TeachersFirst Resource Listings

Subject Results by title Records 1 to 20 of 20

Grades 4 to 8

This site challenges students to use reasoning and decision-making skills. Kids will get creative as they follow a step-by-step process toward designing their own home. Combines concepts from social studies, geography, and art while fostering creativity. This is a detailed and well-planned site. Suitable for a wide range of ages.
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Break It Down - Science NetLinks

Grades 3 to 8

This thought provoking website offers a unique interactive game and lesson plans for differing levels. The interactive game challenges students to manipulate a system made of gears, ramps, and switches. The challenge is to guide marbles correctly through a system (maze), and have the marbles make it safely to the bottom holder. Students are able to cut out pieces of the maze by clicking on the piece they wish to delete. To start the interactive game, you must click on the link directly under the title of the website. Some of the activities at this site require Flash, get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.. The lesson plan topics include simple machines, systems of the human body, engineering solutions, cells, and Leonardo's machines. General standards are included in the lesson plans.
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In the Classroom:
This website has numerous uses in the classroom. The lesson plans are ready to go. If you use the interactive in class, on individual computers or an interactive whiteboard, be sure to make the link available outisde of class from your teacher web page so students can "play" with it. They will enjoy experimenting with it on their own.

Bridge Construction and Engineering Learning Center - Bridgepro.com

Grades 6 to 12

This entertaining and informative resource explores the many types of bridges and the scientific principles that enable them to function as they should. Follow the links to test your knowledge of bridge styles by matching the bridge with the appropriate location (over a freeway, river, or ocean waterway). Discover the forces, loads, and materials that affect bridges. Find out how many bridges are located in your state. Use to enrich and expand a sixth grade toothpick bridge-building activity or a high school physics class. Created by Bridgepro.com
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Cloning: A Special Report -

Grades 6 to 12

A journalistic report on Dolly, the cloned lamb born in 1997 near Edinburgh, Scotland. The information is presented in a clear and concise manner, and uses graphics to enhance students' learning of the material. This site could be used as required reading when studying genetics. The site is best suited to middle and high school students. From "New Scientist" magazine.
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In the Classroom:
Share this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector, allowing students to read it before a class discussion. This site provides a lot of information and questions that students can use to debate the ethics or probability of human cloning. Too often science classes don't seem to have time for the ethical debates, and this would be the perfect way for students to begin questioning innovations in science. Prepare yourself for a very intense debate if using this!

Engineer Girl - National Academy of Sciences

Grades 4 to 12

So, what does an engineer do, anyway? This well-engineered site tells young women about careers in engineering and offers biographies of many female engineers. There's a wealth of information here, and the presentation can be adapted for users of all ages.
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In the Classroom:
Teachers and guidance counselors will find this one useful for career planning.

Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in Science -

Grades 7 to 12

This site is a pilot project of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, dealing with ethical, legal and social issues of scientific research. The site is well organized and includes a great deal of information. At present there are six areas covered, Basic vs. Applied research, Breast Cancer Screening, Air Pollution, Genetic Patents, Medical Privacy, and Sustainable Development. A brief synopsis of each topic is given. There are links to background information, followed by discussion questions and a link to respond with your reactions. An excellent site for developing higher level thinking skills in older students!
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I Can Do That! -

Grades 7 to 12

Genetics can be a daunting topic to introduce to students, but this site offers a simplified, approachable, and entertaining overview of cells, DNA, RNA, synthesis, cloning, and genetic engineering. Students are led through the site by Gene (the gene), Simon (the soil bacterium), Chloe (the chloroplast), and many other amusing guides. Well-labeled, animated illustrations and clever analogies to facilitate understanding are found throughout the site. Is it corny? Yes! But student will laugh as they learn. This is definitely a site for independent exploration in the computer lab.
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Jason Digital Lab: Spacecraft Engineer - NASA

Grades 5 to 8

Design a Spacecraft and learn what space engineers do using this virtual lab activity. There is teacher information and a three-part approach to the "mission." You do not need to do all the parts, however. The best spacecraft designs submitted will be displayed on the web site. Includes national standards.
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In the Classroom:
Choose one or all three modules and laptops or a lab for students to work in small groups.

Kids' Design Network - DuPage Children's Museum

Grades 4 to 8

This site from an Illinois museum offers an elaborate, on-screen facility for students to design "gadgets" to solve specific problems, then submit them for review and assistance from a real-world engineer. There is also information on brainstorming, problem-solving, and lots of the other things that engineers and inventors do.
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In the Classroom:
This site could be useful either as an entire project or as an example of how real-world problems get solved.

Kikki's Workshop - Komatsu, Ltd.

