the publishers of Science and Children as well as other magazines. They also have a free monthly newsletter and other freebees. https://www.teachervision.com/science/teacherresources/6662.html - includes pre-made smart board activities! http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/ - for help with lessons on space and is also very reliable. For Children to learn Science: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html #.Uw6UhoXsnYQ - again from the nasa site so it is reliable. There are lots of games and activities for kids during the space unit. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ - there are videos,

games and articles. The website is very kid friendly and you could use it with many grade levels. http://www.brainpop.com/science/ - the videos on this website are very well done and are fun for kids to watch. Some of the videos you have to be subscribed to the website in order to view, but many school systems I know subscribe to Brainpop for that reason.

From Billy--3 Websites for Science Teachers Billy Saulle Professor McKenzie 1.) http://undsci.berkeley.edu/index.php This website is exceptionally appealing to me, because not only is it easy to navigate, but its extremely useful to use for a science classroom. One of my favorite features of this website is the teaching tools category. There are a number of tools that are premade for teachers to use that are great for students to use to learn different things in science. I also love the lesson plan ideas. There are so many creative and fun lessons to use in all different categories of science. This website is a must look at for teachers who are just beginning their career. 2.) http://www.periodicvideos.com/ This website is wonderful!! This is a website that helps students understand the periodic table of elements. The table is displayed on the website, and each periodic element has a link you can click on to watch a YouTube clip about what that element is. This is a good way to teach instruction, because a video keeps the attention of the student, and its easier to understand the material that needs to be covered. This is a simple website to navigate, and I personally love it. 3.) http://edheads.org/ This website is very cool, and I spent a lot of time navigating and browsing because I was intrigued by the activities and games this site had for teachers to use in the classroom. One of the reasons why I love this site so much is because the games arent just games where you play and you learn the material then. Each game gives the student a way to think critically about the information being taught, which will help the student understand the ideas behind the topic. I think this is a very fun way to get the students in the classroom. I plan on using this site in my future classroom. 3 Websites for Students 1.) http://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/earth

I found this website to be very interesting and easy to use for elementary students in the science classroom. This site features interactive tours of exhibits of different science topics that the students in my class can view on a computer. The students get an interactive tour while being able to take notes and learn from their seats. They have the opportunity to stop each video or section if they feel like they missed something important. I think this is very beneficial for students in learning science. 2.) http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/ This is a good website to use with kids who are looking for fun and interesting facts about science. Its a good tool and its easy to use. Theres facts pertaining to a number of different categories in science, and as I read through some of them, I learned different things myself. This is a fun website to use if a student is working on a project, or is looking for something to do in between exercises. 3.) http://climatekids.nasa.gov/ Weather is one of my favorite units in Science, and this particular website has so much wonderful information on so many different topics relating to weather and climate. Its very colorful as well, and I feel like its useful to students because they will want to learn about this topic. From Kaitlyn--Teaching Resources http://www.sciencedictionary.org/ o This website is useful because it offers definitions for science words of all kinds. The terms are separated by field of science. This can be helpful when planning a lesson to easily look up definitions to unfamiliar words. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ o Although this website is not only for science, I think it is a very useful one to remember. This is a website that allows teachers to share their materials. Many of these things are free, but some require a small payment. The resources on this website include lesson plans and activities categorized by grade and subject. http://undsci.berkeley.edu/ o Understanding Science is a website that explains how science really works. This website has explanations for many science processes and concepts, teaching resources, lesson plans, and a resource library all for teachers. This website appears to encourage inquiry learning and a hands on teaching approach. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/ o The Virginia Department of Education website is also a very helpful one. It provides all of the SOLs for the state of Virginia along with curriculum framework and lesson plans. The site also provides instructional resources, SOL practice tests, and released tests from

previous years. Every teacher in Virginia should utilize this website on a regular basis. Resources for Students http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/ o This website is aimed at children and seems to have many good qualities. There are quizzes, project ideas, games, facts, pictures, and videos made to help kids better understand science. The website provides games and activities sorted by subject/categories of science along with separation by grade. http://www.brainpop.com/science/ o Brainpop is great website for all subjects including science. This website provides movies, games, interactive activities, and explanations for all branches of science. This website is very kidfriendly and easy to use and navigate. http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/science/ o This website provides tons of interactive games for kids. The games are separated by subject of science (life processes, physical processes, materials, water, and earth and space). There are also vocabulary words with pictures to help students practice and learn new vocabulary. This website offers interactivities as well as games and quizzes.

From Blair---

1. www.lauracandler.com This website is useful for all elementary subjects and it was made by a teacher. She has links for printable worksheets and links to helpful websites and it is also separated by topics within each subject. 2. http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/resources/elementary/4scienc e.htm this is the most helpful website ive ever found. there is literally

everything you need on there from past SOL tests, lesson plans, tests, smartboard stuff, and it even tells you which SOL it is for.

1. http://www.greenwichcsd.org/k6/gifford/4th_grade_science_g ames.htm This website is divided into science topics and has games, review quizzes, etc. 2. http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities.html science games that cover many topics 3. http://pbskids.org/games/science/ science online games for younger kids (K-1)