Grades 0 to 5

Calling all builders - this site has it all! View interactives, videos, the "Great Picture Book of Construction Equipment," "Everything about Construction Equipment," Q and A, printables, and more. This site is full of great information about construction equipment, perfect for invention units, physics of simple machines, engineering, and more. There is also a link to learn more about anti-mine equipment, sure to spark some serious class discussion with older students.
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In the Classroom:
During a physics unit on simple machines, have students look at the various components of the heavy equipment and analyze which simple machines they see as PART of these huge machines. Doing a unit on inventions? Discuss how the inventions of these machines were designed specifically to meet a need. Use this site during a unit on engineering as you learn about how these machines are designed to accomplish a specific task. With older students, discuss the uses of the anti-mine equipment. Create a class "Construction Wiki" where all students contribute after researching specific equipment. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries – check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here.

MAKE Blog: Technology in your own time - MAKE Magazine Readers and Bloggers

Grades 4 to 12

Follow the blog entries by hands-on experimenters to find both complicated and simple "inventions" you and your students can build. Entries include photographs that bring them to life. Many may be more sophisticated than you can do in the classroom, but the blog entries explaining how the builder accomplished the task are terrific examples of scientific method and specific scientific concepts or solutions: sound, electricity, light, robotics, etc. The MAKE blog is also an endless source of ideas for classroom projects or science fair investigations.
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In the Classroom:
Choose an entry each month or at the start of a unit/lesson as a real world application of scientific principles you have been or will be studying. What an anticipatory set or activator! Show it on screen in your classroom or link to it from your teacher web page. You could also use this site as an enrichment challenge for your gifted students as you study a concept. Have them search the blog to find a real world application of the principles you are studying.

One minute wonders - BBC

Grades 0 to 8

View one minute wonders to learn great facts about a variety of science and social studies topics. There were 13 topics at the time of this review. Learn about a Northern Oriole that can eat 17 caterpillars in a minute, music in the 16th century, or vehicles in the world. Videos are entertaining and sure to capture student attention. After viewing videos, click on quizzes to check understanding.
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In the Classroom:
Use these minute-length videos to introduce a topic on your interactive whiteboard or projector. These would also make a great introduction to writing prompts or blog posts. Consider using these as examples for one minute projects for students to demonstrate understanding for any topic or content area (and make accompanying quizzes for their peers to try). Have cooperative learning groups view videos of their choice and add their findings to your class “One Minute Wonder Wiki.” Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries – check out the Teacher’s First Wiki Walk-Through reviewed here. In lower grades, have students plan and act out their own one minute wonder plays to explain something they have learned or simply share the videos as humorous but accurate portrayals of science topics. American students will need to grow accustomed to the British accents.

Raising the Titanic -

Grades 6 to 9

This site from the Discovery Channel traces efforts to dive to the Titanic wreck, examine the remains of the liner, and determine precisely how and why the "unsinkable" ship sank. This site is an intriguing combination of history and state-of-the-art science. There are plenty of photos, as well as detailed explanations of both the ship and the high-tech effort to reach and explore the wreck.
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Robotics: Sensing, Thinking, Acting - Tech Museum of Innovation

Grades 6 to 12

The Tech Museum of Innovation's online interactive exhibit about robotics includes fascinating history about robots seen from different angles. A video of Hans Moravec of Carnegie Mellon University discusses the components of a robot. Another section of the display examines ethical questions about the line between humans and robots and includes audio files of scientists responding to the questions (requires Quicktime). Site visitors can also respond.If you think you can't be creative with robots, take a look at the robot artists' section and view their creations. Finally, you can try driving your own robot in a virtual simulation. This section requires the Shockwave plugin. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
Explore the world of robots as part of a tech ed, gifted, science, or physics class. Be sure to include some of the discussions of ethics and technology as part of your unit. This site would also provide excellent background research for debate topics on technology and ethics. Note: the site was started prior to the 2003 Mars lander problems. Be sure to talk about what we know now about those robots, as well.

Science Fair Sanity - Chicago School Supply

Grades 0 to 12

This site is a MUST SEE for anyone who teaches science, those who help students prepare for the science fair, or anyone else inquisitive enough to try these hands-on experiments. This site provides a wealth of information for students and teachers.

Students will find pages upon pages of science ideas to use for their science fair project. The ideas are broken down by grade levels (pre-K through 3rd grade, 3rd through 5th grade, 6th through 8th grade, and 9th through 12th grade). There is also a general (free) guide to successful Science Fair projects for all grades. At the Students links there is also information about finding FREE materials and ideas for Project Display Support.

Teachers have also struck gold at this site. First, there are a ton of science fair ideas that could easily be used as science experiments in class. There are also links to help teachers find judges, find free material, advertise their Science Fair, and a forum for Science Fair planners.

This is a FREE site with a multitude of ready-to-go ideas. Many of the files are PDF and require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
Don't let the Science Fair stress you out! Use this FREE resource to help lighten your load. Be sure to save this site in your favorites, so when the Science Fair comes around - you can be the first to sign-up to help (or at least pass on the site to the coordinator).

Go to the students' pages for the grades that you teach to find some wonderful science experiments at your fingertips. Assign a science experiment for students to try at home, and then create a class wiki to have students discuss the results of their experiment. Highlight a new experiment for "at-home" on a weekly blog (maybe even offer extra credit). In the younger grades, set up learning centers focusing on the simple science experiments offered at this site.

Science News for Kids - Society for Science and the Public

Grades 3 to 12

Search news articles about various topics such as "Agriculture," "Animals," "Chemistry and Materials," "Finding the Past," and many other topics. Featured articles and pictures can be found on the front page in a section titled "The Weekly Scoop" and "Science Snapshots." View other pages in the site including "Puzzle Zone," "Game Zone," "SciFi Zone," SciFair Zone," and "Lab Zone." Click on the "Teacher Zone" to access question sheets, resources, and websites for classroom use. Some ads run along the sides of this site.
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In the Classroom:
Use Science News for Kids as a great reading and reporting assignment. Students can find an area and article of interest to read, summarize, and report to the class. Have students create commercials about their topics. Video and share using a site such as SchoolTube reviewed here. Students can use these news articles to find additional relevant information on the internet. Students may find these topics to be great self-study topics. Use the question sheets when assigning articles for class reading as a guided inquiry. Teach reading comprehension using these factual articles on your interactive whiteboard, asking students to highlight key words and generate a “main idea” sentence using them.

Submarines, Secrets and Spies - PBS Nova

Grades 6 to 12

This PBS site has Quick Time 360 degree views of the inside of a submarine, recordings of underwater sounds, a quiz about sound, and first person accounts of life aboard a military submarine. The quiz, focused on the science of sound, would be interesting in a science class, but the centerpiece of the site is the Quick Time tour of a military submarine. You can choose either the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear powered sub, or the USS Springfield, a more modern version.
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In the Classroom:
Although military ships are not a typical curriculum topic, teachers studying technology and engineering topics will want to consider this site as a "real world connection" to illustrate some of the applications of technology and physics, especially for your more concrete learners.

Superfactory Virtual Tours - Superfactory Ventures LLC

Grades 2 to 12

Although this website appears "plain vanilla," it offers amazing Virtual Factory Tours to visit industrial factories. Take tours to "Canadian Springs Waters," "Marshmallow Peeps," "American Flags," "Lego Toys," and more. There are web tours and streaming video tours. There are over twenty places to “visit” within both the web tours and video tours. Each link takes you to the factory site where products and production are shown through picture or video. Some sites have links to their online stores and students should be cautioned not to "shop." Each site has information pertaining to their specialty or manufacturing process as well as tips, recipes, and other information. Many of these sites require FLASH. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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In the Classroom:
Use these sites for any science and engineering class. This site can be used for topics related to career days, science vs. technology, as well as application of scientific concepts in the manufacturing process. This site can also be used by family and consumer science classes as virtual field trips in the manufacturing of food products. Students can trace the history of the manufacturing of certain products or study the economics of the products or changes in the marketplace. Use these sites as a springboard into research of the inventions that led to the products being developed. In language arts class, use this site as a prompt for informative writing about steps or events in sequence: write a description of how XX is made. Have students write their descriptions on a class wiki with the link to illustrate it.

Teach Engineering Resources for K-12 - NSDL, NSF, FIPSE

Grades 0 to 12

Engineering Resources is a K-12 website that contains a multitude of information and closely correlates each lesson to national and state standards. As they explain it, the site uses "engineering as a vehicle to integrate math and science fundamentals." The lessons are organized, simple, hands-on, inexpensive, and use real-life examples for children to relate. The lessons include pre and post assessments as well as extension activities. Here is a great opportunity to cook with the sun and visit a water treatment plant and hydro electric power plant right in the classroom. Make sure to check out the Living Labs for REAL-life experiments and data for students to use.
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In the Classroom:
Search for activities and ideas by grade level and curriculum topic using the Search and Advanced Search buttons. Lesson plans include resource links for you and for students, as well.

TryEngineering - TryEngineering

Grades 2 to 12

Whether you are teaching about plastics, robots, electricity or many other science topics, check this website out! This site provides information about the world of engineering and engineering careers, as well. There are 42 lesson plans that are ready to go, and many involve technology. The lesson plans have standards, objectives and age levels. Counselors will like the career section's detailed and helpful information. The website also provides numerous interactive games. This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..
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In the Classroom:
The lesson plans are detailed and simple to follow. The interactive games will have your students' talking about the activity long after class is over. Share the link on your teacher web page so they can visit over and over. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity for students to ask questions to real-live engineers, as well. Bring the real world into your classroom.

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